Madness - Patches flexi 7" (1980)

This is a flexi that was included in an issue of Patches Magazine in 1980. It's Madness talking about their upcoming album "Absolutely". It starts out with the guys singing Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me" acapella then they play a few seconds of instrumental versions of "Close Escape" and "Solid Gone".

My copy here looks okay but it sounds pretty bad. That's a flexi for you. A much better version of the guys singing "Release Me" was included on the anthology  "The Business (The Definitive Singles Collection) that was released in 1993. The other two fragments were not included in the collection and are only available on this release.

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

Royal Crown Revue - Hey Santa!!! single (1992)

I tried posting swing music on my other blog but it wasn't well received. I guess there's no real place for it but it makes more sense to post it on a ska blog rather than on a punk/new wave blog so here we are.
The song "Hey Santa" was later re-recorded but this is the original and, in my opinion, much better version.
The b-side is only available on this single. It's a joke that only works the first time you hear it.

I love this single and I hope at least one other person out there appreciates it.


1  Hey Santa!!! (I'm not Sharin' My Baby this Xmas)
2 The Gift

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

The Gangsters [Australia] - Mood to be Rude 7" (198?)

This is upsetting. I have only ever seen one copy of this. I sold it to somebody and they returned it because it arrived in several jagged pieces. As rare as it was, there is now one less copy than before thanks to the US Postal Service.

Look at this. Can you believe this shit? On a few occasions I have received records in this condition and somehow it's always the really rare stuff.

A - Mood to be Rude
B - Tell the Truth

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

Ballistics - Gun Rush 7'' (1983)

This is a square double-sided flexi and it's indescribably rare. I could emphasize how rare it is by repeating the words "super super" or using the terms "ultra" or "mega".
The band was from New Orleans and they released two records that I'm aware of but I heard from somebody who knows this kid who heard from a guy that they recorded more than that. I'm not sure and I don't actually care.
I heard the song "Gun Rush" many years ago and had to track this record down. It is rare 2Tone style ska. The other songs on the record aren't ska except for "The Line" which is definitely ska-influenced. The other songs are surf / skronk / no-wave and I've heard that their other record is along these lines with no ska at all so I'm not really willing to pay the price their other record commands unless I hear it first.

Listen to this song "Gun Rush" and tell me you wouldn't try to hunt this thing down yourself.
Download it. Save it. It will likely be the only time in your life you will hear of this record. No matter how many copies they made, flexies don't survive very long. I got real lucky finding it in the condition I did.

1 Gun Rush
2 Surfin' Communist Guerillas
3 Naugahyde
4 The Line

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

Ska Blazers - Jackpot! (1997)

Third wave ska-punk from Philadelphia. I posted their 7" many years ago. I included it in this download for those of you who missed it the first time around. This CD has not been posted before.

1 Pinball
2 Kickstart
3 Suki Suki
4 Spy
5 Mystery Machine
6 Fool's Fate
7 When in Rome
8 Skankenstein

A - Gringo
B1 - Macheesmo
B2 - Skankenstein

(The two versions of Skankenstein are very different)

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

Red Stripe - Reggae 12" EP (1985)

Female-fronted poppy ska/reggae from New York.

A1 - Ambitious
A2 - Perspective
B1 - Never Know
B2 - Ambitious DUB

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

The Connotations - CBGB Recorded Live Off the Board (1986)

1 You are the Ketchup in My Coffee
2 The Confidants
3 Not What I'm Dreaming
4 I do Not Think I Would Have Some Fun
5 Orange is a Good Color for Love
6 Soldier Boy
7 I Was Riding Riding
8 Gentrification Skank

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

Kuby - More Ego 7" (1981)

Kubie was a moderately successful glam rock / pub rock artist who put out a couple of albums in the 70s.
I'm guessing he tried to re-invent himself with this release. He even changed the spelling of his name from "Kubie" to "Kuby" for this one (even though it's spelled "Kubie" on the record itself).
He really changed his sound. The b-side is the same old pub rock that you would expect from him but the a-side is an impressive 2 Tone style ska classic.

A - More Ego
B - The Little Ships

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

Man Without Future - Over Your Shoulder 7" (1986)

This band was from Basel, Switzerland. They played post-punk with a heavy ska influence. This is their only release but both of the recordings on this single appeared on a compilation called "What's Happening" which also has two other songs by Man Without Future, one of which is also a ska song.
I do have the cassette and I'll try and post it soon.

A - Over Your Shoulder
B - Well, Listen to Me

DOWNLOAD from MEGA
[LINK FIXED DECEMBER 15th, 2019]

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare