Ska music is so infectious and uplifting, loved it as a teenager and it got me through some tough times. I was big into the third wave of Ska in 1989. The Riffs, The Loafers, The Hotknives, Potato 5 and Maroon Town.
Yes, potato five and maroon town were two of the names I couldn't remember, even though I love both those bands! Thanks for taking the time to comment and add more information. Cheers!
Forrest Hillbillies! I Loved them ,and the Deltones ❤️Such a great band . I agree, Desmond Dekker was the best live show I ever saw (saw him quite a few times) A special night in the after dark club in Reading (Berkshire) was probably the absolute best for me, (it was a Caribbean club ) and that night has yet to be topped . I have seen thousands of great bands and enjoyed so many concerts, but that man was pure magic.
Thanks for the great comment. I used to go to a similar club in Paddington, The Q Club, run by a guy called Count Suckle who'd stowed away on a boat from Jamaica in the 1950s.. Happy daze... 😀
I was a big fan from the first moment I heard Millie and Desmond Dekker on the top of the pops as a child, and it grew from there. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. Cheers!
Great video Jim, many thanks. I love ska. Saw Desmond Dekker in the '90s in Truro, he put on a great show. Saw Toots and the Maytals more recently. Fantastic! I really wish I'd been into ska in the 60s - and old enough to go to gigs! Many thanks.
Another great, well thought out video Jim! As someone born in 1970 I was there for the British Ska revival and I've since bactracked and found the roots of The Specials, Madness etc - just superb music!
Than ks: much appreciated! I agree that the way the music developed, especially here in the UK, was amazing. WE were so lucky to have it in our lives. Cheers!
The only music I've ever been able to dance to without feeling self-conscious. Pretty much universally approved of at school discos in the late seventies and of course always a joy when played by DJs nowadays. I'm off to find my pork pie hat....
Fantastic! Part of why I make these videos is to encourage people to recover music they might have forgotten or disregarded and find new music. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
Yesss!! My times!! I was a baby when it started and I was there when second gen came out later on! Love it!! A lot of the sayings my parents said to me were from Mento songs and Miss Lou I always have to laugh when I tell Jamaican's about the original My Boy Lollipop - Barbie skipped school to record and got about $300.. NO ONE does a better Desmond Dekker impersonation than me, NO ONE!! I think Prince Buster is a distant cousin of mine.. Love it!! Love those days... And Terry Hall - RIP baby boy.
I've never really joined any cultural group, but I seem to have become a skinhead by default. 😀 Thanks for taking part and commenting. Please stick around for more!
Serendipity - UA-cam recommended Do Nothing by The Specials to me earlier today and I've been listening to it ever since ( and dancing in the kutchen), then came across this! Remember seeing Terry Hall in The Philharmonic pub in Liverpool, having a quiet drink on his own.
I wish UA-cam would recommend my video to more people! 😀😀 Thanks for taking the time to comment and to watch. Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
@@JimDriver SKA WAS EARLY 1963, YOUVE MISSED OUT ON SHUFFLE BEAT , HAVE A LOOK AT SONGS FROM EARLY 60TS , BRIDGE VIEW SHUFFLE, RICOS SHUFFLE, PINK LANE SHUFFLE, SHUFFLE JUG, R+B JAZZ BIG BAND ALL WENT TO MAKE SKA , BOOGIE WAS A BIG PART OF THE BIRTH OF SKA, THE FIRST MENTION OF SKA COMES THRU ISLAND RECORDS IE =SKA BA ,OR SAY A JA 7INCH FROM 1963= NATAL SKA , SKA WAS BORN EARLY 1963 NOT IN THE 50TS
I certainly hope so! Though, I suppose all things must pass, as someone else once said. Please keep watching and commenting and thank you very much for the caring words!
About 20 years ago there was a ska-punk band from Liverpool called The Dead 60s. Good live band and I liked their eponymous debut album. Was nice to hear ska again over 20 years after the Specials, albeit briefly.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment! I'm afraid I don't remember them but I will see if I can check them out. I have made a playlist if you want to watch the full videos. Link in the description and comments above. Cheers!
