All right mates, now we get to the real story:
I wanted to know how this whole British ska revival
sound and scene started. The first time I ever heard
the Beat, was when I was working at a natural foods
restaurant in Santa Barbara. The dishwasher, fresh from
England, had this cassette tape of the Beat. We were
obsessed with the music : reggae, but fast and edgy,
with horns, but raw, and dare I say it, poppy, yet
punk. I instantly loved the sound.
Its a pretty well known fact that the original punk
rockers in London used to listen to lots of reggae,
but how did the sounds merge? Translated loosely, Dave
explained it kinda like this:
"Well, a lot of the clubs were pretty strict about
dress codes. Both the punks and the rastas were seen
as outcasts, but some clubs let everyone in. Despite
their differences, they had a similar social sense -
complaining about oppression. Where the rastas used a
positive message, the punks relied on irony and humor.
Aswad and Steel Pulse, two early British reggae bands,
were performing locally in those days. But it was the
big house parties held in Birmingham that fused the
two sounds and dance styles. They'd have two DJ's
spinning, one with 12" dub slates, and the other with
7" punk vinyl. By alternating the music, the dance
floor would stay packed all night. Where the punk was
energetic and fast, it was balanced by the calm,
euphoric reggae.
"It was early Beat member Andy Cox who wondered out
loud "What if you could combine the elements of both?"
It was then that a checkered black and white light
bulb went on. (The graphics for the Two Tone label
bands featured symbolic black and white schemes - thus
the label name). The sound featured the hypnotic feel
of the Velvet Underground with a skip-to-my-Lou bop.
Dangerous and rebellious themes could be presented in
upbeat, enthusiastic music. It presented a way of
dealing with issues using uplifting music in a
delicate balance."
"Remember, this was industrial Birmingham. Rainy,
snow, depressed, with 17% unemployment and bleak, gray
skies to go with it. We made the music in part to
cheer ourselves up. You could close your eyes and
dream of something better."
As if the irony of punk and reggae weren't enough, the
first Americans to embrace the scene were young
California surfers. At first glance, the supposed
happy, sunny lifestyle seemed the opposite of gloomy
Birmingham, but most outsiders don't see the violence
and territorialism of true surfers. This was the
beginning of the "Me Generation" and the new sound
caught on, as Dave put it "from San Diego to Rincon".
Next, I asked Dave, how did such a hip, multi-racial
scene go to being associated with skinheads?
"Well, the first people to befriend immigrants from
the Caribbean in the 50's were the lower working
class. In the post industrial Midlands, their fathers
had worked side by side in the factories and stood
side by side in the unemployment lines. Skinheads were
often just angry youth, and were often preyed upon by
the extreme right, such as the British Movement, who
took advantage of them and used their violence. There
were actually anti-racist skinheads, and black
skinheads as well. A lot of the clothing and styles of
the mods and skinheads got adopted. Many of the
concert crowds were predominantly male - if you add
testosterone and alcohol you ended up with plenty of
broken noses."
Dave takes credit for coming up with the concept of
the "Beat Girl" to compliment the "Two Tone Man", the
label's graphic mascot. Adding her to The Beat's
posters and record sleeves encouraged women to show up
to the gigs, and now instead of fighting, the boys
were out to impress the girls. "Actually, at first,
the other Two Tone bands were quite jealous."
"With a racially mixed crowd dressing similar and
enjoying the same scene Saturday night, it made it
hard to have race conflicts on Monday morning. It
actually helped diffuse a lot of the racial animosity
in London at the time."
Musically, post punk, the record companies were more
open to taking chances, and the catchy beat of ska
caught their attention. "A lot of it was the timing.
There had been a lot of great bands in Birmingham
before and after, and we were lucky, but also, we made
our own luck. By '83 the record companies had got the
hang of making videos, and with their clothing
designers and make-up , some bands were producing
videos before they'd ever had a concert"
One of the last questions I asked Dave started off
innocent enough. I felt the answer symbolized the
complex issue of race, and how we're all supposed to
get along together in the world.
I asked him, "Have you ever been to Jamaica?"
"Yes. Its lovely. I actually got to meet the Prime
Minister Seaga - that part was scary.
"Later in the trip, we were this chap who was our
bodyguard. He had been born in Jamaica, but moved when
he was three. He hadn't been back in thirty-three
years. The bodyguard was thrilled to go back to his
home. We were staying in Montego Bay, and that evening
we went out for chicken and rice.
"We were walking down a quiet street at dusk, and
behind us we could hear this click-clock, click-clock.
We didn't want to look back, but we could hear them
following us, getting closer, as the road got longer.
Then we hear, "Hey, English Boy!" I turn around, and
they go, "No mon, not you. Him!†The bodyguard turns
around and says, "For the last thirty years, people
have been calling me a Black Bastard, and now you're
calling me an English Boy? How do you know?" They
answered, "By your dress and walk, mon!â€
They ended up showing us the best restaurant that
night."
Fin
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