Who's your favourite Ska band?

[Ciarán2]

Who is your favourite ska band?

Personally, I wonder how much importance to afford Madness. They popularised ska in the UK but quickly abandoned it. "Embarrassment" is hardly ska, is it?

Anyway this is a ska thread - I want to learn more about it. Educate me!!

[Brutus Beefcake]

I'm very pleased to see a list of ACTUAL ska bands, of which I'd have to vote the Specials.

[Sheriff John Indolent]

Well, the Skatalites are definitley in contention, being the in-house Studio One band thus playing on a shitload of brilliant early ska records and having Don Drummond, Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphnoso and Tommy McCook all in the same group. So I'd probably go for them.

[Almost Yearly]

I'll have to annoy mister Beefcake's sense of ACTUALness by saying Citizen Fish.

[Brutus Beefcake]

Never heard of them but they do have several Subhumans in them so maybe they don't deserve long painful deaths in the same way that Reel Big Fish et all do.

[imitationleather]

I'd have to go for The Specials as well, although I love 'Celebrate the Bullet' by The Selecter an awful lot. In fact, it's the song I was just about to listen to before I saw this thread!

For years I dismissed The Specials as the band who only did 'Ghost Town' (a song I don't really like, and am sick of through over-playing), and then I dismissed them as the band who were always used as background music for adverts for featuring Jamie Oliver. But then one day a couple of years ago I got their debut album and was blown away. It's really got everything, superb lyrics, great music and errr... Nice artwork? 'Little Bitch' is probably my favourite track as it's not been over-played and has lyrics which I think still really apply today. I love their second album as well, and the Peel Sessions inject new life into the songs and make them even better (which I think is true of most Peel Sessions albums).

So yes, The Specials for me.

[Marvin]

Who is your favourite ska band?

Personally, I wonder how much importance to afford Madness. They popularised ska in the UK but quickly abandoned it. "Embarrassment" is hardly ska, is it?

It's not a million miles away though to be honest, although they definitely went towards more straight pop songs after awhile.

Anyway for me it was toss-up between The Specials and Prince Buster, so I gave him the nod as no-one had voted for him yet.

[Glebe]

No Doubt. *wink smilie*

[imitationleather]

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, shirley!

[rudi]

Pfft, n00bs.

It's not really about bands though, it's all about the studio/soundsystem they were attached to, innit?

I'm a Studio 1 bitch, personally (shinier than Trojan, poppier than the Ark) although that's not to say I'm not a ha-uuuge fan of much from elsewhere.

I'm very pleased to see a list of ACTUAL ska bands, of which I'd have to vote the Specials.

I'm trying to figure out of that's a joke or not. Bloody internet.

Not that there's anything wrong with The Specials; I love The Specials, just it's rather like rating Oasis over the Beatles (christ I'm such a snob), or, I guess, the Bootleg Beatles over the Beatles.

And Madness? Great band, but Madness are to Ska as Dulux is to Titian.

[Ben Ordinary]

Madness are surely Britain's best singles band but quite rightly as said, not many of them are actually ska-based in anyway. Personally, for as patchy as their later career might've been, the debut album by The Beat, "I Just Cant Stop It" is a work of complete pop joy from start to finish and hence, wins my love and adoration in this vote hands down (she's mine).

[Egyptian Feast]

Not entirely relevant, but Buster Bloodvessel drinks in my local. You wouldn't believe how skinny he is now; I was drinking there for months before I figured out who he was. I had a chat with him recently about the joys of drinking, smoking and fatty food - none of which he's given up - but never mustered the courage to ask him about Bad Manners' infamous (and frankly, fucking disgusting) tour bus game, Chunnelling.

I voted for The Specials above, by the way, but only as long as Terry Hall was in the band. Most of In The Studio is pretty painful to these ears, especially when compared with what came before.

[Almost Yearly]

A message to you rudi: Precisely mate. I was so insensed I had to go punk on Brutus's ass, sorry 'bout that. I intend to return with an uploaded Studio1 Sizzler to make it up.

Meanwhile some more diaper action:

"Embarrassment" is hardly ska, is it?

It's not a million miles away though to be honest

To be completely wrong, you mean. It's a bloody march. Stomp stomp stomp stomp - there isn't even the tiniest hint of a skank to it.

For years I dismissed The Specials as the band who only did 'Ghost Town'

"For years I dismissed Pink Floyd as the band who only did 'Another Brick In The Wall (part II)'."

You're still young, that's your fault.

[GetTheeBehindMeStan]

Ignore all UK-produced stuff, and just get a copy of these two boxes:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trojan-Box-Set-Various-Artists/dp/B00000IBBB

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trojan-Ska-Vol-2-Various-Artists/dp/B00004TFAZ

You'll be wearing a smile all day long, trust me.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Can I chip in about my love for Black Ark stuff?

Lots of lovely Heptones, Scratch, Max Romeo, Junior Murvin, Upsetters, Congoes (not strictly ska, but essential nevertheless) etc. on the Arkology box-set.

Also pretty essential as an intro is the Soul Jazz 100% Dynamite series.

[imitationleather]

For years I dismissed The Specials as the band who only did 'Ghost Town'

"For years I dismissed Pink Floyd as the band who only did 'Another Brick In The Wall (part II)'."

Pink who?

[Orias]

Well, the Skatalites are definitley in contention, being the in-house Studio One band thus playing on a shitload of brilliant early ska records and having Don Drummond, Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphnoso and Tommy McCook all in the same group. So I'd probably go for them.

I'm with the Sheriff.  You have a ska band with Jackie Mittoo and Tommy McCook  in it.  No contest.