Great video, great memories. Toots (RIP) was one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. He could be completely "funky" and "bluesy". Once upon a time, ska was the music of working-class kids. It still belongs to some of them, thank goodness.
Yes, the roots of ska can be found as much in Britain as in Jamaica I can remember Hans in London who were pushing the genre forward back in the 1979s and 1980s .Thanks for the kind words and I hope you'll find the time to watch more of my videos. Cheers!
Good to see a tribute to one of my favourite genres, ska. With the loss of such pivotal figures as Toots Hibbert, it's nice to know that ska itself is in good health worldwide, even if it has retreated from mainstream, with the East European bands a notable part of its survival.
Immense Jim ,I spent 10 years of my Childhood in Coventry and I remember the Specials when they were but the Coventry Automatics ,saw them live a half dozen times between then and the comeback ,what a band ,Caught the Beat a couple of times another class act and had the privilege of a few words with the one and only Ranking Roger one night ,top man ,Bad Manners are more personal favs ,want a good time you can't go wrong trotting along to see Buster and co to this day ,Have quite a bit of old Trojan Vinyl mixed in with The Two Tone and others ,the Original Jamaican Artists indeed concocted a Special Brew when Ska put the heat on the street !
Thanks for that fantastic comment! Rankin and Roger was one of the nicest people I ever met and they were a regular at the 100 club and the Rhythm festival until his untimely death. Thanks for watching and for taking part. Cheers!
Another great video. Big Ska scene here in NZ. Auckland Ska Festival Dec 7 2024. I appreciate and DJ Ska but was also big into UK neo rockabilly bands. Bands like the Blue Cats,The Deltas, Shakin Pyramids, The Ricochets, The Sharks etc etc. let’s not mention the Stray Cats. Notable mention would be Crazy Cavan and the earlier Teds. Edited
Cheers! I appreciate the positive comment and I can see you're someone who loves the music. I love this channel: so many knowledgeable people, sharing information and joy.
Great call! I can't believe I didn't include the Skatalites either, but in my defence, it was only a brief overview and I didn't really have much to do with the band that here in the 80s and 90s cheers!
Just to throw a spanner in the works , when did ska evolve into reggae ? or did it ? I remember hearing Dave and Ansell Collins in the early 70s - Double Barrel and Monkey Spanner Both stonking tunes and still are It has been said that genre labels are to help record shops music in the right bins My wonderful wife grew up on ska and got me listening properly again and dancing in our kitchen on a Saturday night I think that's what it's really all about... Another great little video thanks Jim but a whole hour would be a real treat!!!! Existentially yours......
Thanks for the kind words. The few occasions I've tried to do long videos, most people stop watching after a couple of minutes and UA-cam stops showing it to people.. I think it's best to stick to short sharp videos on specific topics. This one, I admit, was a very wide sweep. Desmond Decker once told me that the difference between ska and reggae is what's in your heart: he was a very enigmatic fellow! Cheers!
Thank you! I really liked that video and I do plan to make more, though it doesn't seem to be a popular subject with my usual crowd. Maybe I'll have to educate them… 😉😀
This channel isn't really about in-depth analysis. It's about sharing my love of music and imparting a little knowledge, hoping the viewer will go off and find out more for themselves. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for watching. I hope you can stick with this channel!
i wanted it to be 20 minutes and not 8.........always nice to listen to a different slant on it unlike some of the other videos that are out there . thanks
Funny to think the Trojan record label took it's name and logo from the Trojan car company that build car in Croydon and had the advertising line "can you afford to walk"
Mid 70's I was an American Kid hearing "Dub" and "Punk" on College Radio. Then came "Post-Punk" and "2-Tone Ska" which I Loved. Early to Mid 80's I was involved in the "Indie Rock" scene and the American "Ska-Punk" thing happened and I HATED That and still do. The Original 60's "Ska" is now my Fave amongst the various Iterations.
