Lancaster Band - Comic Strip Heroes (1981) [link updated 18th of December, 2016]

This is your new favorite album.

The Lancaster Band formed in South Africa in 1974 playing their blend of rock and reggae well before the 2 Tone movement. They released this album in 1981.

Is this what a 2 Tone ska band looks like?

They have since reformed and are currently playing shows and have also released a new EP called "Edn Sessions" in 2006

Comic Strip Heroes
1 Modern Science
2 Just Can't Help Myself
3 The Girls
4 The Boys
5 Natural Lift
6 Denture Adventure
7 Henry Harpic's Holidays
8 Obscene Gestures
9 The Kite
10 Comic Strip Heroes

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The Offs (almost) Complete Discography

The Specials released their first single in July 1979 which is considered the spark that caused the ska-punk fire. Though they get credit with being the ones to make it more well known they were not the only ones to mix punk and new wave with ska and reggae. Aside from Arthur Kay having already released records with the 2 Tone sound before the Specials, The Slits, United Balls, and Plastic Bertrand were incorporating ska into their music as were many bands in the UK and throughout Europe.
But in the US there were a few bands playing reggae and those that were were not mixing it with punk or new wave. Not yet anyway. But in California in 1978 there was a band called The Offs.

They mixed their punk music with r&b, soul, reggae, dub, and even German experimental music.

They later moved from the West Coast to New York but continued going back frequently to play shows in San Francisco and L.A.
Here's just about everything they ever recorded before lead vocalist Don Vinil died in New York in 1983.

"624803 / Johnny Too Bad" 7"
"Zero Degrees / Everyone's a Bigot" 7"
"I've Got the Handle" alt. version from a 415 Records Compilation
"My World / You Fascinate Me" 7"
"The Offs First Record" (Their first, last, and only full length. The cover was designed by famed New York artist Basquiat and the original is for sale on eBay with more information about it. HERE'S the auction.
3 tracks from a live compilation called "Can You Hear me? - Music From the Deaf Club"

DOWNLOAD EVERYTHING ABOVE IN ONE FILE


Live at The Mubuhay Gardens Nov. 7, 1980


This live show is actually a compilation of 3 live shows:
There are 20 tracks. The song "624803" was recorded July 5, 1980 and the songs "100 Dollar Limosine", "Johnny Too Bad", and the 2 Lou Reed covers "Sweet Jane", and "Heroin" were recorded March 1, 1980.

DOWNLOAD LIVE ALBUM

The only thing missing is
"Why Boy? / Why Boy Dub" 7" on Epiphany Records

Not really a Christmas song...

...not really a ska song either. Good stuff though.


Toini and the Tomcats are a rockabilly band from Norway. Their drummer Ned Leukhardt used to play for Wall of Voodoo.

HERE'S Toini's Myspace.

I will be back after Christmas with more ska posts.

Skankin' 'Round the World volume 5

This was the last in the Unicorn Records' series. I do have three of the other ones but I am too disorganized, drunk, and lazy at this exact moment to find the rest. I will be getting the one I am missing (vol.4 I think) and I will post that as well as the others.
Actually, you can get vol.1 right here courtesy of the Skankin' 'Round the World blogspot. (Thanks Monique!)

Skankin' 'Round the World vol.5 (1990)
1 Machtoc - First Time
2 Potato 5 - Spit and Polish (live)
3 The Liquidators - Riches to Rags
4 The Deltones - Silent River
5 Strange Fruit - Over the Border
6 The Latenotes - Yeah! Alright!
7 Gangbusters - No Fun 8
8 Tighten Up - Trouble in Town
9 Skapa - Ska Polka
10 Spy Eye - The Things I Feel
11 Lady Fun - Jah-Maica
12 The Speakeazy - We Need Enid

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Vegimite Reggae - Trendy Ex-Hippies

I think that those few of you who actually heard of Vegimite Reggae probably heard of them from their cover of Stairway to Heaven. It was not originally on this album but I have included it for those of you who don't have it yet.
Again, there is not much information on this band on the internet. From what I've found they only ever recorded this one album, a single "Send it Out / Faces" (both of which are on this record), and another 7" "Too Many Years / Love is Gone". (Which is for sale on Music Stack right now for under $6. I would buy it and share it with you, but I'm buying other more interesting things for us.)
If anybody knows anything about Vegimite Reggae (yes, VegImite, not VegEmite) - especially any other recordings they may have please don't be stingy with this info.

