Little Murders - Four Songs from Little Murders (cassette 1982)

 1 She's the One
2 After the Fire
3 She Said
4 One Hundred Drugs

Little Murders is a prolific mod/power pop band from Australia. They put out lots of albums but I think this is the song "She Said" from this EP is their only true ska song. They dabbled with the ska sound in a couple other songs and I included the "Take Me, I'm Yours" single in this download because the b-side has a very prominent ska sound even though it's not really a ska song.

...and, no, the a-side is NOT a cover of the Squeeze song that was covered by Tim Curry.

A - Take Me, I'm Yours
B - Things Will be Different

Listen to "She Said".


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va Let's Skank - An Open Minded Approach to Ska (1996)

1 Malarians - Ben Gunn
2 The Jumpstarts - This is What I Do
3 Cosmic - Vital Rhythm
4 La Ruda Salska - Taper La Manche
5 Ceux Qui Marchent Debout - Big Meal
6 Persian Jones - Venezuela
7 Unsteady - The Cost
8 Red Wings Mosquito Strings - L'Affaire Harry
9 The Mudsharks - You Got Me So Twisted
10 400000 - Chercher le Chameau
11 Engine 54 - Big 5
12 Crazy Skankers - Big Game
13 The Regulators - Healing Ska
14 Kargols - Pacifiste
15 Johnny Socko - If I Didn't Have a Goiter
16 Marcel et Son Orchestre - Chantel
17 The Miggedys - American Girl
18 Sideburn - Mika's Dream
19 Arpioni - Cambia Canale
20 Dr. Calypso - Mr. Farlops

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Difficult Music - Not the Kind of Boy 7" (1984)

This Dutch band put out this one single. The A-side is a decent new wave rock song but the B-side is an instrumental - a saxophone/keyboard/trumpet-heavy ska rendition of Erik Satie's Gnossienne Nr.1. You never really see this kind of arrangement for an eighties ska single.

Very rare.

A - Not the Kind of Boy
B - Inch of Love

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Bette Bright [REPOST]

Bette Bright is married to Suggs from Madness. She was formerly in a band called Deaf School before she teamed up with Glen Matlock of Sex Pistols and members of Clive Langer and the Boxes to form The Illuminations. Clive Langer produced Madness' early albums, and the Illuminations keyboardist Ben Barson is brother of Madness' keyboardist Mike Barson.

Bette was also sang for the Dutch post-punk/pop band Gruppo Sportivo and she appeared in The Great Rock and Roll Swindle as well as Madness' video for "One Better Day"
Here are all 5 of her singles:

My Boyfriend's Back (1978)
A - My Boyfriend's Back
B - Hold on, I'm Coming

The Captain of Your Ship (1979)
A - The Captain of Your Ship
B - Those Greedy Eyes

Hello, I am Your Heart (1980)
A - Hello, I am Your Heart
B - All Girls Lie

Some Girls Have All the Luck (1981)
A - Some Girls Have All the Luck
B - Tender Touch

When You Were Mine (1981)
A - When You Were Mine
B - Soulful Dress

"Rhythm Breaks the Ice" (1981) - her only album.
1 When You Were Mine
2 On a Night Like This
3 Hello, I Am Your Heart
4 All Girls Lie
5 Take What You Find
6 Talking Whispers
7 Thunder and Lightning
8 Shoorah Shoorah
9 Some Girls Have All the Luck
10 Tender Touch
11 Hold On

Yeah, the 2 singles "Hello, I am Your Heart" and "Some Girls Have All the Luck"
are on the full-length - both A and B sides...same versions, but damnit, I'm a collector so I have the singles and therefore I feel more 'complete'. I trust you understand.

There is a bit of a ska influence in the later recordings, but she was not exactly a ska artist. Even still, her version of "Hold on, I'm Coming" is sexy and worth the listen.

DOWNLOAD the LP and all of the singles in one download from MEGA

Painted Saints - Kampai! (1986)

The is one of the best punk-ska records you've never heard. One slow punk anthem, two up-tempo punk rock songs, a fast ska-punk song, and one of the best eighties ska songs I've ever heard.
This band was from Connecticut and I don't know anything else about them.
I say this a lot, but I can't believe this record isn't more well known.

Listen to the first track "Loathe".

See what I mean?

1 Loathe
2 Violence Breeds Violence
3 Undone
4 Nothing from Something
5 Barren Terror

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Nighthawks - Trouble Taking Over 7" (1981)

A - Trouble Taking Over
B - Europe Calling

Hear "Trouble Taking Over"

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The Scamps - Je t'aime (Moi non Plus) 7" (1980)

A - Je t'aime (Moi non Plus) [Instrumental Serge Gainsbourg cover]
B - Nicole [Instrumental]

"Nicole sounds like "Heart and Soul" mixed with Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk".

