Bigger Thomas - m'boy y'know (1992)

The "lost" Bigger Thomas cassette EP from 1992.
Read the story behind the music in Marco's own words.

01 I Can't Remember My Name
02 (That's Not What I) Mento
03 It's Been Done
04 I Live at Home
05 King for a Day
06 Sugar Sugar

"It's Been Done"


http://www.mediafire.com/?w8aw9bujbo90cc7

004 - State of Affairs: 1980-1983 [LINKS UPDATED NOVEMBER 18, 2018]

004 (pronounced "Double-O Four") was from Utah and they were known for playing the ON Klub every now and then. Their drummer later went on to play with 4 Non Blondes before her tragic death in 1997.

1 Second Thoughts
2 Ready For Love
3 Dance Dance Dance
4 World of Concern
5 Evil Minds
6 Passionate Touching
7 Limited War
8 In Trouble (With Love)
9 Public Services
10 Kind Love
11 Dance Together
12 War in America
13 Dance Trance (from live KUED PMN PBS video)
14 World of Concern (Dub-Worldmix)
15 Public Services (Public-Dub version)
16 Brite Lite (Motor Home Mix Dub)
17 Let Me Be (rapid Transit version)

DOWNLOAD FROM MEGA

DOWNLOAD FROM ZIPPYSHARE

Rhythm Riot 12'' (1987)

I've put this off for a while because I was hoping to tie up some loose ends. I know that the lead vocalist for Rhythm Riot - Andy Spalaris - was in an earlier San Francisco area ska band before this band. I know they had a female vocalist and they played more upbeat than Rhythm Riot. They had a name along the lines of "The Rudies" or maybe something with "Pressure" in the name. You know, something absolutely ska sounding.
The internet is stingy about the information regarding this band. I hope one of you dear Tone and Wavers out there have some clue.

(David Snyder who plays guitar on one song on this record may have been a full fledged member of the other band)(...oh, and the lead singer was a black woman who only had one name...like Sade or Madonna)

Anyway...this is a nice bit of 80s pop reggae from California. The band is pretty much a duo consisting of the aforementioned Andy Spalaris and bassist Otto Waldorf with over a dozen guest musicians including William Gregory who played sax with Tears for Fears.

A1 Keep the Spirit
A2 Washed Away
B1 Dynamite
B2 It Gets Cold
B3 Warning

"Keep the Spirit"


"Washed Away"


http://www.mediafire.com/?9xxv6ctn9i0d9t5

Matt Bianco - Get Put of Your Lazy Bed 7'' (1983)

Matt Bianco is the name of the band. There is nobody in the band named Matt. They were from Britain and they released a lot of music in the 80s and 90s but most of what they did sounds more like Ricky Marin than this. This song was on their first album "Whose Side are You on?" from 1984. There was another song on that album called "Sneaking Out the Back Door" that was along the lines of "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" which I included .
Back up vocals were provided by Polish pop star Basia. She was a member of Matt Bianco before she went off on her own. She released her first album called "Time and Tide" in 1987 and it contained a song called "How Dare You" that had a sound reminiscent of these early Matt Bianco tunes. I have included that in this download as well.



A - Get Out of Your Lazy Bed
B - Big Rosie
* Matt Bianco - Sneaking Out the Back Door
* Basia - How Dare You


http://www.mediafire.com/?c41m00c5v66jw1s

The Opposition - This Year 7" (1981)

A - This Year

B - Punishment of Luxury





http://www.mediafire.com/?v932ki3sx7xpis3

(was first posted as WMAs...the download has been changed to MP3s by popular demand)

Radical Kick - Satsa På Dej Själv 7'' (1981)

Another impossible-to-find ska record from the 2 Tone era from this female fronted Swedish band.

Yet another great submission from Rikard.
Tack så mycket Rikard!!

A1 Satsa På Dej Själv
A2 Avfall
B1 Stadens Ljus

"Satsa På Dej Själv"



http://www.mediafire.com/?ru8m7j2x2ysxx4u

.

No Cash Value (1999) [REPOST]

Southern California 3-piece white reggae band.


1 Hideout
2 Fugitive
3 Money Hungry Fool
4 Zion Lion
5 White Trash
6 Real Good Lovin'
7 34
8 Underground
9 Psychedelic Sun
10 Rasta Ride
11 Reggae Fiend
12 Troubled Youth

"Fugitive"


"Real Good Lovin'"


"Money Hungry Fool"


http://www.mediafire.com/?ag038yy4vcgpazh

Sensible Shoes - Indicate Your Love 7" (1981)

A - Indicate Your Love

B - Action Movie


http://www.mediafire.com/?r5degcl39dt65sg

Skank-A-Tiers - 1997 demo tape

Female-fronted third wave from Southern California. For fans of Save Ferris or Low Pressure.