Trendy Ex-Hippies (1987)
1 Send it Out
2 Open the Door
3 Way Away
4 Rude Boy Rude Girl
5 For Love
6 Faces
7 Fat Girl
8 Illusions
9 I Need You
10 Latin Lover
* Stairway to Heaven

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[To be honest, I am not a big fan of this album. For being lumped into the ska / reggae category this album is quite lacking in either. There are a few really good songs on this record, but I think those songs would've been better off being released as singles without the need for this entire set. They certainly were a good band, but I'm not sure this recording represents them properly. Am I missing the point here?]

The Hoovers

I finally got around to re-posting both the EP and full length by the Hoovers. I re-transferred the Smut and Class EP from vinyl and this sounds much better than the version I had posted earlier. I also included lyrics in this download. I was going to type out all of the lyrics for Skin and Blisters but, goddamnit, I just don't have that much free time. If you really really can't make out the lyrics I may get around to getting them together if you harass me enough.

As you may or may not know The Hoovers have since gotten back together and even have a new album called "Toy".
Check out their Myspace to hear their new material, or their OFFICIAL SITE to order it.

HERE'S a recent interview with Paul Whiting on Marco on the Bass.

This download includes "Skin and Blisters" and "Smut and Class".

DOWNLOAD

I've been getting a lot of requests to re-post my former offerings. If I haven't gotten around to your request yet please don't think I'm ignoring you. I will get to everybody eventually. Thank you for being patient.

Skankin' Pickle - double feature

This is Skankin' Pickle's first release from 1991. It was called "Skankin' Pickle Fever". It was released just before "Skafunkrastapunk". These exact recordings later appeared on the full length album of the same name so if you own the album "Skankin' Pickle Fever" you already have these exact same songs (but why not hear them again with record-crackling goodness?)
Also in this download is the 1995 "Erik Yee" EP.
The first song is a great unreleased Skankin'Pickle tune (title track). The second song is a live version of "Onyonghasayo" (from "Sing Along with Skankin' Pickle") with alternate English lyrics. The third song is a live cover of "Sally Brown" sung by drummer Chuck Phelps.

Skankin' Pickle Fever

1 I Missed the Bus
2 David Duke is Running for President
3 Ice Cube, Korea Wants a Word with You
4 Pass You By

Erik Yee EP

1 My Name is Erik Yee, My Favorite Band is Green Day
2 Losin' Again
3 Sally Brown


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Amazulu

Amazulu was an all female (except for the drummer) dance/pop/reggae/ska band from London. They released a number of singles between 1983 and 1986 before releasing this one and only full-length. Though they were moderately successful at the time they seem to be a forgotten band. They even had a bit of success in the US with their cover of the Bobby Bloom hit Montego Bay (though the Allniters were well known for their cover 3 years earlier) and they performed on Top of the Pops and The Young Ones.
Here's their Wikipedia article.

Here are a few members of the group pretending to perform "Too Good to be Forgotten" on Top of the Pops in 1986:



Their record label Mango was a branch of Island Records who has since dropped the Mango subsidiary. They also put out Aswad, Jimmy Cliff, and Burning Spear as well as other British Reggae and Hip Hop acts. Much of what was on the Mango label has never been re-released on cd.

I have included 2 songs that were not originally on the album.

1 Too Good to be Forgotten
2 Excitable (Soca Mix)
3 After Tonight
4 All Over the World
5 Things the Lonely Do
6 Montego Bay
7 Don't You Just Know It
8 Cairo
9 Moonlight Romance
10 Upright, Forward
*Mony Mony
*Wonderful World, Beautiful People

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Mobster - Perfect Man 7"

I have absolutely no information about this record except what the cover says. It's from an English band from 1981.

The first track is very vanilla reggae. A mellow song with decent vocals. The B-side is instrumental...slightly up-tempo with synth steel drums. It'll grow on you.

I've been putting off posting this because I haven't been able to transfer it very well. The vinyl I have is full of scratches and it skips quite a bit. This is kind of a patchwork that my wife has toiled over for way too long especially considering that she hates this record.
I actually like this record and I think she did a great job with it. What do you think?

A - Perfect Man
B - Trinidad

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Bim Skala Bim - Bim Skala Bim

This is Bim Skala Bim's first album from 1986. It is currently out of print and was quite difficult for me to find.
If anybody from the band or BiB Records wants me to remove this post please let me know and I will do so immediately. No threats of lawyers required.

1 The Key
2 Better Get Out
3 Balance
4 Chief Inspector
5 Jah Laundromat
6 Solitary Confinement
7 Silence
8 Fear No Evil
9 Cool Nights
10 Not a Test

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Liquidators - Black and White Pictures

The only release from this Santa Cruz, California band from 1990. Originally on Unicorn Records. Members of this band went on to form California's Northern Soul band Durango 95.

I found this interesting interview with a member of Durango 95 HERE.