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Isa Wah - One Human Band (1983)

Rare California reggae/ska.
The band was created by Buddy Tokes who performed in other reggae/dub bands and has released lots of material as a solo artist.

HERE's a performance and interview with Buddy Tokes and his band Hiro.

The line-up changed frequently but this recording featured these musicians:
Bob "Bijou" Baszt (vocals, guitars, drums)
Craig "Ranking Z" Zangari (guitars, bass, drums)
Billy "Blamer" Snyder (vocals, keyboard)
Lee "Lebo" Richter (vocals, percussion, synth, and bass)
Craig Vreeken (vocals, trombone, synth, bass)
Mikie Jones (assistant sound tech, trumpet)
Lauren "Dub Pontiff" Miller (sound engineer, drums)

Isa Wah's live set was full of covers by The Police, Bob Marley, The Clash, The English Beat, Jimmy Cliff, Bunny Wailer, The Heptones, and others but they had a long list of originals that they played:
Refresh Yourself
Lies Lies
Economic Refugee
Fat Boy
In Love with You
Wermacht
Runnin' Down
Love Within
Friends with You
What do I Know
Flowering
Can't Just Stand There and do Nothing
Worker
Relations
Emotional Chords
Save the Smiles
Billy Boy
Free Herb
Neighborhood Watch
Grasshoppers on my Kaya
Bad B.O.
Politrix
Outlaw Man
Junta Jhats
Hiro/Wings of Life

...I don't know if any recordings of these songs exist. This may be the only release they ever put out.

A1 - Reggae Roots
A2 - No Worry
B1 - Rank and Skank
B2 - Rank N Dub

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Hopping Penguins

The Hopping Penguins were formed in Halifax, Canada in 1982. However the didn't really get going till they relocated to Toronto.
The band is fronted by Peter Baylis, with Andrew Lordly on sax, Gary Edwards on drums, Basil Chaisson on guitar, Pete King on bass, Brad Conrad on guitar and guest appearances by Bruce Vickery, lead vocalists and percussionist. Members of the band hail from different parts of Canada.

With a repertoire of Marley-style reggae, soulful ska, straight ahead funk, rock and roll and rhythm and blues they bring an eclectic and diverse pastiche to every show. After a decade of playing ska, reggae and rock tunes on the Toronto club scene, the 7-piece band finally took the dive to try and capture their frenetic energy on tape. Cover versions of Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones" and Jimi Hendrix' "Hey Joe" highlighted their 1992 debut 'Trombone Chromosome'.

The Hopping Penguins 7" (1987)
A - 2% Milk Rap
B - The Flintstones

I Didn't Know Santa was a Rasta Man 7" (1988)
A - I Didn't Know Santa was a Rasta Man
B - Santa Rasta (version)

Trombone Chromosome (1992)
1 Oh What a Shame
2 Ska and Reggae
3 6709
4 Marlene
5 Me and Mrs. Jones
6 Hey Joe
7 Skip the Sermon
8 Rockhopper
9 Thievin'
10 Life in Hell
11 Rink Rat
12 Waterman's Luck
13 Three-Four Ska
14 2% Milk Rap
(This was posted previously on Tone and Wave but the singles were not.)



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Tootin' Ska Moon - Revenge of the Dragon (1995)

This Welsh band released two cassettes before they put out their only album in 1995. There is one song from each cassette that is not on this cd but otherwise, this is pretty much everything they have released.

Another CD was released in 2006 called Waiting Around that had many of these songs with a couple others that are not on this collection:



1 Dancing in the Sun
2 Waiting Around
3 Ripped Off
4 Los Amigos
5 Captain Rick
6 Hot Head
7 Egyptian Skank
8 Traveller's Right
9 So Boring
10 Born Sideways
11 Sunnyville
12 Revenge of the Dragon

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Grover's Headache

Southern California third wave ska-punk.

...Ain't Frontin' (demo cassette 1996)
1 Mall Girls
2 Look at me Now
3 Why Me
4 Crushed

Grover's Headache (EP 1997)
B & H
2 Teddi Bear
3 Anorexic
4 Lie Awake
5 There You Are


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The Waltons - Brown Rice 12" (1985)

A - Brown Rice (Long Grain Mix)
B1 - Brown Rice (7" version)
B2 - Pain-Killing Time

The Waltons was an incredibly talented band from Isle of Wight. I don't know if they every released anything but this and the 7" version but they did make lots of rehearsal and studio demos and live recordings which you can download from the band's own site HERE.



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Jack Kevorkian and the Suicide Machines - The Essential Kevorkian (1993 demo cassette)

This is being posted by request. This is not my own rip or picture. This was sent to me years ago and I don't remember who sent it so thank you submitter - whoever you are!

