IN 1979\, 2 TONE RECORDS EXPLODED INTO THE CONSCIOUSNESS of music lovers in Britain\, the US\, and beyond\, as album s by The Specials\, The Selecter\, Madness\, The English Beat\, and The Bo dysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born. 2 Tone wa s Black and white: a multiracial force of British and Caribbean musicians singing about social issues\, racism\, class\, and gender struggles. It sp oke of injustices in society and fought against right-wing extremism.
\ nThe music of 2 Tone was exuberant: white youth learning to dance to th e infectious rhythm of ska and reggae crossed with a punk attitude created an original hybrid. The idea of 2 Tone was born in Coventry\, England\, a nd masterminded by a middle-class art student\, Jerry Dammers\, who envisi oned an English Motown. Borrowing £\;700\, the label&rsquo\;s first r ecord featured &ldquo\;Gangsters&rdquo\; by The Specials\, backed by an in strumental track by the as-yet-unformed Selecter. Within two months\, the single reached number six on the UK music charts. Dammers went on to sign Madness\, The English Beat\, and The Bodysnatchers as a glut of successive hits propelled 2 Tone artists onto Top of the Pops and into the hearts an d minds of a generation.
\nAs excitement grew in the United States\, 2 Tone bands began crossing the Atlantic to perform for American audience s. Soon\, however\, infighting among the bands and the pressures of runnin g a label caused 2 Tone to bow to the inevitable weight of expectation and recrimination.
\nStill under the auspices of Jerry Dammers\, 2 Tone entered a new phase. Perhaps not as commercially successful as its 1979&n dash\;1981 incarnation\, the label nevertheless continued to thrive for an other four years\, releasing a string of fresh signings and a stunning end -piece finale in the activist hit song &ldquo\;(Free) Nelson Mandela.&rdqu o\;
\nDANIEL RACHEL is a Birmingham-born\, best-selling author whose
previous works include: Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great Brit
ish Songwriters\; Walls Come Tumbling Down: The Music and
Author Daniel Rachel will be in conversation with Keith Wi llis. \; The one-hour conversation will be followed by a book signing\ , and attendees will have the option to purchase a copy of the book.
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