Thanks to Justin for this submission!!

1 Sunny the Gangster
2 The Car Song
3 Unglued
4 Mouse Trap

"Sunny the Gangster"



http://www.mediafire.com/?yh60xietzb5u7fd

Scraptown

Scraptown was a very successful Reggae/Pop/Rock combo in the early 80's in Greece. They'd play every Pub and had released three albums, of which "Give me a break" was the most successful one.

Songs like "Viva Sahara" became number one in Greece and gained huge radio play in Italy and France, as well as in other southern European countries.

Scraptown (1982)
1 Execution
2 News

3 Third World
4 Never Miss Twice
5 Underground Attack
6 GTS
7 Dismissed
8 Linda
9 Sometimes

10 Bookoo Funk

DOWNLOAD "SCRAPTOWN"

Rules of the Game (1983)
1 Loverboy in Hollywood

2 Don't Wanna Join the Army
3 Boys and Girls
4 Taxman Ratman
5 Some of My Thoughts
6 Rules of the Game
7 Jumbo Sale

8 We're Still Alive
9 Nights of Fear

DOWNLOAD "RULES OF THE GAME"

Give Me a Break (1985)
1 Give Me a Break

2 Cinderella

3 Dynamite
4 Leaving You
5 Viva Sahara
6 Face to Face
7 Alladin
8 Sanava
9 We've Got this Night
10 Hurry Up
11 Sunday



DOWNLOAD "GIVE ME A BREAK"

Viva Sahara single (1987)
A - Viva Sahara (12" version)
B1 - Viva Sahara (dub version)
B2 - Viva Sahara (7" version)

DOWNLOAD "VIVA SAHARA" SINGLE

Les Frelons - Tous les Matins 7" (1989)

Les Frelons' first release. Thanks to Tomas for this submission!!

A - Tous les Matins
B - Rock Rudy Steady

http://www.mediafire.com/?b4m117xt9kxc5f4

Mek Pek Party Band - Ska Beat 7" (1982)

...from discogs:
"Danish ska-band fronted by the dynamic vocalist and trumpet player Mek Pek and the first to introduce the ska style in Denmark. The original Mek Pek Partyband was only active 1982 and 1983, while Mek Pek has used the name for his bands later on in the 90's."
They had a couple more singles and a self titled full length also released in 1982

here they are performing Ska Beat in 2011: (starts at 2:20)


A - Ska Beat
B - Hvorfor Så?

http://www.mediafire.com/?a9o74pn48y6j6b8

Thanks to Rikard for this submission!!

I GOT HACKED!!

If you get an eMail from me DO NOT OPEN IT. I haven't emailed anything to anybody. I don't know what it is. I got 63 emails today from you guys. I'm sorry if it was a virus. I really don't know how it happened. Sorry

Clive Pig and the Hopeful Chinamen - Happy Birthday Sweet 16 7" (1979)

Punk-reggae from this British band.

Clive Pig was an acoustic guitar storyteller/poet that meshed in nicely with the late 70s punk scene. He released lots of good material with different bands. This particular record is not hard to find.

Even if you're not a big fan of punk-reggae this one's a good one. It will grow on you.



A - Happy Birthday Sweet 16
B - Our Movement

http://www.mediafire.com/?p1vjz4ahk14wi8h

Public Service?! - Somebody Scream! (1990)

The ultra rare impossible-to-find cassette only first release from Philadelphia's Public Service?! from 1990. This is the one that is notorious for being a Moon Ska Records release but there's no mention anywhere on the tape or inlay card of Moon Records. They did put a sticker on the shrink-wrap (seen HERE)It could be said this is not an actual Moon release because they did not produce it, they only distributed it but it did have a Moon catalogue number MR-026cs.

Anyway...this is rare stuff, and they say their main inspiration is Fishbone and it's noticeable.