1 Bonkers
2 Hey
3 Little Home
4 She's Not Worth It
5 Suicide Machines
6 Whatsername


I cannot re-post this one because the band has made it available for sale in much better quality than I am able to offer it. All tracks appear on the compilation "On the Eve of Destruction" which you can buy HERE.

Beat Soup

Beat Soup - Start From Scratch (1997)
1 Who Knows?
2 Drain Dream
3 Something to Be
4 Long Time
5 Nature Boy
6 Coup de Ska
7 Die a Little
8 Peace
9 Down
10 Time Ain't Money
11 Message to Zion
12 Conspiracy of Purpose
13 Little Monsters

Beat Soup - Miriam Your Toast is Burning (2001)
1 Bad Head
2 My Pleasure
3 The King is Dead
4 Taxi
5 Being There
6 Miriam Your Toast is Burning
7 Wayo
8 The Fifty Seven
9 Every Day
10 Off the Handle
11 Smoke
12 Licking Stick

(Plus I threw in some acoustic demos and three unreleased songs)

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Name that Tune - Round three

Do you know what song this is? Does the band sound familiar? Even if you don't know for sure but you have a reasonable guess please leave a comment.
It's from the early 90s, maybe from New York.



Here's another song that nobody can figure out.

Erector Set [Repost]

A - Inside Out
B - No Room for Comfort

1 Imitation of Life
2 G I Jump
3 Potential Danger
4 Chinese Girl
5 Missing Peace

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The Candy Ranch - Section 58 7" (1989)

This is an extremely rare record.

From the video:

"Section 58 was a piece of legislation regarding live music licensing and the song was written in defense of local music venue The Touchdown which was at risk of losing its license because of complaints about noise.

Kevin McGuire and Stevie Ryan - vocals
Gavin Bell - broomshank bass
Terry Ashley - percussive chairs
Dave Willingham - keys
Neil Forcer - guitar
special guests Mick Donnelly - tenor sax
and Trevor Ashley - alto kettle

Video made by Dave Emerson and Hartlepool 6th Form College students:
Kimberley Scholes
Amanda V Brown
Lynne Rodgers
Claire Rollo"

On the record sleeve it lists guitar player as "Nonkes" and sax player as "Flicks Monolouge".

My copy is signed by the band members and someone wrote: "Stevie R has now gone away."
I guess that explains why he wasn't in any of their other recordings.

I don't know how many releases they had after this but they did do a lot of studio recordings. This may be the only ska song though.


A - Section 58
AA - Screaming Nutter




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The Hi-Hats - Ska Got Soul (1996)

LOTS of requests for this one. Here you go people...enjoy:

1 Are You Ready?
2 Too Hip
3 Tarzan
4 Real Deal
5 She's My
6 Ska Got Soul
7 Separate Ways
8 No Way Out
9 HizUzi
10 Why Can't We Learn?
11 Just Askin'
12 Summertime

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Hi-Hats - Hard Hitting (demo tape 1992)

The Hi-Hats were from Somerville / Boston, Massachusetts. They released one album in 1996 called Ska Got Soul. I do have the album and I'll post it if anybody wants it. Aside from that, this is their only release.

1 Apathy & Entropy
2 Weight of the World
3 Too Hip
4 Voice
5 She's My




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The Pilfers - Rude by Association (1996)

I never did find a copy of this tape but I had a friend dub me a cassette copy back in the days.

Apparently this is the only image of it anywhere online.

The Pilfers was started by Coolie Ranx who is known for his involvement with The Toasters (from Wikipedia):

"Ranx was born in London on 9 March 1965 and was raised in New York City. His mother is from Jamaica and his father is from Nigeria. He was discovered in 1990 when the lead singer and guitarist of The Toasters, Rob "Bucket" Hingley, heard Ranx's dancehall reggae EP. Joining the Toasters in the early 1990s, he toured and recorded two albums with the band, including Dub 56, which features two songs he wrote.
After leaving the Toasters, Ranx co-founded a band called Pilfers. In Pilfers, he shared vocal duties with Vinny Nobile. Pilfers played a combination of third wave ska music, punk rock, and reggae that they called "raggacore". After self-releasing their first album, the band signed to Mojo Records, who released the band's second album, Chawalaleng. He made frequent guest appearances on the albums of other third wave ska bands, such as Spring Heeled Jack USA, Metro Stylee and Mojo labelmates Reel Big Fish."

The Pilfers released three albums: "The Pilfers" (1998), "Chawalaleng" (1999), and "From Far" (2015).

1 Jolly Jolly Jolly
2 Shit's Up in the Air
3 Hypnotized
4 Roller Coaster
5 Saga

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