Lebanon - Just Another Spliff 7'' (1987)

This is the only release from this German band whose members later formed the band Datashock for some reason. I am only presuming that this was released in 1987 but nobody really knows.

It's not ska in the purest sense but it is ska enough that it belongs in this blog.

You can hear "Just Another Spliff" HERE.

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

The Silence - Return of the Rude Boys (1985)

Remember in the late 90s/early 2000s when so many underground bands were naming themselves with the word "ska" as pun in their names? They used "Rude" and "Skank" in their song titles and everything they wore and owned had the black and white checkers but the actual ska beat was notably missing from their music.

This band pre-dates all of those bands by at least a generation.

Look at this cover. Look at the title. Look at the phrase "Give Me Some Ska". This has to be a ska band right? But it isn't.
You can tell that they are aiming for a ska beat but they really need some practice. The sound is very raw and amateur but there is something charming about their music, especially "The Boss Song".

This band was from Stoke. They recorded this demo at Star Trax Studios in October 1985.
The band consisted of
Dave (vocals/harmonica)
Benny (lead guitar)
Joker (bass/maracas)
Nick (drums/percussion)

Their debut show was at Chesterfield with The Threads in January 1986.

1 Dancing Thru' the 80's
2 James Bond
3 Stood Up
4 The Boss Song


DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

Bumble & the Beez

Bumble & the Beez was a German band that was started by two members of Headline. They were not a ska band but there was a bit of the ska sound left over from their days in Headline. In 2009 Marco on the Bass interviewed Winston Blisset who briefly mentioned why he left Headline to form Bumble & the Beez. Read the interview HERE.

Bumble & the Beez - Fools 7" (1981)
A - Fools
B - Working Class

Bumble & the Beez - My Life 7" (1982)
A - My Life
B - Signing On

Bumble & the Beez - The Room Above 7" (1982)
A - The Room Above
B - Blowsing

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

Belly Button and the Knockwells - demo tape (1988)

Just like the last post, this is strictly mod music. Not a second of ska anywhere on this tape. But don't worry - I am not moving in that direction. I am running out of quality ska music but there is still lots that I haven't posted yet. I have posted some mod stuff in the past. It's allowed.

As I'm sure you know Belly Button and the Knockwells' first actual release was for their ska song "I Left the Army". The B-side of that single is "When She's Around" which appears on this tape but it's a much different version. There are six songs on this demo and "When She's Around" is the only one that was released later.

1 You're a Liar
2 When She's Around
3 Fresh
4 I Want Up
5 How Much I Love You
6 My Babe

"My Babe" is, of course, a cover of the Little Walter classic.

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

The Bank - Shape Up 7" (1981)

I know absolutely nothing about this band. I don't know where they were from or if they released anything else.

In the last couple of decades I have only ever seen this for sale twice.
It's not quite ska. It's female-fronted new wave with a ska aftertaste but I think most of us like this sort of thing, right?

A - Shape Up
B - Turn Around

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

Not Quite Ska - part 2

 Some more records (and cassette) I bought thinking they were ska.

First is Prudence Dredge. A straightforward rock-n-roll band from Seattle who named themselves after a children's book about potty training. At one point Craig Ferguson played bass for them.

Unrelated to this post Craig Ferguson was also a drummer for a punk band called The Dreamboys in which Peter Capaldi was the front man. Craig Ferguson had Peter Capaldi on his show and Peter mentioned the band and said they were terrible.
They released one 3-song single including a cover of Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead"but Craig Ferguson did not play on the recordings:



Prudence Dredge had a sax player and a trombone player and they released two albums and two singles. Not a ska beat anywhere in their recordings and, yet, they are often sold as ska just because they have horns.

Don't Stomp Away 7" (1985)

Big Ellen (1986)

Detroit Rock City 7" (1987)

Special Shovel (1989)

DOWNLOAD "DON'T STOMP AWAY" & "BIG ELLEN"


DOWNLOAD "DETROIT ROCK CITY" & "SPECIAL SHOVEL"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Among The Donkeys - Love Bed 7" (1984)

 This was sold on eBay as a ska record. It's 80s pop-rock with prominent saxophone with no semblance of ska at all but it's pretty good and it only cost me 3 dollars. The band was Swedish and I don't know of any other recordings they ever did.

