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| Special Brew | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 11 April 2000 | |||
| Genre | Ska | |||
| Length | 52:39 | |||
| Label | Harry May Records | |||
| Bad Manners chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | not rated link |
Special Brew is a compilation album by British 2 Tone and ska band, Bad Manners. It was released on 11 April 2000.
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 Tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horn. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude". Lyrically, they present a "more focused and informed political and social stance".
Two-tone or 2 tone is a genre of British popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s that fused traditional Jamaican ska music with elements of punk rock and new wave music. Its name derives from 2 Tone Records, a record label founded in 1979 by Jerry Dammers of The Specials, and references a desire to transcend and defuse racial tensions in Thatcher-era Britain: many two-tone groups, such as The Specials, The Selecter, and The Beat featured a mix of black, white, and multiracial people.
Neville Eugenton Staple is a Jamaican-born English singer, known for his work with the 2 Tone ska band the Specials, as well as with his own group the Neville Staple Band. He also performed with Ranking Roger in the supergroup Special Beat.
The Beat are a British band founded in Birmingham, England, in 1978. Their music fuses Latin, ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock.
The Specials is the debut album by British ska revival band The Specials. Released on 19 October 1979 on Jerry Dammers' 2 Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene. Produced by Elvis Costello, the album captures the disaffection and anger felt by the youth of the UK's "concrete jungle"—a phrase borrowed from Bob Marley's 1973 album Catch a Fire—used to describe the grim, violent inner cities of 1970s Britain. The album features a mixture of original material and several covers of classic Jamaican ska tracks.
Bad Manners are an English two-tone and ska band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included Top of the Pops and the live film documentary, Dance Craze.
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).
Emmanuel "Rico" Rodriguez, also known as Rico, Reco or El Reco, was a Cuban-born Jamaican ska and reggae trombonist. He recorded with producers such as Karl Pitterson, Prince Buster, and Lloyd Daley. He was known as one of the first ska musicians. Beginning in the 1960s, he worked with The Members, The Specials, Jools Holland, and Paul Young.
2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records.
Mustard Plug is an American ska punk band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, consisting of Dave Kirchgessner (vocals), Brandon Jenison (trumpet), Jim Hofer (trombone), Nate Cohn (drums), Colin Clive (guitar/vocals), and Rick Johnson (bass).
SKA, Ska or ska may refer to:
Ska'n'B is the first album by British 2 Tone and ska band Bad Manners from the year 1980. It reached number 34 on the UK album chart.
Don't Knock the Baldhead! Live is a live album by British 2 Tone and ska band Bad Manners, released on 5 November 1997. The album was re-released on 8 February 2005 as Feel Like Jumping! Greatest Hits Live! The album was recorded in summer 1996 when the band performed live at two Scandinavian festivals and was engineered by their producer Roger Lomas.
Viva la Ska Revolution is a compilation album by British two-tone and ska band Bad Manners, released in 20 January 1998.
Anthology is a compilation album by the British ska band Bad Manners, released in 2001.
The Collection is a compilation album by British 2 Tone and ska band Bad Manners, released in the US in 10 March 1998.
Can Can is a live album by British 2 Tone and ska band Bad Manners, released on 18 July 2006.
Paul Edward Williams is an English author, television consultant, commentator, lifelong devotee to 2-Tone, ska music and the British skinhead subculture. He is well known for his creation of The Specialized Project, a charitable portal based around ska and reggae, that raises funds for a multitude of charities and other funded projects. He is best known for writing the book You're Wondering Now - The Specials, which was published by ST Publishing in 1995, then a more concise version was released by Cherry Red Books in 2009 in time for The Specials 30th Anniversary
"Special Brew" is a song by British 2-tone and ska band Bad Manners, released in September 1980 and was the third single from their first album Ska 'n' B. It was the band's joint biggest hit in the UK, reaching number 3 in the UK Singles Chart, where it stayed for two weeks. The song takes its inspiration from the Carlsberg lager Special Brew and is about someone who loves it like a significant other.
"Can Can" is a song by British 2-tone/ska band Bad Manners, released in June 1981 as the first single from their third album Gosh It's... Bad Manners. It is an instrumental song, based on the music "Galop infernal" written by French composer Jacques Offenbach which was later adopted as the music for the dance the can-can. The arrangement was credited to Bad Manners. It peaked at number 3 for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's joint biggest hit with "Special Brew".
