ARENA: Rudies Come Back or The Rise and Rise of 2-TONE

Ska is pure joy, so was 2-Tone, which was founded on ska, the roots of reggae. Ska began in Jamaica in the early 1960s, almost immediately it attracted a following among British working-class youth. In 1979, 2-Tone revived it. By then, Bob Marley and The Wailers had educated the rock audience in the power of reggae, punk was in its aftermath and Mrs Thatcher’s conservatives had won the General Election. 2-Tone seized the moment and reinvented ska as pop music that could be both fun and a serious commentary on the times.

Coventry was not a city known for its great popular musical heritage yet the Coventry Sound of 2-Tone seemed to arrive fully formed with its own clear identity and history. It was like a brilliantly witty parody of an established business. It had a simple, unforgettable name with a multiplicity of meanings; a slick logo, a silhouetted dude in a black suit and pork pie hat who suggested a cool lifestyle. 2-Tone wasn’t just The Specials, it had a roster of bands like a proper record label – The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat and briefly Madness.

In truth, all this slickness belied the do-it-yourself ethos of punk, hilariously portrayed in Jeff Perks’s film in The Specials’ tour of the 2-Tone operation. Jeff had a real affinity with the musicians which gave the film its relaxed and open feel. The black and white check graphic design that represented all the bands underpinned the main ‘Message To You’, that 2-Tone was multi-racial. There had been few mixed groups before and certainly none whose line up was such a statement of intent, an affront to racism and, by implication, an opposition to the new Thatcher regime.

Their sound was everywhere, it was unique, new and familiar at the same time. It merged the dynamism of ska with the dynamism of punk. There had been a synergy between punk and reggae in the late ’70s, 2-Tone took things one step beyond. The first hit was ‘On My Radio’ by The Selecter followed soon by ‘A Message To You, Rudy’ from The Specials, a Jamaican classic brought back for a new time. The Specials were of course central to the genre and with their great songwriter Jerry Dammers would go on to make some of the very best hits in the history of pop music.

Arena was committed to punk and its aftermath, with films on Poly Styrene, Sham ’69, The John Peel Show and Sid Vicious’s demolition of My Way. Rudies Come Back is one of the best, a slice of history captured as it was happening.

Anthony Wall
Arena: Rudies Come Back, Director Jeff Perks