Ska never went away, it just went underground as is as strong now as it's always been. The originators, The Skatalites are still going but sadly all the original members are dead now. Their replacements are still excellent. Toot's daughter Leba is touring and still calling the band Toots & The Maytals which is false advertising unless they get a ouija board out and get Toots to sing from the other side lol.
The last time I saw toots, he was heavily promoting his daughter on stage. I suppose the writing was on the wall back then! Thanks for taking part and adding to the conversation with some very interesting facts. Cheers!
The Two Tone ska movement did bring people together. Sadly many ska events are attended by some racists nowadays who like Black music but hate brown people. Respect to all SHARP skins.
Yes, The racists always have an explanation for why they are racist and you enjoy black Music, which is generally tosh (no relation)! Thanks for taking part. Please keep watching!
No, thankfully, it's not. You could argue that there is more soul in a good ska or reggae single then in the whole of a Pink Floyd album. I've enjoyed both my time, but I know which music I'd l go for if I could only choose one….
It wasn''t called ska it was bluebeat Two tone was a joke English jumping on the bandwagon. It was fresh and ORIGINAL in the early sixties with groups like the Cats doing bluebeat versions of classical music. Listen to William Tell or Swan Lake. Specials are in my top ten of most appalling groups ever. Not a mention of early Island releases or even Trojan. Al Capone to you.
Bluebeat is a record label, not a musical style. Though I guess it kinda is but then you would have to say hellcat and moonska are types of ska and I couldn't argue with that but it's not correct. But if you said Trojan skinhead also not a music style but it wouldn't be wrong to call it one either
The most important part I'd like to point out there was never anything called bluebeat in Jamaica unless they were imported records from Brittain and at that time it was already old music
@@Whitehorse_crimefighter You obviously were too young in the sixties. This is England not Jamaica. We called it bluebeat not ska so stop making inane comments on something you never lived through.
Here's a playlist of the tracks pllayed in this video (and a few more): ua-cam.com/play/PLeEUmIKakqXPuyqoo-4D3JoumonuAnii3.html&si=pHFd8lLhO2V8fStU
@@JimDriver lovely!
Ska music is so infectious and uplifting, loved it as a teenager and it got me through some tough times. I was big into the third wave of Ska in 1989. The Riffs, The Loafers, The Hotknives, Potato 5 and Maroon Town.
Yes, potato five and maroon town were two of the names I couldn't remember, even though I love both those bands! Thanks for taking the time to comment and add more information. Cheers!
Forrest Hillbillies! I Loved them ,and the Deltones ❤️Such a great band . I agree, Desmond Dekker was the best live show I ever saw (saw him quite a few times) A special night in the after dark club in Reading (Berkshire) was probably the absolute best for me, (it was a Caribbean club ) and that night has yet to be topped . I have seen thousands of great bands and enjoyed so many concerts, but that man was pure magic.
Thanks for the great comment. I used to go to a similar club in Paddington, The Q Club, run by a guy called Count Suckle who'd stowed away on a boat from Jamaica in the 1950s.. Happy daze... 😀
Loved ska and still do. The Two tone era introduced me to Trojan records, Dub, reggae and so much more. ❤
I was a big fan from the first moment I heard Millie and Desmond Dekker on the top of the pops as a child, and it grew from there. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. Cheers!
Great video Jim, many thanks. I love ska. Saw Desmond Dekker in the '90s in Truro, he put on a great show. Saw Toots and the Maytals more recently. Fantastic! I really wish I'd been into ska in the 60s - and old enough to go to gigs! Many thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and for commenting and for the kind words! Cheers!
Will never forget that Old Moon Stomping. Very early musical influence for me.
Thanks for taking part in the conversation and for watching. Much appreciated!
Ska music was a big part of my early teens, loved it and love it still.
Me too. Thanks for taking part. Please keep watching!
Another great, well thought out video Jim! As someone born in 1970 I was there for the British Ska revival and I've since bactracked and found the roots of The Specials, Madness etc - just superb music!
Than ks: much appreciated! I agree that the way the music developed, especially here in the UK, was amazing. WE were so lucky to have it in our lives. Cheers!