01 Swing Easy
02 Black and White Pictures
03 Do I Worry?
04 Where Are You Going?
05 Do the Best That You Can
06 Long Time Again
07 Soul Steppin'
08 Do What You Wish
09 Swing Time Ska
10 Riches to Rags

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The Caribs - Caribbean Capers

We all know the familiar black and white checkers of 2 Tone and that it stands for racial unity - particularly between blacks and whites in Britain in the late 70s and early 80s. Most of the bands were made up of both black and white musicians, and it is commonly accepted that they were playing traditionally black music with a new white influence.
It could be said , however, that the roots of the 2 Tone concept go way back - even before ska music came into its own.
Jamaica's first studio band was The Caribs who played and recorded in Kingston from 1958 to 1968. And though they are recognized as one of the first bands to ever play the ska sound they were in fact formed in Australia and were made up of only white musicians. They started playing clubs in Surfer's Paradise, Queensland in the late 50s and already were using the name The Caribs. They played calypso and mento and experimented with other Caribbean folk sounds.
In 1958 their manager Max Wildman was offered a job running a new hotel in Jamaica and he agreed as long as he could bring the Caribs with him. Only three members - Dennis Sindrey (guitar), Peter Stoddart (piano), and Lowell Morris (drums) made the move. They were joined by bass player Lloyd Brevett who later joined the Skatalites and other local black musicians and began incorporating ska into their set in effect becoming the first 2-tone ska band. They became a regular act at the Glass Bucket Club where they performed for Errol Flynn, Che Guevara, and even Winston Churchill amongst others.
When Jamaican studios first went into business the Caribs were in demand as a support group for Owen Gray, The Jiving Juniors (the Caribs was the band playing on the hit 'Lollipop Girl'), and lots of other acts including Laurel Aitken. They worked with producers Simeon Smith, Chris Blackwell, and Coxsonne Dodd.

As usual I can't find much information on the internet about them. I don't know what year this album was recorded or what other releases they have under their own name. I was happy to find this record on THIS site. Many thanks to them.

01 The River
02 More
03 Bangalou
04 Ecstasy
05 Miserlou
06 Jordan
07 Sammy Dead Medley
08 I Wish You Love
09 Mary
10 Let's Go
11 Sand in My Shoes
12 Yellow Bird Medley

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Studio One engineer Graeme Goodall was the sound engineer on most of their releases as well as the Skatalites, Jimmy Cliff, and Bob Marley and the Wailers, and he himself was also Australian.

Kontraritam

Kontraritam is known as the first ska band in Serbia (though there was already another band in Yugoslavia playing reggae tinged music called Haustor). They formed in 1980 and recorded this album in 1982. This is pretty much the only thing they've ever released. They were on some compilation albums but only with songs from this album.

1 Sretne Noge
2 Drugacija
3 Obojeni Grad
4 Bruce Lee
5 Pesma Bez Imena
6 Miss Ska-Kulation
7 Zozo, Vrati Se
8 Decaci
9 Slobodna Devojka
10 Oko I Duh
11 Predstava
12 Zdravo, Kako Si

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Dave's Big Deluxe

Billy K from Dave's Big Deluxe writes:

"This is Dave's Big Deluxe's first release, a self-titled cassette. It was recorded in a high-end home studio on some kind of video cassette format. It was some weird set-up. It sounds pretty weak by today's standards, but recording was not so easy back then, and we didn't have a lot of money to spend (we self-financed this one). It was released by Third World Underground, which was a very small local label that focused mostly on punk rock. The label owner, Jack, would soon start a new label, Slimstyle, that focused on ska and swing.

"My memory's fuzzy about most of the details, but I think we'd been together a couple years at this point. This was what I'd consider our first "real" line-up. In those days we just let anyone with a passing interest play. If you could hold a wind instrument, you were in. At one point we had 12 people in the band; 7 horns. And we (sadly) didn't have an organ player, that was done by the producer.

"There were two Guitarists/Singers back then; Dave and Doug. Doug was into space rock and trippy stoner stuff. "Hardest Thing," "World Full of Ugly" and "New Start Tomorrow" were his songs. Dave was really political back then, as you can hear in most of the lyrics not written by Doug. If I recall, "Idle Gossip" was written by our first bassist, Gordon, who was heavy into Mod culture at the time. I wrote most of the horn parts. Not that they're particularly intricate.

"The lineup on this record is basically the same as "Sounds from the Credenza," but would change drastically between there and "Miss Fortune." In fact, only Dave and I stuck around for the next "era." You can really hear a difference in the rhythm section. Gordon played this awesome Vox Cougar bass that had that old plunky sound that really defined us early on. His lines really moved. I think Dave was playing a vintage Mosrite through a vintage Fender Twin (killer vintage equipment was cheap and plentiful in Tucson in those days...sigh.) the guitar solos were all played by Doug. You may notice as we "grew" as a group, our guitar parts disappeared. Dave hated playing leads, and when Doug left, so did our guitar solos. But our horn section got a lot better, and started playing more and more solos. You'll notice the horns on this record...um...suck. I hadn't really played in two years, but I was the only one with more than high-school band experience, which is why the mix is so heavy on trumpet.