A1 Rude Awakening
A2 Salt + Pepper
A3 Matter of Time
A4 Dine and Dash
B1 The Question
B2 Too Much Violence
B3 Bad Nite in Philly
B4 Tube Fried

"Rude Awakening"

"Bad Nite in Philly"


http://www.mediafire.com/?qkq1hjl0jhkkk87

Spy Eye - 1989 demo cassette

These are the guys who released the album "Hot Pursuits" on Unicorn Records. You probably know them for the song Brand New Beat from the first "Skankin' 'Round the World" compilation. That song came from this demo.
It wasn't the best song on there:

"Me and My Shadow"

"These Boots are Made for Walkin'"


A1 - Brand New Beat
A2 - Rude Boys
A3 - Me and My Shadow
B1 - These Boots Were Made for Walkin'
B2 - Reminds Me of Cairo
B3 - I Hate You

http://www.mediafire.com/?rpl5p89qtxtcn0l


(there is a cover to this tape. I have the cover - I just can't find it right now. That's what kept me from posting it for so long. Do you care though? The music's great isn't it? I'll post the cover when I find it)

3rd wave California ska flyers

Here's a nice collection of lost and forgotten ska flyers from Southern California from the days when 3rd wave dominated the scene.



Less Than Jake, The Hippos, Reel Big Fish, My Superhero, Low Pressure...they're all here...



These were contributed by Justin - a man who did what we all can only wish we did. He kept his flyers. Thank you Justin.
I know I had some great ska and punk flyers that I kick myself in the ass for not keeping. Do you have yours?


You don't have to love the third wave to appreciate these historical documents:
http://www.mediafire.com/?jfb1rgz1iehqddg

The Ska-Dows - Skas on 45 7'' (1981)

You know this one. You like this one. Where's your copy of this one?
Until you find yours, listen to this one.

(Thanks to Bruce!! These are not only his rips - which sound better than my own - but he included the scans from all of the different releases in the download.)

A - Skas on 45
B - Rhapsody in Buh

http://www.mediafire.com/?1u755psb91138nd

Tara - Ska Man 7" (1980)

A - Ska Man

B - Here I Am



http://www.mediafire.com/?1c34ci6yjqu8o31

Sunshine - Double Dealin' 7" (1981)

Ultra rare ska!
I have looked for this damn record for years and finally - here it is. Not a bad tune either.
These guys were from Ireland and they had some other non-ska releases. This one here may have been their final record.
Trombone on this one was provided by John Trotter of the Plattermen.

They had a minor hit in 1964 with a soul cover of Perry Como's "Catch a Falling Star" (The b-side to that is a song called "Only Friends")
They tried their hand at disco in 1979 with "Boogie on Up / Don't Stop Me" 7"
and they had a couple more singles I know nothing about: "Love Me Love Me Do" and "Dance with Me"
Keep in mind I've never heard any of their other music and they barely exist anywhere on the internet so my descriptions of their other releases may be dead wrong.

A - Double Dealin'
B - Double Dealin' (instrumental)


http://www.mediafire.com/?kp5hl1h3liy706j

Fehlfarben - Große Liebe 7" (1980)

Like so many other bands the German post-punk band Fehlfarben started out playing ska. This is their first release. It was recorded in 1979 and released in 1980.
I'm not positive, but I don't think they ever attempted ska again.



http://www.mediafire.com/?c42upn4uyoozbpu

Their first album Monarchie und Alltag cand be found HERE

Marcia Griffiths - Carousel (1990)

1 Electric Boogie
2 Do Unto Others
3 Groovin'
4 All Over the World
5 Carousel
6 Sugar Shack
7 The One Who Really Loves You
8 Money in the Bank
9 Electric Boogie (dub mix)

"Carousel"



http://www.mediafire.com/?58f828owe780ux3

New Released - The Worker 7" (198?)

These guys were Dutch and this was released on Don Quixote Records. It seems the real push for the record was for the song No Promises. The Worker should have been a B-side but it was better than No Promises so they released it as a double A-side. Anything else I can't tell you. I used to have it written down somewhere what year this was released but I can't find my notes. If I have to hazard a guess I'll say either '81 or '82. Don't quote me in that.

A - No Promises
A - The Worker


http://www.mediafire.com/?8dn1474nnevvh04

Crazy 8s - Law and Order (1983)

Okay, read THIS.
They have released other albums which aren't hard to find (SEE)

The cover here is for the original release from 1983 but the download is for the re-release so it's in better quality and has more tracks.

1 Law and Order
2 Johnny Q
3 Count Your Money
4 Rude Boys Don't Win
5 Fine Tunin'
6 Don't You Really Want to Know
7 Johnny Q
8 Law and Order
9 Count Your Money
10 Rude Boys Don't Win
11 Fine Tunin'
12 Don't You Really Want to Know
13 Ridin' Down the Campaign Trail
14 (untitled)

"Don't You Really Want to Know?"

