Party with a Political Attitude: Why we need another wave of Ska

A few years back Vice released a series of videos documenting different scenes that shaped the history of both Punk and Alternative Rock.

Overall the vignettes do a solid job of documenting the time and the place of each scene. However, after watching the documentaries there is one scene in particular that resonated with me, and that is the Ska Scene from Coventry, United Kingdom or 2tone. The reason I found the 2tone story so compelling is because of the commonalities I see between Britain of the late 70’s/early 80’s and the current cultural environment in the United States.

An Influx of Immigrants 

Now before I jump down the rabbit hole of fandom, I feel I should provide some historical background. Following the Second World War, the United Kingdom was looking to its colonies for assistance in rebuilding the nation.

This lead to the influx of immigrants from across the Commonwealth. The arrival of immigrants would leave a lasting effect on British Culture. With the immigrants came a blending of global influence. Jamaica’s influence on this blend is important in the story of 2tone.

Music set to Industrial Decline  

Throughout the 50’s and 60’s the cities of Birmingham and Coventry were quite vital to the British auto industry. However, by the late 70’s the cities had reached their industrial nadir.

With this apocalyptic landscape as a backdrop, the story of 2tone begins to take shape. Amongst the riots and rise of far-right political groups, Jerry Dammer established The Specials.

What made The Specials sound unique was a contagious blend of reggae and punk. Drawing from various cultural influences the sound would become popular among different subgroups. Soon punks, modern revivalists (mods), and rudeboys began to enjoy what became known as the 2tone sound.

This cultural fusion is not the only thing that made 2tone unique. The music’s power created a collaborative environment. This environment started to draw attention to the social oppression these groups faced.

In fact, Dammer would become an Anti-Apartheid campaigner and go on to establish the Artists Against Apartheid campaign in the United States.

Dammer and The Specials weren’t the only bands addressing their angst through music. Other 2tone bands such The (English) Beat and The Selector began to draw influence from the no society era of Thatcher’s Britain.

A Lasting Legacy

Both sonically and socially, 2tone continues to have a lasting legacy. The anti-authority attitude would eventually make it’s way back across the pond to the United States. Around the country, bands began to incorporate punk and reggae influences.

Examples of this include the East Bay’s Operation Ivy and Los Angeles’ Fishbone. While on the east coast in deeply segregated Boston 2tone’s influence began to inspire The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. In fact, Dicky Barrett referred to the sound of The (English) Beat as “Party with a political attitude.”

Almost ten years after its beginnings in the Midlands of the United Kingdom 2tone would again provide an outlet for disenfranchised youth. Again with riots and urban unrest as a backdrop. In LA suburbs Sublime began to release albums with a ska-punk sound.

The legacy of 2tone is an influential one that adds to the Anit-Authoritarian narrative of Punk Rock. I believe the 2tone’s story is inspirational for those who feel disenfranchised by modern society. A party with a political attitude can help us out of ourselves. And I believe that is the most important lesson we can all take from 2tone and Ska.

 

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