In the 1970's the Rude Boy ideals were revitalized and expressed in the fusion of reggae and punk by bands such as the Clash (Rudie Can't Fail). In the mid to late 1970's, bands such as The Coventry Automatics chose to use ska instead of reggae because, according to Jerry Dammers, it was easier. The Coventry Automatics later became The Automatics then The Specials AKA The Automatics, then The Special AKA, then The Specials. (Side Note: When the Specials broke up, Hall Staples and Golding formed The Fun Boy Three and Dammers formed The Special AKA... Fun Boy Three Broke up and Hall formed The Colourfield. Neville and Golding formed Sunday's Best, Hall left The colourfield and went solo, then did a project with Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics under the name Vegas. Hall just released a new solo CD called TERRY HALL - HOME... Sunday's Best broke up and neville played with numerous other bands then released a solo CD in 94 called Skanktastic... Staples and Golding are back together with the newly formed Specials. Dammers left Special AKA and is now playing Acid Jazz..... sorry, this is a whole other story as well... e-mail me for a family tree of the 2-tone era)
Anyway, in 1979, Jerry Dammers formed 2-Tone Records. Dammers' desire, like Prince Busters in the early 1960s, was to create something new. Black and white became a symbol and 2 Tone ska was born. The 2 Tone logo of a man in a black suit, white shirt, black tie, sunglasses, pork pie hat, white socks and black loafers became the official logo and was named Walt Jabsco. (Walt after Walt Disney... the drawing drawn by Dammers was based upon an early picture of Peter Tosh with the Wailers as seen on the cover of the Wailing Wailers Studio 1 release.)
In a time of racial riots and the racist National Front organization at its peek, the black and white clothing and racially integrated bands promoted racial unity in a torn country. As with Jamaican ska, the mood of the times was reflected in the lyrics (Why Do You want to Kill Me? Tell Me Why Tell Me Why Tell Me Why. - Special AKA). Bands such as Madness, The Beat, The Selecter, The Bodysnatchers, and the Specials revitalized the classic ska sounds of Prince Buster (Remakes include Rough Rider, Madness, Too Hot, etc.) and other first wave artists. Another band not on the two tone label but associated closely with the two-tone movement is Bad Manners. There was also a cross over of first wave artists in the 2-Tone bands. (Rico Rodriquez who guested with the Specials was trained by Don Drummond and played as a studio musician in Jamaica). Eventually, Chrysalis Records bought 2-Tone from Dammers, leaving him the right to sign new bands. The Two Tone artists at one time or another included: The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, Rico Rodriquez, The Swinging Cats, The Friday Club, The Bodysnatchers, The Hisons, J.B. Allstars, Special AKA, The Apollinairs, The Beat (know as the English Beat in the US because a band called the Beat already existed here), and a single from Elvis Costello. (Side Note: The Costello single I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down, became tied up in legal fights and was never sold. Copies were given away to fans at Costello shows. Costello produced the first Specials LP and was a guest singer and producer on the Nelson Mandella 12" single by the Special AKA in '84) Inspite of running a reputable label, by 1985 the 2-tone label was falling apart; Dammers was broke and in debt to Chrysalis and the Dawning of a New Era ended in a Ghost Town.
Two Tone bands may have been the most popular from 1978-85 however they were not the only ones playing ska. Others included The Tigers, Ska City Rockers, The Akrylykz (with Roland Gift on Tenor Sax who later joined ex-english beat members Cox and Steele as singer for Fine Young Cannibals), The Employees, The Pirahnas, and many more....