DOWNLOAD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Buffer Zone - Buffer Zone (1990)

I'm assuming this is a demo tape. I can't find anything at all about the band (but I honestly didn't look hard at all). This was also sold on eBay as "ska". The band does have a horn section and they give thanks to Jah in the liner notes but that's about where it ends. This is one of those long-hair funk/metal bands that were popular around the early 90s. I'm not really a big fan of that sound so I was quite disappointed with this purchase. If nothing else, it is rare.

1 Oatmeal Days
2 Sick
3 Realities
4 I Explore the Soul
5 Slave to Cool
6 Hitchiking to Heaven
7 Pagan Prayer
8 You Gotta be Strong

DOWNLOAD


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diversion Factor

Diversion Factor - Information 7" (1987)
A - Information
B - Going Home

Diversion Factor - Scenario 6 (1987)
1 Quick Fix
2 Scenario 6
3 Animal Friction
4 Break Down
5 Better Life
6 Heartbeat
7 Come With Me

Diversion Factor - Sold Away 7" (1988)
A - Sold Away
B - Reflexive

Discogs had all three of these records labeled as 'ska' but the only ska song is "Better Life" from Scenario 6. They were actually described as sounding like The Animals more than anything else.

DOWNLOAD ALL THREE DIVERSION FACTOR RECORDS


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Les Leopards - Hula Hoop Oup 7" (1981)

A - Hula Hoop Oup
B - Agent Secret

This is a French band that I know nothing about. This single may be the only thing they released and I was after this record for many years because it was always called 'ska' but guess what?

DOWNLOAD LES LEOPARDS

Not Quite Ska - Part 1

Quite often I find a lot of music on eBay, Discogs, and other online sellers that is sold as "ska" which isn't ska. I have been disappointed so many times by buying things blindly that you would assume I would learn my lesson at some point and only buy things that I hear first, but I keep falling for it. There are a couple reasons for this - firstly, when I go to record shops, conventions, thrift stores, etc. I take way more chances on things than I do when I buy online and I have struck gold too many times that I see no need to to change my ways. Secondly, I listen to lots of different types of music (we all do, I know) so, even though it may not be what I'm looking for, it might still be good.

Here are a few things I bought thinking they were ska but they aren't - but they're still pretty good.


Drive-Ins - Movie Girls (1985)

I'm posting this one because I get requests for it - a lot of requests. It's labeled as ska on Discogs but it's not ska at all. It's upbeat new wave/rock with lots of keyboard, distorted 80s guitar, and a bit of saxophone here and there. The closest it comes to ska might be the title track "Movie Girls", or maybe the song "Get the Message". But it is very rare so you might want to download it for that reason alone.

1 Just Respondin'
2 Don't Kiss My Face
3 Movie Girls
4 You're so Independent
5 Life ain't no Day on the Beach
6 Busy Signal
7 Sylvia
8 Secret Sessions
9 Echoes of War
10 Get the Message


DOWNLOAD DRIVE-INS - MOVIE GIRLS


Grunwaldt & Bley - Shout it Loud 12" (1987) 

I knew this one wasn't ska before I bought it because there is an edited video for the song. How do you not like that energy?



A - Shout it Loud
B - Sing es Laut


Alleybirds - Habasit 7" (1981)

This one was on my wishlist for years because it was sold on eBay as a ska record. I think this was only due to the title of the b-side which is neither ska nor reggae. I quite like the a-side though.

A - Habasit
B - Reggae Music




DOWNLOAD GRUNWALDT & BLEY 12", & ALLEYBIRDS 7"

Buddy System - Sad Story 7" (1983)

I am not a fan of Buddy System. They had a hard rock look with a soft rock sound and all of their music was incredibly 80s. They wanted to impress Cyndi Lauper's, Poison's, and Bonnie Raitt's fans all at the same time. They were radio-friendly enough to the point of being bland.
Now, after slandering their good name (I know they have a fan base that wouldn't tolerate my comments all that well), I have to admit that I absolutely love their first record. Both sides are great. It doesn't sound like their other releases. Both songs are a little more heartfelt and there is a slight-but-noticeable ska influence in the rhythms of both songs. I heard samples of both songs before I bought this one and I sat on it too long so somebody else bought it. It took me years to find another copy and the small sample ate at me for those years.
Some of the other stuff in this post is just okay. This is one of my favorite records ever.

I have included their self-titled record and the "Go Back to Hollywood" single so you can compare it to this release.

A - Sad Story
B - Lonesome Cowboy

DOWNLOAD THE BUDDY SYSTEM