"I did the "artwork" for all our releases (except the 45). In 1992 I didn't own a computer, so I hand-lettered the logo and set the credits with a typewriter. Remember, this was 1992/3. In the next couple years, desktop publishing would really take off, and I got significantly better at design (and got access to a computer). This one is kind of embarrassing, but also reflects the DIY way we did things back then.

"I don't even remember how many cassettes we pressed or how many we sold - if any. Frankly, I think we just gave most of them away. We never made any money in the band. Anything we made from shows or merch went into the band fund for equipment and expenses, and later touring.

"And that's officially more than anyone needs or wants to know about the early days of Dave's Big Deluxe."

1 Intro
2 HMK
3 Post Cold War Political Satanic Ritual
4 Idle Gossip
5 Hardest Thing
6 Left and Right
7 Political Correctness is McCarthyism
8 World Full of Ugly
9 New Start Tomorrow

DOWNLOAD M4A files

DOWNLOAD MP3 files

Dave's Big Deluxe - Miss Fortune

Billy K - I hope this is okay. I've been meaning to post this for a while now anyway. This is the last of my Dave's Big Deluxe collection. I'm sure I don't only speak for myself when I say we'd love to hear the rest of your recordings. I didn't even know DBD had put anything else out because there's virtually no mention of the band on the internet. Is there a site I don't know about or any other info you feel like sharing with us?

01 Little L.A.
02 What Kinda Girlie
03 What I Used to Be
04 Power Grip
05 Time After Time
06 Ham & Egger
07 Girl in My Kitchen
08 Hole in My Shoe
09 Charlie Don't Surf
10 Brand New Second Hand
11 Miss Fortune
12 It's OK to be Ska

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Dixo Wankers - City Boy 7"

The first release from this Dutch band from 1981. Read more about them HERE. The first song 'City Boy' is poppy with female vocals and 'Jaguar' is mostly instrumental with male vocals not toasting so much as just talking.

Here they are performing 'Bah Bah Bloemenbuurt!' with Ab Van Der Laak in 1983


Here they are performing the Selecter's "Danger". This video was posted by Ronan. Thank you very much for this great post Ronan!


side A - City Boy
side B - Jaguar

If you do download this keep in mind that you are doing so for reference only and that you must delete it within 24 hours. If you like what you hear save your money and hold your breath and wait for the day their record company accidentally hires a music fan who gets them to re-release this and buy it then so that the band can pay their bills and keep playing.

DOWNLOAD

Both sides...

There are lots of good arguments for why I should continue to post music and a couple for why I shouldn't but the fact of the matter is that it is illegal. That's it plain and simple. That's why Tone and Wave won't continue in the same way it started out. I'm considering what to do next. Are any of you really that damn interested in reading more reviews? Maybe I could do a podcast and link to some Myspaces? Maybe I could keep posting obscure things that are unrelated to certain record labels and wait for them to threaten me with lawyers.

I'm being tongue-in-cheek right now, but I have to say that even though I'm a bit irritated at Megalith (not because of them telling me to take off their music, but because of the 'I'm telling my lawyer on you' attitude) I will not be boycotting them. I have gotten lots of good stuff from them in the past and I will continue buying from them in the future. I do support the ska scene and I support any record company that helps put out ska music. I could support them a hell of a lot more if I wasn't spending $80 on a rare used vinyl that they own the rights to and are not selling for whatever reason. Like Steve from Moon said labels should make more of an effort to make their back catalogs more available. Tone and Wave is an example that there is still a market for this stuff.

I would have a bit more respect for them though if they came straight out and said "Look asshole, you're affecting my livelihood!", instead of all this crap about how I'm affecting the bands. I've had numerous bands comment when I posted their music - some corrected the errors I made in describing them, some asked where I got certain things, some thanked me for posting their music, and some even just responded with "I was in this band". Not one told me to remove the post. Not a single one. Three of these responses were from bands that were on the list of bands I had to remove.

Here's a perspective from somebody in a band.

Tone and Wave is coming to an end

Hey,
This is Jeremy at Megalith Records (The Toasters / Moon Ska Records),
I have come across your blog and see that are you hosting links to many
bands on our label that you have no legal right to distribute freely.
http://toneandwave.blogspot.com/
Please remove all links in reference to the following bands and
compilations:

The Butlers
All Skarmageddon comps.
Anything and everything Toasters, Skaos, Dr. Raju, Skavoovie and the
Epitones, Bluekilla, Mr. Review, The Busters, Too Many Crooks, No
Sports, Go Jimmy Go, The NY Citizens, Deal's Gone Bad, Royal Roost and
all related releases.

