Madness are an English ska and pop band from Camden Town, north London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up. Madness's most successful period was from 1980 to 1986, when the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart.
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike that of any of its contemporaries in the then fledgling Japanese ska scene, and over the course of the past 31 years, they have been influential on Japanese music as a whole. Its sound, the product of the musical influences of its members, is a mix of traditional ska, jazz, and rock. In the vein of many other more traditional ska acts, many of Skapara's songs are purely instrumental.
Neville Eugenton Staple, sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born English singer, known for his work with the 2 Tone ska band the Specials, the pop group Fun Boy Three, as well as with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. He also performed with Ranking Roger in the supergroup Special Beat.
Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California, in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout its career, the band is best known for music created during its most experimental era. During this time, it developed a highly eclectic style, cycling through several musical genres, often within the course of a single song, including heavy metal, avant-garde jazz, ska, disco, and funk, further enhanced by lead vocalist Mike Patton's versatile singing style. This period also saw the band utilizing unconventional song structures and samples; playing a wide array of instruments; dressing up in masks, jumpsuits, and other costumes; and performing a diverse selection of cover songs during live performances.
The Toasters are one of the original American second wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records.
The Selecter is an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979.
Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group the Aces, he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" (1968). Other hits include "007 " (1967), "It Mek" (1969) and "You Can Get It If You Really Want" (1970).
Studio One is one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios; it has been described as the Motown of Jamaica. The record label was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall.
2 Skinnee J's is an American hip hop band from Brooklyn, New York, whose music has been categorized as nerdcore and rap rock. The band was founded in 1991 by Special J (vocals), Rabbi J-Slim (vocals), Joey Viturbo (guitar), Sammy B, DJ Casper (keyboards), and Andy Action (drums). With numerous line-up changes, the band was active through the 1990s until 2003, when they officially disbanded. The group recorded several demos, 2 EPs, and 3 studio albums; SuperMercado! on Capricorn Records, Volumizer on Volcano Records, and Sexy Karate on Dolphins vs. Unicorns. The band went through several key membership changes before its breaking up in 2003, although they briefly reunited for reunion tours in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Moon Ska Records was one of the most influential ska record labels of the 1980s and 1990s.
Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records and SideOneDummy. The band has been noted for its strict DIY work ethic, such as engineering, producing, and releasing their own albums and videos and self-promotion of their own shows.
Let's Go Bowling is an American third wave ska band hailing from Fresno, California. Since the band's inception in the year 1986, the band's traditional ska style, barbershop harmonies, wisely crafted instrumentals, and its frantic live performances, helped set the standard for dress and culture for West Coast Ska, which in turn, set the groundwork for the Third Wave Movement in 1995.
The Mad Caddies is an American ska punk band from Solvang, California. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. To date, Mad Caddies have sold over 500,000 albums worldwide.
Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music.
The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia.
Randy is a Swedish punk rock band from Hortlax, Sweden, formed in 1992. They were first inspired by skate punk bands like NOFX and Propagandhi but after the release of The Rest Is Silence and the departure of their bass player Patrik Trydvall, they radically changed their musical style and adopted an older sound reminiscent of Thin Lizzy, The Misfits and Ramones, heavily leaning on a fusion of garage punk and pop to form their new sound. Their first album after the transition in style, You Can't Keep a Good Band Down, earned praise from MaximumRockNRoll, which called it "the best melodic punk CD since Bad Religion's No Control." After his departure, Patrik went on to contribute lead vocals in his now-disbanded punk rock group, Diefenbaker.
Ruder Than You is an American ska band that was founded in 1989 at Penn State University and, in 1991, the group relocated to Philadelphia. While ska and reggae stylings have always provided the common musical thread, over the past 15 plus years Ruder Than You has been mixing in dancehall, hip hop, rocksteady, and rub-a-dub – even adding elements of funk, jazz, and punk.
The Busters are a German third wave ska revival band, established as a side project in 1987. Playing 2 Tone-influenced ska, they became one of the best-known German ska bands, having a minor hit single in Germany with a ska cover of Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" They signed to Sony Music in Germany in 1996, and released the album Stompede and the best of compilation Boost Best. They continue to tour Germany every Christmas and run their own independent record label, Ska Revolution Records. The Busters have recently released their thirteenth studio album Waking The Dead.
Superhiks is a Macedonian ska-punk and reggae band with occasional swing, Latin and Balkan folk music elements from Skopje, North Macedonia. They gained international prominence after appearing on MTV France, MTV Israel and MTV Adria. They were also the first Macedonian band to reach the top of the charts on MTV Adria.
RedSka was an Italian ska-punk band formed in 2001 in Romagna, Italy.
