Skip to main content

2-Tone

2 Tone Records was an English record label that led the ska reviva in the early to mid 1980s, as would be expected much of their output was ska & reggae-influenced, with a smattering of punk rock and pop. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records.

In its time, 2 Tone Records signed the Selecter, Madness and The Beat - all leading ska revival acts. Two of these three left within two years as part of the ethos at 2 Tone was that acts signed a contract that allowed them to leave the label after releasing just one single, which was unusual in the record industry. 

Madness and The Beat both took advantage of this clause; the former to sign to Stiff Records, and the latter to start their own label, Go Feet Records.

Other acts to appear on the label were Elvis Costello & the Attractions, J.B. Allstars, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers.

The uniqueness of the label was best highlighted on their first release - a Double A side featuring the Specials. 'Gangstas' on one side and the Selecter's self titled  'The Selecter' on the other.



Madness released a the single 'The Prince' on 2 Tone and then moved on, Elvis Costello released 'I can't Stand up for Falling Down' on the label as a one off.




The Bodysnatcher's 'Lets Do Rock Steady'


...and the mighty Specials - 'My Racist Friend'




Popular Posts

Patti Smith

Patti Smith was an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and poet who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ' Horses '. Her most widely known song is " Because the Night ", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen. It reached number 13 in America and number 5 in the U.K.
Read more

The Psychedelic Furs

 The Psychedelic Furs were a British new wave band founded in London in the mid to late 1970s, led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. Their music went through several phases, from an initially austere art rock sound, to later touching on new wave and elements of hard rock. Early tracks that I particularly liked included ' Sister Europe ' & ' India ' from their self-named debut album in 1979. The band had several hits in their early career. In 1986, filmmaker John Hughes used their song " Pretty in Pink " for his film of the same name. I saw them play at the Sports Centre in Crawley and then again later in Reading, whilst at Uni.
Read more

Puff Daddy

Sean Combs   also known by the stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy , is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and actor. Combs was born in New York City but was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, in 1993. Combs' debut album, ' No Way Out ' from 1997 was an instant success, followed by multiple successful albums and singles. Combs formed the musical group Dirty Money and  also produced and cultivated artists such as Mary J. Blige and The Notorious B.I.G. The Track ' I'll be Missing You ' featuring Faith Evans is about the death of The Notorious B.I.G. in a shooting incident, and samples heavily form The Police 's ' Every Breath I Take '.
Read more

JoBoxers

JoBoxers were a British new wave group formed in the early 1980s, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer), teamed up with England-based American singer Dig Wayne. The band's debut single, " Boxerbeat ", peaked at number three in the UK while the group were the opening act on the Madness 'Rise and Fall' tour. However, it was their next hit, " Just Got Lucky ", that broke the band internationally. This single  made the UK Top 10, and cracked the US Top 40, in 1983. The band split in 1985.
Read more

Dexy's Midnight Runners

Dexys Midnight Runners were an English pop band with soul influences from Birmingham, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They are best known in the UK for their songs " Come On Eileen " and " Geno ", both of which peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as six other top-20 singles. The original Dexys Midnight Runners were founded in 1978 in Birmingham, England by Kevin Rowland (vocals, guitar) and Kevin "Al" Archer (vocals, guitar). Both had been in the short-lived punk band the Killjoys. Rowland had previously written a Northern soul-style song that the two of them sang, " Tell Me When My Light Turns Green ", which became the first Dexys "song". The band's members were "Big" Jim Paterson (trombone), Geoff "JB" Blythe (saxophone, previously of Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band), Steve "Babyface" Spooner (alto saxophone), Pete Saunders (keyboard), Pete Williams (ba...
Read more