Not only is what you are doing completely illegal, but you are NOT
supporting ska music by pointing people to download their work for free,
you are hurting them. Many of these albums you have links to are
releases from 2008 and 2007. I know because I designed that Royal Roost
album cover and we released that last year, and the Deal's Gone Bad
album was released this year between us and JumpUp Records.

You MUST remove all links to these bands, if you do not comply within
48hours, we will have our lawyer contact you and Google and have your
account removed as well as Yahoo. Please take me seriously.
You are creating a DIS-service to these hard working bands and you are
breaking the law.

Jeremy Patton.

--
megalith records
c/o jeremy w patton
1529 sunrise circle
norman, ok 73071
cell 405.641.8114
http://www.toasters.org
http://www.megalithrecords.com
http://www.jiantwebproductions.com

....................................................

Sorry folks, I can't argue with this. He's right.
My only dispute with this letter is where it says I am not supporting ska music. He meant to say I'm not supporting the people who make money off of ska music.

If you look on the Megalith Records site you'll see that the Toasters "Skaboom!" cd which I posted is out of print which means that I didn't harm their ability to sell it and that if you wanted to buy it you'll have to wait until it's repressed - if ever. (Or you can just get it used off of ebay)

How was I to know that there was still a market for many of the bands on the list when they aren't mentioned in their catalogue? It took me quite a long time and way too much money to collect all of the Too Many Crooks cds because I had to find them second hand in other countries because nobody in the US sold them - not even Megalith. How am I keeping them from making money from something they're not even selling?
But that's besides the point. I was told to remove them and I did. I will not send anybody the links so please don't ask. Support the bands by going to the shows and buying their music from them. Buy stickers and buttons and whatever else.

I also removed anything else I thought that anybody could still be making money off of.

This is not the end of Tone and Wave. I still have a few things left that I think I can post. After that I will call it quits. You will know when it's over.

The Blackpool's Skampilation vol.II

Live compilation from 1994.

1 Mobtown - Zoot Suit Samba
2 Mobtown - Ten
3 Mobtown - Comin' ta Get Cha
4 The Soulfuls - Monte Carlo
5 The Soulfuls - Chillum Pipe
6 The Soulfuls - Backslider
7 Buck-O-Nine - She's Fat
8 Buck-O-Nine - More than Your Eyes Can See
9 Buck-O-Nine - Junior
10 Mealticket - Brassman
11 Mealticket - Looking Glass
12 Mealticket - 98

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The Specs - Changes to the Few (link updated November 22, '08)

This is The Specs'(The original Specs from Riverside California) first recording from 1991. It was a cassette only release which I have never been able to find another original copy of since mine disappeared. Luckily I made a friend a copy of my original tape way back in the days and after all these years he still has it. The sound quality is terrible - there is a constant tape-hiss all the way through and almost every song warps or has tape fading but those of you who know this album should appreciate it nonetheless.
And, though I don't have the original tape I do still have the cover - the scans are included in the download with the lyrics and all.

1 Don't Change My Song
2 My Soles are Worn
3 Eliminator
4 Let Me Now
5 Rude Agents
6 Dance with Me
7 Problems Arise
8 Bush Clearing
9 Rudeboy Has to Skank
10 Cleopatra Skat

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The Targets - Unity Beat

In 1983 the Southern California band The Targets released this EP. The record and sleeve says very little about this band and, therefore, I know very little about them. This release was on a label called American Standard Records based in Torrance California - I can't find any info on them either.
The Targets sound is a little bit reminiscent of The English Beat with a bit of The Donkey Show and even a slight bit of Blondie. Not strictly ska but they fit perfectly in the 2 Tone era.

1 Don't Stop Now
2 The Perfect Guy
3 Searching for a Scene
4 Sax Man
5 Two Tone Mover
6 Unity Beat

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The Tigers - Savage Music (link updated April 21, 2009)

These are the same Tigers who did the song Ska Trekkin'. This is their only full length. It was released in 1980. They are not strictly a ska band - this is mostly a post punk album but there are five songs with a ska influence.

