The 2 Tone Story: A Checkered Past (Part 2)
The 2 Tone Story: A Checkered Past (Part 2)
Part 2 of 3
And so was the Special A.K.A. Personnel stabilized with the addition of drummer John Bradbury, who’d co-written and played on “The Selecter.” The single became an underground hit; the band’s high octane live sets attracted numerous record company executives, not to mention Mick Jagger. Despite the growing industry buzz, Dammers had no intention of selling out. In spring, 1979 Chrysalis Records won The Special A.K.A. by agreeing to 2 Tone’s existence. Chrysalis would market 2 Tone, whose directors were all the members and managers of The Special A.K.A. and The Selecter – which Davies hastily formed when he realized 2 Tone was about to put his career in high gear.
After Chrysalis took over distribution, “Gangsters” zoomed into the British Top 10. And at first it seemed as if 2 Tone could do no wrong. The second 2 Tone release was the recording debut of Madness, a London band that shared The Special A.K.A.’s taste for ska; “The Prince” went Top 20 in Britain, and Madness became superstars in that country after signing to Stiff Records. The third 2 Tone single introduced The Selecter proper, with the charismatic Pauline Black on vocals. “On My Radio” disguised its contempt for that medium with a delightful melody and arrangement; its reward – ironically – was to go Top 10.
The hits kept on coming as Dammers and Co. released their second 45, “A Message To You Rudy.” the band’s billing on this record marked two changes: the addition of original ska trombonist Rico Rodriguez, and a slight name shift to a more mouth-friendly “The Specials.” A month later 2 Tone premiered yet another remarkable band, The Beat (known in the U.S. as The English Beat, and begetting General Public and Fine Young Cannibals). Their debut single was a catchy ska reworking of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ “Tears of a Clown.”
By February, 1980 there were seven 2 Tone singles, all of which had sold at least a quarter-million copies each, and all but two hitting the British Top 10. The Specials themselves reached the Number One spot with a live EP featuring the caustic “Too Much Too Young.” The 2 Tone label was successful on a level most people would die for.
Unfortunately, that was the effect success was having on The Specials. The band in general, and Dammers in particular, were running themselves ragged between tours and recording. Barely 12 months after 2 Tone’s launch, Dammers was longing for “the old days – a year ago” and declaring, “2 Tone has become a monster.” The Selecter agreed; Neol Davies disparaged 2 Tone as “just a successful pop label” as his band pulled out. Dammers was left promising that in the future “I don’t think all of our records will be hits.”
Meanwhile, The Specials themselves – now up to nine with trumpeter Dick Cuthell as a touring member – were at each others’ throats. An especially grueling U.S. tour had turned performing live, once the band’s raison d’etre, into a chore. Dammers’ musical taste was veering away from punk and ska rhythms, and toward what he called “Muzak or imitation music.” To their horror, The Specials saw their live sets turning into excuses for audience punch-ups.
In short, everything seemed to be suffering except The Specials music. The Top 5 “Rat Race” found Dammers ceding composing duties to Roddy Radiation. The following “Stereotype” did almost as well with an A-side concerning, Dammers said, “the extreme pressure on young people to abuse drugs, in this case alcohol.” (The band’s U.S. tour inspired the AA-side, “International Jet Set.”)
The original group’s last hurrah was the million-selling “Ghost Town,” released with eerie timing as England’s urban slums exploded into race riots. A few months later The Specials exploded when Hall, Staples and Golding left to start The Fun Boy Three. Dammers felt betrayed, but acknowledged that his songwriting royalties might have caused some jealousy. His high-handed leadership was probably just as responsible; “Ghost Town” was completely written out before recording.
Note: This story about the 2 Tone music movement was reproduced from the Liner Notes (written by Scott Isler) that was included in the 2 disc compilation released in 1993 by Chrysalis Records, The 2 Tone Collection: A Checkered Past. In our opinion, this is the best written history of the 2 Tone scene in existence.