"Law and Order"

...and a great performance of "Fine Tunin'" from 1985


http://www.mediafire.com/?achbtv6w1htw114

Spy Kids 1991 demo tape

One of San Diego's finest ska bands.
...and don't let their appearance fool you. This is not ska-punk. This is female-fronted 2Tone sounds done right.

1 Carousel
2 Cheeto
3 Covert Action
4 Today's News

"Covert Action"

"Carousel"


http://www.mediafire.com/?dcl1z2pqwb9xf18

The Train Spotters - Unfaithful 7'' (1979)

Everything I could say about these guys was already said HERE

A - Unfaithful

B - Hiring the Hall

http://www.mediafire.com/?9yo5zhgy5yxk0bn

Earth and Fire - Weekend 7'' (1979)

I have so many of these songs by non-ska bands that are worth knowing about and maybe worth hearing once or twice, but really they aren't good music. Just a bunch of bands that either used to be famous and they saw their audiences disappearing or bands who were never famous in the first place and they thought they could grab some attention by playing ska-type-stuff and then impress their new listeners with their real sound later. I don't think it worked for anybody in the end. Either the crowd was disappointed when they went to the show and heard what the band really sounded like, or the one ska/reggae song the band did was a throwaway song from their original set and they just threw an upstroke into it.
There are a lot of terrible songs that came from this era and this line of thinking and I was going to do one big blog-post called Bad Pop does Bad Ska...or something equally as clever.
This is one of the songs I was going to include in that post but in the last week this song has really grown on me.
I'm still going to do that post and you'll see that this really is a superior product compared to some of the other shit that's out there.

Earth and Fire were a 70s rock band from the Netherlands who had a number of releases between 1970 and 1990. This is their only attempt at a ska/reggae song and it was their biggest hit ever. So big that it even got them attention outside of the Netherlands. It was number 1 in Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Portugal as well. It never did make a splash in the UK, the US, or even in the Republic of Suriname - until now!

The song is really not a bad little ditty and the singer Jerney is just adorable. There are a few videos of this song on Youtube that are about the same exact performance with her in different outfits. (I ain't complaining). And they all showcase her ability to dance with all the finesse of an 8-year old in front of her bedroom mirror. ('Turning around' is a dance move attempted by many, mastered by few).


(...and her smile is so warm...so genuine...)




A - Weekend
B - Answer Me*


http://www.mediafire.com/?33e1ibvrc76188o

*(see, now they hooked you with a 'ska' song you can hear their real sound. Aren't you impressed?)

Skinners - Jump Up You Can Do It 12'' (1984)

This is a re-post that was submitted a couple years ago by Ronan. These guys were from Germany and I think this is their only release.

1 Jump Up You Can Do It
2 There is a Garden in Her Face
3 Car Old Seller
4 Watchin' TV

"Jump Up You Can Do It"

"Car Old Seller"


http://www.mediafire.com/?0cky8s6lwvruzq2

Stretch Armstrong - Old School (1993)

Thanks to Mikeska for sharing this with us!!

Stretch Armstrong's cassette-only release from 1993. (The album Lollygag can be found HERE and The Armstrong Band - Stretch can be found HERE)

1 Pain
2 T.B.T.F.
3 Rock Bottom
4 Feet Up
5 Better Than What
6 (hidden track)
7 Big Hair
8 No Room For Hate
9 Skeletons
10 Mr. Walker
11 Borisoglebska

"Pain"

"Rock Bottom"


http://www.mediafire.com/?2vd1l6eqxr17gs5

Blur - Nite Klub (live w/ Terry Hall)

DOWNLOAD

Le Garçons Bouchers - Sale Gueule 7" (1990)

French punk/oi/other band that dabbled in the punk/ska sound (THIS for instance). They have several other releases and the songwriting ability is impressive with the ska-oriented stuff not necessarily being their best work (The song Dans la Salle Du Bar is great).

You're probably not going to like this the first time you hear it. I didn't. But it really does grow on you. Listen to it 3 times and you'll love it for life.




A - Sale Gueule
B - Guerre

http://www.mediafire.com/?9y51ojo92ofi1n9

Ska City Rockers

This 7" was submitted to us by Bruce who also provided this info:

7"
A Forty Miles Of Bad Road
B Nice And Slow (Edit)

12"
A Forty Miles Of Bad Road (Extended Version)
B Nice And Slow


Before shortening their name (& their line-up) to "the Dealers"
the Birmingham based band were the Mean Street Dealers & also released the Time is tight EP
in 1980 on Inferno records as the Ska City Rockers (7" & 12")

7"
A Time Is Tight
B1 You Don't Know Like I Know
B2 Road Runner

12"
A1 Time Is Tight
A2 You Don't Know Like I Know
A3 Road Runner
B1 In The Midnight Gour
B2 Barefootin'
B3 I Can't Turn You Loose

The band were
Mark Bristow (voc guitar)
John Wilson (guitar voc)
Nigel Darvill (keyboards)
Jimmy Simpson (drums)



The 3 tracks from the "Time is Tight" 7" were on the 100% British Ska comp. I included them with this download.