1 Promises Promises
2 Worlds to Conquer
3 Kidding Stops
4 Fall for You
5 True Confessions
6 Make-Up Girl
7 Savage Music
8 Gone Like You
9 Big Expense, Small Income
10 Sexual Blanks
11 Ice Cold in Fulham
12 Take it Like a Man
13 Jack it Up
14 Watch This Space

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The Puzzles 7"

This was released in 1980 before the full length. The song "Do the Puzzle" is the same version as on the album. The B-side "I'm Ill" is not on the full length.

side A - Do the Puzzle
side B - I'm Ill

(This single has been reposted with the full-length)

Ultra Rare Ska vol.1 - The Lost European Ska of the 2Tone Era (link updated on November 17, 2008)

This is a great comp that features 20 ska rarities but is quite a rarity itself. I can find very little info about it anywhere. Word around the campfire is that there were only 500 copies of this cd made. Is that true? I don't know. You tell me.

I have posted a few of these songs on Tone and Wave previously but they sound much better on here than my vinyl rips do. The version of Skavengers' "Party Girls" sounds great compared to the one I posted though the whole 7" is still available in it's authentic vinyl-crackling glory HERE. This comp also has Graduate's "Elvis Should Play Ska", The Employees' "Pick It Up", and The Mangy Dogs' "Itsy Bitsy"...all of their full 7"s are still available for download - if you don't have them yet get them before they're gone.

1 Boss - Rude Boys are Back in Town
2 Skarab - Babe Don't You Know the Ska?
3 Lou and the Hollywood Bananas - Hong Kong Ska
4 Skavengers - Party Girls
5 Graduate - Elvis Should Play Ska
6 Cairo - Movie Stars
7 Tigers - Ska Trekkin'
8 Vodska - L'espion Qui Venait Du Ska
9 Inner City Unit - Amyl Nitrate
10 Akrylykz - Ska'd for Life
11 The Skaooters - Summer Ska
12 The Plugs - Indoor Shopping Centre
13 The Mexicano - Trial by Television
14 The Employees - Pick It Up
15 The Army - Trendy
16 Rimshots - I Was Wrong
17 Gangsters - Wooly Bully
18 The Mangy Dogs - Itsy Bitsy
19 Alberto Camerini - Ska Tentati
20 Jamaican Survivors - Mafia Theme

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The T-Shirts - Walk on Water 7"

The T-Shirts were formed in Sweden in 1980. Their first release was a 6 song EP titled "Walk On Water" which also spawned this single. The song "Is It Gone" was not on the EP. They broke up in 1982 after releasing 4 more singles and a full-length called "Mr. Swing". Recordings after Walk On Water featured a female lead singer named Ylva-Li.

side A - Walk On Water
side B - Is It Gone?


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The Puzzles - Let's Have a Puzzle Party

Very rare album from this Dutch band from 1980. This is their only full length but they did release a 7" prior to this album which I will be posting in the next few weeks.

1 Do the Puzzle
2 (I Don't Like) Spiders
3 Talking Lady
4 Alibi
5 Alladinn
6 Heejoo
7 It's Puzzle Time Again
8 Silly Willy
9 Is that What You Want
10 Zombie v.s. Godzilla
11 Hahahaha
12 Dance Woman Dance

This album has been reposted with the single.

The Piranhas - The Piranhas

The Piranhas started in 1977 as a punk band in Brighton UK who are best known for the song Tom Hark which has been adopted as a popular chant by many football ('soccer' to us yanks) fans. (If you don't have the Play Kwela single that Tom Hark originally appeared on you can get it HERE.)In 1980 they recorded 3 singles and this album - their only full-length. They broke up in 1981 without any subsequent recordings.
Boring Bob Grover does have a current band called Dates that are certainly worth a listen.

1 Getting Beaten Up
2 Pleasure
3 Do You?
4 Saxophone
5 Love Game
6 Tom Hark
7 Tension
8 Fiddling While Babylon Burns
9 Green Don't Suit Me
10 Something
11 Coffee
12 I Don't Want My Body
13 Final Straw

DOWNLOAD

*A bit of trivia: The Piranhas had nothing to do with the re-recording of Tom Hark that is the most familiar version in Brighton today. That version was recorded in 2005 by a band calling themselves 'Seagulls Ska' - who were really members of
Too Many Crooks and Attila the Stockbroker. Money raised by the song went into building a new stadium for Brighton and Hove Albion F.C. whose nickname is 'The Seagulls'.

Klang - Beat It 7" (link updated April 21, 2009)

Here's another rare gem from 1980.

side A - Beat It
side B - The Things We Do For Love

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Reel Big Fish - Buy This! demo

Any blog about 3rd wave ska is bound to post this at some point...
No further comment.

1 Intro
2 I want Your Girlfriend to be My Girlfriend Too
3 Why do All Girls Think They're Fat?
4 Beer
5 I'll Never Be...

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The Sheds - demo

1 Fueled by your Sunshine
2 You Not Me
3 Surgery
4 Critical Moment
5 Only Way Out

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Monkey Business 7"

Monkey Business was a band from Seattle Washington in the early nineties. This 7" is from 1991 with a ska song on the a side with great sax playing, and a mod-rock b side that was noticeably influenced by the grunge sound from that time and place.