The only music I've ever been able to dance to without feeling self-conscious. Pretty much universally approved of at school discos in the late seventies and of course always a joy when played by DJs nowadays. I'm off to find my pork pie hat....
Fantastic! Part of why I make these videos is to encourage people to recover music they might have forgotten or disregarded and find new music. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
Yesss!! My times!! I was a baby when it started and I was there when second gen came out later on! Love it!! A lot of the sayings my parents said to me were from Mento songs and Miss Lou
I always have to laugh when I tell Jamaican's about the original My Boy Lollipop - Barbie skipped school to record and got about $300..
NO ONE does a better Desmond Dekker impersonation than me, NO ONE!! I think Prince Buster is a distant cousin of mine.. Love it!!
Love those days...
And Terry Hall - RIP baby boy.
Thanks, The. Great comment! Please get watching and commenting. Cheers!
Been a skinhead since 1983 ska is one of my favourite styles of music.
I've never really joined any cultural group, but I seem to have become a skinhead by default. 😀
Thanks for taking part and commenting. Please stick around for more!
Great video Jim..never long enough ..look forward to the next ...allways great stuff
Thanks 👍 it's always hard trying to work out how long to do. I want to make it clear but I don't want to make it boring. Cheers!
Serendipity - UA-cam recommended Do Nothing by The Specials to me earlier today and I've been listening to it ever since ( and dancing in the kutchen), then came across this! Remember seeing Terry Hall in The Philharmonic pub in Liverpool, having a quiet drink on his own.
I wish UA-cam would recommend my video to more people! 😀😀
Thanks for taking the time to comment and to watch. Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
Excellent as always!
Thank you: very much appreciated. Cheers!
@@JimDriver SKA WAS EARLY 1963, YOUVE MISSED OUT ON SHUFFLE BEAT , HAVE A LOOK AT SONGS FROM EARLY 60TS , BRIDGE VIEW SHUFFLE, RICOS SHUFFLE, PINK LANE SHUFFLE, SHUFFLE JUG, R+B JAZZ BIG BAND ALL WENT TO MAKE SKA , BOOGIE WAS A BIG PART OF THE BIRTH OF SKA, THE FIRST MENTION OF SKA COMES THRU ISLAND RECORDS IE =SKA BA ,OR SAY A JA 7INCH FROM 1963= NATAL SKA , SKA WAS BORN EARLY 1963 NOT IN THE 50TS
@@JimDriver OO7 WAS NOT SKA IOT WAS ROCK STEADY ,SORRY JIM, BUT YOU KNPOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT AUTHENTIC SKA
Brilliant as always, such great music and history behind it. I can defenitely see a Ska revival in the near future.
I certainly hope so! Though, I suppose all things must pass, as someone else once said. Please keep watching and commenting and thank you very much for the caring words!
About 20 years ago there was a ska-punk band from Liverpool called The Dead 60s. Good live band and I liked their eponymous debut album. Was nice to hear ska again over 20 years after the Specials, albeit briefly.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment! I'm afraid I don't remember them but I will see if I can check them out. I have made a playlist if you want to watch the full videos. Link in the description and comments above. Cheers!
Great video, great memories. Toots (RIP) was one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. He could be completely "funky" and "bluesy". Once upon a time, ska was the music of working-class kids. It still belongs to some of them, thank goodness.
Yes, the roots of ska can be found as much in Britain as in Jamaica I can remember Hans in London who were pushing the genre forward back in the 1979s and 1980s .Thanks for the kind words and I hope you'll find the time to watch more of my videos. Cheers!
Wonderful area still enjoying it!
Good to hear! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Please keep watching!
Good to see a tribute to one of my favourite genres, ska. With the loss of such pivotal figures as Toots Hibbert, it's nice to know that ska itself is in good health worldwide, even if it has retreated from mainstream, with the East European bands a notable part of its survival.
You are totally right, of course! Thanks for commenting and for watching. Cheers!
Great video about the most joyful music in the world! Thanks Jim.