This is the one that says "featuring Roland on Saxophone" on the cover. They thought they'd sell more copies if people thought it was Roland Alphonso instead of the real sax player who was a nobody at the time from a little-known Hull band called the Akrylykz. They might have sold a few more copies in the late eighties if they put the sax player's real name - Roland Gift:


A - Forty Miles of Bad Road

B - Nice and Slow



http://www.mediafire.com/?ry3s4c7eglzdllv

Stormed - Beau Terry 7'' (1987)

This is Stormed - from Cambridge.

I have previously posted Stormed's rare 12" single "Trouble at Home". It was only released as a promo and I mistakenly reported that they had one other single which was also released only as a 12" promo.
Thankfully I now know that the other promo saw an actual 7" release. I have no idea how many copies of this were pressed but now, thanks to Rikard, we get to hear it:

A Beau Terry
B1 - The Burn
B2 - The John Song

The song "The John Song" was the B-side to "Trouble at Home" but this is a much different version.
(This video has nothing to do with the band, but the Morris Dancing goes well with the song)


I have included the 12" with this single so you get everything they released in one handy download.

http://www.mediafire.com/?tb77jqk73ah11kb


(...if you don't know "Trouble at Home" it sounds like this:)

The Uptones 7" (1982)

This is not the California band of the same name. These guys were from Tucson, Arizona and I don't know if they have any other releases. Band leader Mark Wilsey is a firefighter in Arizona and he's still active in music. He is currently fronting Reno Del Mar

A1 - Africa is at War
A2 - One Free New World
B1 - The Time is Right
B2 - The Message

"Africa is at War"

"The Time is Right"




http://www.mediafire.com/?uo7bl9uxk4w2rv3

Let's Go Bowling - Rude 69 7'' (1988)

A - Rude 69

B - Dance Some More


Much thanks to Miguel for submitting this!!

DOWNLOAD

Untouchables - Dance Party EP (1986)

A1 - Freak in the Street (Freak Out Mix) Remixed by Don and David Was (these guys)
A2 - (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
A3 - Hey UT's live at Spring Break Daytona Beach Florida 1985
B1 - Free Yourself (Special London Mix)
B2 - I Spy (For the FBI) (National Security Mix Up) produced by Jerry Dammers
B3 - What's Gone Wrong (Lovers Rock Mix)

http://www.mediafire.com/?e9kt8dlb8d4ltmk

Manovalanza - Anziani a Vent'anni + Le Cose Che Vorresti single (2011)

Italian ska-punk band Manovalanza would like you to have their most recent efforts: Their full length "Anziani a Vent'anni" released earlier this year and the single "Le Cose Che Vorresti" that they just released last week. It is not available in physical form.

They have an OFFICIAL SITE and something called a MYSPACE.


Anziani a Vent'anni


1 Siamo Anziani a Vent'anni
2 Fuoco Alle Micce
3 Una Sola Esigenza
4 Sotto Controllo
5 Skapestrato
6 Enigma
7 Adesso Basta
8 Non Mi Riesce
9 La Citta di Vettro
10 La Danza Delle Spade
11 Vengo da Viamaggio
12 Via da Questa Realata
13 Quando Arriva la Sera



Le Cose Che Vorresti single


1 Le Cose Che Vorresti
2 Puzzle Bubble Theme

Download icludes full length and single
http://www.mediafire.com/?ulckdobuq7xwxxe

On Safari with Beat Happy Music (1995)

These were not sold as a set. Each 7" was limited to 1000 copies and were hand-numbered. I'm not sure what else Beat Happy Records ever put out but I think they were affiliated with Raj Records.

Vol.1


A1 - Mustard Plug - Dressed Up
A2 - Punch the Clown - CIA Chick
B1 - The Independents - Buried Alive
B2 - Spies on Sabbatical - Inside Out

Vol.2


A1 - The Skolars - Get Away
A2 - Critical Mass - It Doesn't Really Matter
B1 - Space Heaters - 0635
B2 - Easy Big Fella - Lucky Donkey (live)

http://www.mediafire.com/?kbt1isfnq2bcqg0