A - Mistakes
B - Keep on Walking

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Los Rudiments - Terror in the Heartland 7"

Do not download this 7-inch. You will not like it. Unless you know Los Rudiments and like them already it is unlikely that you will appreciate this rare Dill Records release from 1995.

1 Terror in the Heartland
2 Blow Out
3 Land Shark (originally by Fang in 1983)

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Skavengers The [LINK RENEWED Aug.13, 2010]

Skavengers The was a 3 piece ska/rock band that started in 1979 in southern England. This 7" is from 1980 and is their only recording. Though there were only a limited number of these records made they received a good amount of radio exposure both locally and on National Radio 1 through the interest of such people as John Peel and Mike Reed.

PETE CHRISTIE (guitar and vocals) and CHRIS HAINES (bass and backing vocals) continued playing after the departure of drummer Dave Parsons as Red Square with Martin Evans on drums. They moved to London in 1984 but despite good reviews and some great live performances they were unable to get a record deal and the band ended in 1985.


Pete Christie is still recording music but has opted for an acoustic guitar and a more laid back sound and he still enlists the talents of Martin Evans on occasion.
Chris Haines is also still playing with various bands and has recorded with Fringe Benefit, Lick the Tins, Yeah, and Foodbug.

"Party Girls" is one of my all time favorite songs but since the disc is so rare I have been able to find only one copy over the years which is not in the best shape. I have improved the sound the best I could but it is still a bad quality transfer. Chris Haines has a much better version on his Myspace.

A - Party Girls
B1 - Go to Pieces
B2 - Happy

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Ocean 11 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I am going to assume that anyone who comes to this site already knows who Ocean 11 is so I shant write a description.
I have taken it upon myself to include 4 extra tracks that were not originally on this album.

1 Housewive's Choice
2 Confucius
3 Solid as a Rock
4 Freedom Sounds
5 Rules of Life
6 From Russia with Love
7 Rock Steady
8 Let's Start Again
9 Song for My Father
10 Can't Forget About You
11 Rockfort Rock

.................................

12 Ska-Go-Mambo
13 Take it Cheazy
14 Night of the Dragon
15 Be Thankful
16 Hong Kong Low Rider
17 Stone Boat
18 Cairo East part II
19 Miss Understanding
20 Skagasm
21 Stop That Train
22 The Best of Love

DOWNLOAD PART 1

DOWNLOAD PART 2

Ak Band - Pink Slippers 7"

This is the Ak Bands first recording from 1980. They were a British power pop trio who played a lot of 2Tone inspired ska with no horn section or keys. The first song here Pink Slippers is an up-tempo song about receiving a bad Christmas gift and the other song Skegaway has more of a Police sound to it.

side A - Pink Slippers
side B - Skegaway

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Skiptooth - double feature

Skiptooth was from Moreno Valley (Riverside) California in the mid 90s and, if I'm not mistaken, was started by former members of The Specs. They had a unique mid-tempo rocksteady / traditional sound, but not quite 60s, more like mid 70s 'traditional' with a noticeable 3rd wave tinge.
This one download has both their 9 song cd "Cool Ska Cool", and their 4 song demo tape "Skiptown vol.1"

Cool Ska Cool
1 Pachuco
2 Cuban Cigar
3 My Turn
4 Otra Vez
5 Preacher Joseyah
6 Rum and Coke
7 El Detectivo

Skiptown vol.1
1 My Turn
2 Reggae Man
3 Taxi Driver
4 El Detectivo

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The Employees - Pick it Up / Toothpaste 7"

More rare ska from 1981.

side A - Pick it Up
side B - Toothpaste

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The Ska-Dows - Skas on 45

This very rare 7" features the Ska-Dows performing a medley of early 2Tone hits on one song including the Specials version of "Monkey Man", The Beat's "Rankin Fullstop", Madness' "One Step Beyond" and "Baggy Trousers", and more. This is one song that is not available on Ska-Dows anthology "Ska'd for Life".

side A - Skas on 45
side B - Rhapsody in Buh

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Code Blue - Burning Bridges 7"

Here's another example of non-ska bands that were inspired by the 2Tone sound. This one is by Code Blue - a new wave / power pop band from Britain. It was released in 1980 and although the B-side is not a ska song it is a different version than the one on their album thus making that a rare collectible itself. The A side reveals how this obscure band had a more promising future if they had been a ska band.

A - Burning Bridges
B - Where I Am

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The Braces - Blue Flame

Thanks to Mikeska for the updated link!!