Thank you for saying so! Always great when people like what I do. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
Love this channel!!
Glad you're enjoying it and thanks for taking the time to say so. It means a lot (honest)!
Watch most of you vids. But ska is my thing! Well done loved it!
Thank you very much for saying so! I really do appreciate it. Hopefully, I can make more videos that you're going to like. Cheers!
Jim, Ska still has plenty of fans. Check out Skamouth ska festival held twice a year at Great Yarmouth and run by Sugary & Neville Staples, great fun!
Thanks for that! I'll have to check it out. Cheers!
I love ska great video
Thank you very much! I appreciate the positive comment. Cheers!
Just watched the film about the cimarons who were based in London and backed everyone and even became the wailers for a bob marley gig , cheers .
Yes, I was aware of the Cimarrons and they were a hard-working band, though usually they played in the specialist clubs rather than generally.
Supported the Stranglers back in the day. Exce.
Well I am from Kingston Town Jim.
And I make you bang right on.
Another great show Bruv, Salutations from Pt.
Thanks! I really appreciate what you say and thanks for the compliments. Cheers (and salutations)!
Immense Jim ,I spent 10 years of my Childhood in Coventry and I remember the Specials when they were but the Coventry Automatics ,saw them live a half dozen times between then and the comeback ,what a band ,Caught the Beat a couple of times another class act and had the privilege of a few words with the one and only Ranking Roger one night ,top man ,Bad Manners are more personal favs ,want a good time you can't go wrong trotting along to see Buster and co to this day ,Have quite a bit of old Trojan Vinyl mixed in with The Two Tone and others ,the Original Jamaican Artists indeed concocted a Special Brew when Ska put the heat on the street !
Thanks for that fantastic comment! Rankin and Roger was one of the nicest people I ever met and they were a regular at the 100 club and the Rhythm festival until his untimely death. Thanks for watching and for taking part. Cheers!
Cool video . I could’ve watched a half hour of it
That's very kind of you to say so. Thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
Another great vid Jim, thanks!
You're very welcome! Thanks for that and I hope you like the next ones! Cheers!
Another great video. Big Ska scene here in NZ. Auckland Ska Festival Dec 7 2024.
I appreciate and DJ Ska but was also big into UK neo rockabilly bands. Bands like the Blue Cats,The Deltas, Shakin Pyramids, The Ricochets, The Sharks etc etc. let’s not mention the Stray Cats. Notable mention would be Crazy Cavan and the earlier Teds. Edited
Cheers! I appreciate the positive comment and I can see you're someone who loves the music. I love this channel: so many knowledgeable people, sharing information and joy.
My uncle found a box of old records left out by someones trash and I found a 1964 Millie Small on Smash! I couldn't believe it!
An excellent find! Thanks for taking part. Please keep watching and commenting!
Wasn’t that much in Putney from 1960s till1975 but get a 220 bus to Shepard’s bush there was a bit more there .
I was around at the same time and I enjoyed doing stuff in Putney, Fulham and Shepherds Bush! Cheers!
I love original Bluebeat skinhead Trojan Ska! 60s baby
Happy daze... thanks for the input. Please keep watching!
For me, the first ska band that comes to mind is The Skatalites, but my favourite early ska track has to be "The Russians are Coming" by Val Bennet.
Great call! I can't believe I didn't include the Skatalites either, but in my defence, it was only a brief overview and I didn't really have much to do with the band that here in the 80s and 90s cheers!
Just to throw a spanner in the works , when did ska evolve into reggae ? or did it ?
I remember hearing Dave and Ansell Collins in the early 70s - Double Barrel and Monkey Spanner
Both stonking tunes and still are
It has been said that genre labels are to help record shops music in the right bins
My wonderful wife grew up on ska and got me listening properly again
and dancing in our kitchen on a Saturday night
I think that's what it's really all about...
Another great little video thanks Jim but a whole hour would be a real treat!!!!
Existentially yours......
