79 the Ska Revival Dance Craze: Essays from the FrontlinePaperback, 2 March 2021

Back in 1979, pop was getting dull again. Everyone said it was time for a new dance. No-one expected it to come from Coventry. The Two-Tone revolution, led by the Specials, took the pop world by surprise with their infectious mix of Ska rhythms and punk attitude. Madness and The Selecter followed close on their heels. Within a matter of moments the 2-tone bands had stolen our hearts and conquered the charts with a non-stop procession of unforgettable hits; 'Gangsters', 'A Message To You Rudy', Too Much Too Young', 'The Prince', 'One Step Beyond', 'My Girl', 'Too Much Pressure'... And the bands kept coming - Bad Manners, The Beat, The Bodysnatchers. Even Judge Dread came back. Garry Bushell, who wrote the original Dance Craze magazine, was the first rock writer to see the Specials live, the first to interview madness and the first to watch the bands attempt to export their magic to the USA.