The Braces were a German band from the mid-to-late 80s. They originally released only 2 albums - 1989's "Prime Cut" and this one from 1990. They stopped playing in 1991 after their manager took off with their contracts and all of their money.

In 2000 guitarist/vocalist Joachim Uerschels started writing songs again with saxophonist/vocalist Martin Storkmann and with them as the only 2 original members The Braces recorded a 3rd album "Ska Got Soul" in 1994.

The Braces - Blue Flame
1 Give Love a Chance
2 Suzy Says
3 Fifty Days
4 In the Dark
5 Don't be so Cruel to Me
6 Come and Go
7 Ska of Monstra
8 Jungle Party
9 Too True to be Good
10 Storming Out
11 Boys don't Cry
12 Happiness
13 Youthquake
14 Riding West
15 The Letter
16 No Reason
17 Julie Julie

(I know I need to re-up the link. Send me an e-mail if I haven't yet.)

Jack Kevorkian and the Suicide Machines - Green World demo

Very rare cassette-only release from the early incarnation of The Suicide Machines. This cassette was limited to only 300 copies in 1994 - even before the Skank for Brains split with Los Rudiments. The epitome of 3rd wave ska-punk.

1 Skachoo!
2 Everyday Life
3 Prefab People
4 Green World
5 With Sunshine
6 Inside / Outside
7 The Golfing Song
8 Vans' Song
9 Drunken Jocks
10 Ugly Place
11 Snot Rag
12 Post Office Death Squad
13 Friends are Hard to Find

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Sax Maniax - Never Gonna Lose Me 7"

Rare ska from 1981.

A - Never Gonna Lose Me
B - Let's Twist Again

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The Akrylykz 7" (link updated Dec. 23, 2008)

The Akrylykz were a band from the 2Tone era from Yorkshire. Their vocalist and tenor sax player Roland Gift who was chosen by Andy Cox and David Steele (of The English Beat) to be the lead singer of their new band Fine Young Cannibals.
This vinyl from 1980 is inscribed with the words "Eat your heart out 2Tone"

A - Smart Boy
B - Spyderman

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The Piranhas - Play Kwela!

This 7" was released in 1980 and had the hit song "Tom Hark" which has recently become popular with British football fans. The song was originally recorded in 1953 by a band called Elias and His Zig Zag Jive Flutes and was based on the traditional South African folk music called kwela. Read more HERE.

1 Tom Hark
2 Getting Beaten Up
3 Boyfriend

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The Riffs - Who Wants It? (link updated May 25, 2009)

This is the Riffs' first full length from 1989. Keyboard and horn driven 2Tone sound.
I have also included the rare "Funny Little Fella" 7" in this download.
Check out their official site, or their Myspace.

Who Wants It?

1 Monday Morning
2 Spanish Lady
3 Safe and Sound
4 Darling
5 One Egg (Neville's Breakfast)
6 These Things
7 Dirty Bum
8 Don't Talk to Me
9 Peter Gunn
10 Blind Date

Funny Little Fella

(Thanks to Parker Jacobs for this image!!)

A Funny Little Fella
B Maybe Next Time


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I Jog & the Tracksuits - Red Box / Worrying Man 7" (link updated December 10, 2010)

The only information I found about this band was on THIS site. From what I understand I Jog & the Tracksuits only ever released 2 singles in their entire career. They were not a ska band but the B side of this single has the early 80s 'reggae' influence.
Not necessarily a must for ska fans, but an interesting tune that should appeal to fans of rare 80s music.

side A Red Box
side B Worrying Man

http://www.mediafire.com/?ro429vewtd65iz4

Dave's Big Deluxe - Sounds from the Credenza

Straight forward up-tempo 2Tone sounds from this Tucson Arizona band from 1995.
Download includes full cd scans.
Also get their 5 song live E.P. "Live at the University High Prom" HERE.

1 Murder Ska
2 Old Pueblo Ska
3 Be That Kind
4 ...Other Delights
5 Credenza Style Hi-Fi
6 To Build a Fire
7 Artebella
8 Say Goodbye to Me
9 Tagger
10 Fat
11 Say Goodbye...(Puss Boy Cry Baby Edit.)

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The Deltones [LINK UPDATED 09/11/2016]

Nana Choc Choc in Paris 
1 Scream Jean
2 Don't Fall in Love
3 Show Off
4 Saturday
5 It's Benn a Long Time...Helen
6 Big Trouble
7 Make Me Smile
8 Everytime
9 Oddball Boy
10 Stay Where You Are
11 Lemon Squeezy

Stay Where You Are 7"
A - Stay Where You Are
B - Lemon Squeezy

Make Me Smile 7"
1 Make Me Smile
2 Patricia Hamilton
3 Running Around



DOWNLOAD THE LP AND BOTH SINGLES