Thanks for the kind words. The few occasions I've tried to do long videos, most people stop watching after a couple of minutes and UA-cam stops showing it to people.. I think it's best to stick to short sharp videos on specific topics.
This one, I admit, was a very wide sweep.
Desmond Decker once told me that the difference between ska and reggae is what's in your heart: he was a very enigmatic fellow! Cheers!
@JimDriver a brilliant answer thankyou Jim - brought quite a smile to my face!!
I was sad this was so short. If you haven't already done so, I would welcome a deep dive into 2-Tone.
Thank you! I really liked that video and I do plan to make more, though it doesn't seem to be a popular subject with my usual crowd. Maybe I'll have to educate them… 😉😀
You compressed topic worth of at least 70min into a 10th fraction!
This channel isn't really about in-depth analysis. It's about sharing my love of music and imparting a little knowledge, hoping the viewer will go off and find out more for themselves.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for watching.
I hope you can stick with this channel!
Super Super
Thank you! Super super comment!
i wanted it to be 20 minutes and not 8.........always nice to listen to a different slant on it unlike some of the other videos that are out there . thanks
That's very kind of you to say so! Rather than making longer videos, I plan to make more but shorter videos. Cheers!
@@JimDriver look forward to them. thanks
Funny to think the Trojan record label took it's name and logo from the Trojan car company that build car in Croydon and had the advertising line "can you afford to walk"
That's news to me! Thanks for the info and for watching and taking part. Cheers!
@@JimDriver be honest "can you afford to walk" sounds like a Prince Buster song.
Mid 70's I was an American Kid hearing "Dub" and "Punk" on College Radio. Then came "Post-Punk" and "2-Tone Ska" which I Loved. Early to Mid 80's I was involved in the "Indie Rock" scene and the American "Ska-Punk" thing happened and I HATED That and still do. The Original 60's "Ska" is now my Fave amongst the various Iterations.
Me too! Thanks for showing those memories: I always like to hear how other people came onto Music. Cheers!
Ska never went away, it just went underground as is as strong now as it's always been. The originators, The Skatalites are still going but sadly all the original members are dead now. Their replacements are still excellent. Toot's daughter Leba is touring and still calling the band Toots & The Maytals which is false advertising unless they get a ouija board out and get Toots to sing from the other side lol.
The last time I saw toots, he was heavily promoting his daughter on stage. I suppose the writing was on the wall back then! Thanks for taking part and adding to the conversation with some very interesting facts. Cheers!
The Two Tone ska movement did bring people together. Sadly many ska events are attended by some racists nowadays who like Black music but hate brown people. Respect to all SHARP skins.
Yes, The racists always have an explanation for why they are racist and you enjoy black Music, which is generally tosh (no relation)! Thanks for taking part. Please keep watching!
Changed music forever??? It's nice to sip a beer to but it's hardly Dark Side of the Moon, is it?
No, thankfully, it's not. You could argue that there is more soul in a good ska or reggae single then in the whole of a Pink Floyd album. I've enjoyed both my time, but I know which music I'd l go for if I could only choose one….
It wasn''t called ska it was bluebeat Two tone was a joke English jumping on the bandwagon. It was fresh and ORIGINAL in the early sixties with groups like the Cats doing bluebeat versions of classical music. Listen to William Tell or Swan Lake. Specials are in my top ten of most appalling groups ever. Not a mention of early Island releases or even Trojan. Al Capone to you.
Thanks for taking time to watch and to comment. Sounds like you should be making your own video. Cheers!
Bluebeat is a record label, not a musical style. Though I guess it kinda is but then you would have to say hellcat and moonska are types of ska and I couldn't argue with that but it's not correct. But if you said Trojan skinhead also not a music style but it wouldn't be wrong to call it one either
Two tone was also a record label. All these definitions are really splitting hairs
The most important part I'd like to point out there was never anything called bluebeat in Jamaica unless they were imported records from Brittain and at that time it was already old music
@@Whitehorse_crimefighter You obviously were too young in the sixties. This is England not Jamaica. We called it bluebeat not ska so stop making inane comments on something you never lived through.