I'M IN THE MOOD FOR SKA....

As i've gotten older, three things have allowed me to expand my musical tastes: more income, the internet, and the advent of digital radio. Back in 1993, my 17th year, the latter two didn't exist, and the first was limited! But the lack of easily available information about music and artists made me more determined to hear it. And so my first musical epiphany happened. I'd fallen in love with the music of Madness the year before, and i wanted to know more about the 2-Tone/Ska scene that they'd been associated with in the early days of their career. Also, there had been a revival in the popularity of Reggae itself, spurred on by the arrival of another development in the music: Ragga, which combined the electronic rhythms of Dancehall with Hip Hop and Rap, was a big presence in the charts from late '92, with Shabba Ranks, Shaggy, and Apache Indian, the latter of whom represented the Ragga scene in the Asian communities. Dancehall itself became popular again, with Chaka Demus & Pliers and Shinehead scoring big hits. More traditional Reggae sounds were back, and not just in the charts: adverts and soundtracks were full of classic ska and rocksteady tunes, All these things fed my growing interest, especially the original sounds from the 60's.  My love of Madness had led me to The Specials, whose "Singles" album i had borrowed (and copied!) from the local library, and i was thrilled by the energetic ska sounds i heard, from the skanking rhythms of "Gangsters" to the spine-tingling dub atmospherics of their classic state of the nation address, "Ghost Town". I was able to find out about the other bands from the 2-Tone era, such as The Beat, The Selecter, Bad Manners, and The Bodysnatchers, from a cheap "Sound Of Ska" tape from the local market, although i soon discovered these were not the original songs, just covers by soundalike session musicians! That summer, i bought two albums that would further my growing love of the music: UB40's "Promises And Lies", which featured their recent No. 1 hit, a cover of "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You": and a compilation of original Jamaican Ska, and Rocksteady classics, One Original Step Beyond - The Story Of Ska.

The UB40 album was fine - i've since heard, and prefer their early stuff - but it was the ska cd that grabbed me. Featuring the original versions of songs covered by Madness, The Specials, UB40, Shaggy, and The Beat, as well as a number of big hits from the 60's and early 70's, some of which had been used on recent tv adverts, this collection was a revelation to me. The compilers had made no attempt to update the sound of these yesteryear classics: they were as rough and ready as the day they had been first recorded. Real, raw passion and musicianship, something that was lacking from more recent Reggae tunes. I listened to it repeatedly, the skanking tunes conjuring up images of what i imagined Jamaican soundsystems and dances might have looked like, of the people and the rudeboy fashions. This was my first real introduction to the genre, and in the following years i attempted to find out more about the music, the names behind it, the roots of it all. Three things helped considerably: the ongoing series of brilliant compilations and reissues from the Trojan label, the Beginners Guide To Reggae series on Radio 2, presented by Mark Lamarr with a real passion for the music and featuring guests from the varied world of Reggae, and a book called Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King by Lloyd Bradley, a thoroughly researched and well written history of not just the music, but the place and times it originated from: the people, the places, the political, social, and personal history that all combined to create this unique flavour that couldn't have come from any other country. I'd heard about it on Lamarrs' show, where the author had guested. It is a very weighty book, but if you're interested in the music it is definitely worth investing in!

After nearly 23 years of listening to and reading about Reggae and all its various sub-genres, i'm still discovering more artists and songs -some new, some old - and found that i'm definitely not alone: there is a huge love for this music that goes way beyond your average Bob Marley "Greatest Hits"-owning member of the public, and i'm often quick to point out to such people that there are many more facets to it other than "One Love"! Even a deceptively simple style like Ska has more depths to it.

On the same show that i heard about the aforementioned book, Lloyd Bradley picked a Dub track that he described as being more upbeat and shorter than the usual moody, deep styles of the oft-mentioned (but no less a genius) King Tubby; "Tribesman Rockers", by The Mighty Two aka producers Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson, from the album African Dub All-Mighty Chapter Three, which i think is a version of Lord Creators' timeless "Kingston Town". I searched for the album for years, which proved to be unavailable on cd, before finding the vinyl Lp last year in the Nottingham branch of Rough Trade. The whole album is majestic.

Also, from the film and soundtrack album "The Harder They Come", this utterly joyful song by Toots & The Maytals.

And finally, from one of the originators of Ska, and the man who influenced the 2-Tone movement bands, including Madness, giving them not only their name but one of their early hits....