Old Ska, Two-Tone, New Ska

SecondBass

New member
I have to admit that the three sets of music I've referred to above are remarkably different fronm each other.

Prince Buster, the Skatalites, Pioneers etc. were a ground-breaking set of Jamaican musicians that paved the way for Bob Marley and the Reggae explosion.

The Specials, Selector, Madness, the Beat and Bad Manners were a combination of punk and joyful reggae, some with a heavy political influence but all made to dance.

The current crop with the Ordinary Boys actually being chart-fodder are simply not Ska. You can see the influence of Two-Tone but not the roots back to Orange Street. Should they really use the term 'Ska', which was (alledgedly) was short for "scatter" when the police arrived in Jamaica?

The Specials were pretty damned good though, weren't they?
 
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