Bottle to the Baby ~ Rockabilly Ska

Bottle to the Baby were a rockabilly band from Holland. I don't know much about them but I know they released 2 7" EPs in the early 90s and each one had a ska song on it.
They ain't easy to come by and when you do see them, they ain't cheap.

I like a bit of rockabilly every now and then. I was going to post just the ska songs but I figure that some of you might appreciate all of the songs so here you go:

Bottle to the Baby - Can You Fix It EP (1994)
A1 - Can You Fix It?
A2 - Oriental Chick
B1 - She Don't Like Me
B2 - With You I'm Better Off

"She Don't Like Me"

Bottle to the Baby - Mean Woman Ska (1993)
A1 - Mean Woman Ska
A2 - Rockabilly Baby
B1 - Baby, Please
B2 - I'm Out

"Mean Woman Ska"

DOWNLOAD both Bottle to the Baby EPs

There have been several rockabilly bands that have done the one-off ska song. Some are really good - some...not very good.
I didn't plan on doing a rockabilly-ska post so I just threw some songs together. If you can think of any others, please let me know.
Here's a collection of 15 songs - 6 are by The Peacocks but there are others:
Toini and the Tomcats have a couple, Devil Doll, The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, The Big 6, and even the HorrorPops did a ska-inspired song

DOWNLOAD Rockabilly-Ska compilation

Z - Legalize Erdbeereis 7" (1980)

This German band released one full length in 1980 called In Berlin. They released two singles and an EP but this is their only ska song. It was their most successful. It might have something to do with this guy:

A - Legalize Erdbeereis
B - Big Blue Cadillac

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Erdbeereis translates to strawberries but it's a metaphor for marijuana. I don't think strawberries were ever illegal in any European country.

Roaring Lion - Sacred 78s [REPOST]

Here's some classic calypso for you. I know this isn't the regular T&W sort of thing but I love this stuff and it isn't available anywhere else on the internet.

Before there was Mighty Sparrow there was Rafael de Leon - better known as Roaring Lion. In the late 70s his music was bastardized with the newly uprising dancehall sound (see Papa Chunks) but his early compositions were superior to anything he did later or anything his contemporaries did in the 50s.

The song Ugly Woman was the inspiration for the 1963 Jimmy Soul classic "If You Wanna be Happy" which, ironically, was the basis for the Skatalites version of the song.


1 Miss Tina
2 Rhumba Dance
3 Concertina
4 Love Thy Neighbor
5 I am Going to Buy a Bungalow
6 Wash Your Hands
7 Suzi Q
8 The Blue Tail Fly
9 Royal Tour
10 Cheek to Cheek
11 Charming Trinidad
12 Weather Man
13 Bananas
14 I ain't Gonna do it no More
15 Bamsee Lambay
16 J'ouvert Barrio
17 Mary Ann
18 It Wouldn't Work
19 Advantage Mossolino
20 Money Money
21 Ugly Woman
22 Ba Boo La La
23 I Can Make More Love Than Romeo
24 Some Girl Something
25 Netty Netty

"Rhumba Dance"

"Weather Man"


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The Applicators - Looking for Me 7" (1982)

UK reggae/rock. As rare as this record is (500 pressed) it's not hard to find a copy. There's not really any information online about it except THIS.
It's a forum where somebody asked if anybody has ever made a record. Someone with the user name Harry Lime responded "One single in 1983 for The Applicators on DTA records, "You are the One". Sold 500, spent the money on beer. We used to give kids cigarettes to go in the record shops and ask for the record, then we used to go in and sell them some and then bugger off!"

A - You are the One
AA - Looking for Me

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Digital Dinosaurs - Don't Call Us 7" (1981)

This is a strange piece of ska history.
This is no band. The band members are the "the kids from the Bryn Alyn community" from the North Wales .
Bryn Alyn was a home for disadvantaged and handicapped boys and girls.

The songwriter here was a man Arwyn Thomas who was not caught up in all the physical and sexual abuse and forced abortions that shut down the centre in 1997. (see HERE and HERE).

There is more to this story but this blog is only here for rare ska music - not controversy. So here you go...a fairly decent ska record recorded by some people at some point in time.

A - Don't Call Us
B - Orders from the C.O.

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Ska City Rockers

This is sort of a re-post. I have previously posted the Time is Tight 7" and the Forty Miles of Bad Road 7" HERE.
This download includes both of those but it also includes the b-side of the Time is Tight 12". Three songs that were never available on this blog before. This is a re-post deluxe.

Time is Tight 12"
B1 - In the Midnight Hour
B2 - Barefootin'
B3 - I Can't Turn You Loose

"In the Midnight Hour"
 

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[My record is in terrible condition. I am posting the A sides that were previously posted that were taken from the 100% British Ska compilation because those are in much better quality and it took me forever to get an acceptable version of the B-sides.]

The Army [Repost]

These were posted previously on Tone and Wave but the sound quality wasn't great. They have been re-ripped and the sound quality is a bit better.

The Army Shuffle Shuffle 7" (1980)
A - Shuffle Shuffle
B - Trendy

The Army - Kick it Down 7" (1981)
A - Kick it Down
B - Mr. Average

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Bahama Mama - Future Fear 7" (1979)

...by request
Their second single was posted HERE.
This download includes both singles.

A - Future Fear
B - Hurricane

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