NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Two Tone

Two Tone (or 2 Tone) is a style of music created by fusing elements of punk rock and ska. The sound was pioneered in the late 1970s by UK bands such as The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat and early Madness. Many of these bands were signed to Two Tone Records, Stiff Records and Go Feet Records and were based around the West Midlands area in the UK. Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... This page is about ska, the musical style. ... Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... Specials album cover The Specials were a British band formed in 1977 in Coventry (see 1977 in music). ... The Selecter was a British ska revival band from Coventry, formed in the late 1970s as one of the essential bands of the British ska movement. ... The Beat (known in the US as The English Beat) were an essential two-tone/ska revival and pop music group who formed in the Birmingham, UK in 1978 and disbanded in 1983. ... Madness were a British ska band of the 1980s. ... 2Tone Records was a UK record label which released ska and reggae influenced music with a punk overtone. ... The West Midlands refers to western area of The Midlands (central England). ...

The term 2-Tone was coined by Jerry Dammers of the Specials from Coventry and summed up the West Midlands scene at that time. Jerry Dammers was the founder and keyboard player of the Coventry-based punk reggae band the Coventry Automatics. ... Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. ...

The name that Dammers chose for his label had two meanings: It referred both to the black-and-white suits favored by ska-loving "rude boys", and it symbolized solidarity between blacks and whites at a time when racial tensions among the British working class were at an all-time high.

Dammers had long had a dream of starting his own label, similar to Motown, that The Specials could release their own records on. He composed some artwork, with Horace's (Panter - Specials bass player) help, that was soon to become central to the 2 Tone world, and in fact feature as the label on all their releases. The logo was based on an early album cover picture of Peter Tosh, and with the signature black and white checks dropped in for good measure, Walt Jabsco was born. Motown Record Company, L.P., also known as Tamla-Motown outside of the United States, is a record label specializing in the musical genres of R&B, pop, soul music, and hip-hop music. ... Peter Tosh (October 9, 1944 - September 11, 1987) was a pioneer reggae musician. ...

The label also released two albums by legendary Jamaican trombonist Rico Rodriguez (who had appeared on first two albums by The Specials). Emmanuel (Rico, Reco, El Reco) Rodriguez was born 17 October, 1934 in Kingston, Jamaica. ... Specials album cover The Specials were a British band formed in 1977 in Coventry (see 1977 in music). ...

Partial list of Two-Tone bands

Bad Manners were a second wave or Two Tone English Beat ska band. ... For other uses, see big five (disambiguation). ... The Ethiopians are a reggae, rocksteady, and ska group which formed in 1966. ... Judge Dread is the artistic name of British reggae and ska artist born Alexander Minto Hughes (1945 - March 12, 1998). ... Madness were a British ska band of the 1980s. ... The Beat (known in the US as The English Beat) were an essential two-tone/ska revival and pop music group who formed in the Birmingham, UK in 1978 and disbanded in 1983. ... US,Us or us may stand for the United States of America us, the oblique case form of the English language pronoun we. ... The Selecter was a British ska revival band from Coventry, formed in the late 1970s as one of the essential bands of the British ska movement. ... Specials album cover The Specials were a British band formed in 1977 in Coventry (see 1977 in music). ... The Bodysnatchers were an all-women band involved in the British ska revival of the early 1980s. ...

See also

Red and Anarchist Skinheads (also Anarcho-skinheads; RASH) are the anti-racist, anti-fascist skinheads. ... Categories: Anti-neo-Nazi activism | Anarchist organizations | Stub ... The Spirit of 69 is a phrase used by apolitical or Anti-racist Skinheads to remind other Skinheads of the subcultures heyday in 1969 when ska music was at its most popular, and as a reminder of the cults multicultural Jamaican and British working class roots. ... Trojan Records is a label specialising in reggae and ska. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... 2Tone Records was a UK record label which released ska and reggae influenced music with a punk overtone. ...

External links

Categories: Punk | Ska | British styles of music | Skinhead | Punk genres Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Punk Genres Anarcho-punk Crust punk Gothic rock Hardcore Horror punk New Wave No Wave Oi Pop punk Post punk Riot grrl Skate punk Anti-folk Riot Folk Death rock Psychobilly Two tone 1970s Categories: Stub ... The anarchy symbol commonly used by anarcho-punks Anarcho-punk (sometimes known as peace-punk) is a subgenre of the punk rock movement consisting of groups and bands promoting specifically anarchist ideas. ... Anti-folk is a genre of music related to punk rock and American folk music that originated in the mid-1980s in New York City. ... Crust punk (also known as crust) is an extreme evolution of punk and metal. ... This article is about notable bands within the goth scene. ... Hardcore punk (or hardcore) is an intensified version of punk rock usually characterized by short, loud, and often angry songs with exceptionally fast tempos and chord changes. ... Horror punk is a dark style of music mixing Gothic and punk rock sounds with morbid imagery. ... The New Wave is a movement in American, Australian and British popular music, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, growing out of the New York City musical scene centred around the club CBGB. The term itself is a source of much confusion. ... No Wave was a short-lived but influential offshoot of punk rock centered in New York City during the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Oi is a British working class slang word used to get someones attention, or to express surprise or disapproval. ... Pop punk is used for two separate subgenres of punk rock music: the kind typically found on Lookout! Records, which stray very little from the three-chord formula that The Ramones pioneered, as well as a newer subgenre of melodic, more emotional punk, which includes by bands like NOFX and... Post-Hardcore, as the name might suggest, is a musical offshoot of the hardcore punk movement. ... Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial UK punk rock explosion, roughly spanning 1978-1982. ... Riot grrl (also frequently spelled riot grrrl) is a form of hardcore punk rock music, known for its militant feminist stance. ... Ska punk is a fusion of Jamaican ska and British and American punk rock. ... Deathrock, also known as Death punk, is a term used to identify an offshoot of 1970s punk rock subculture in America. ... Psychobilly is a genre of music generally described as a mix between the British punk rock of the 1970s and the American rockabilly of the 1950s. ... The DIY punk ethic refers to the idea of doing it yourself, i. ... List of Pre-Punk Bands or Proto punk groups (ca. ... List of Early Punk bands See also: List of musicians by genre Adam & the Ants Abrasive Wheels The Adicts The Adverts The Afrika Korps Alternative TV Angelic Upstarts Anti-Pasti The Angry Samoans The Avengers Bad Brains Bad Religion Big in Japan Black Flag Blondie Boomtown Rats The Boys The... These are bands that could be considered to be part of the second wave of the punk rock movement, circa 1980 and after. ... For much of its history, punk music has been focused on energetic live shows and local music scenes, due to the non-marketability of most punk music and to the anti-corporate politics of many punk bands. ... List of punk movies, i. ... Skinheads, named after their shaven heads, are members of a subculture that originated in Britain in the 1960s, where they were closely tied to the Rude boy of the West Indies and the Mods of the UK. English Skinhead on cutdown circa 1991 Categories There are a number of different... A list of films relating to or about the Skinhead culture. ... This page is about ska, the musical style. ...