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The Bodysnatchers | |
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| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | 2 Tone, ska, rocksteady |
| Years active | 1979–1981 |
| Labels | 2 Tone Records |
| Past members | Rhoda Dakar Sarah Jane Owen Stella Barker Nicky Summers Penny Leyton Miranda Joyce Jane Summers |
The Bodysnatchers were a seven-piece all-female band involved in the British 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Formed in London by Nicky Summers in 1979, in the aftermath of the punk rock scene, The Bodysnatchers released two ska/rocksteady singles on 2 Tone Records. Their first concert was in November 1979 at the Windsor Castle pub in west London, where they supported Shane MacGowan's band The Nips. For their third gig, they were invited by Chrysalis Records to play at Debbie Harry's birthday party in late 1979. After signing to 2 Tone Records, the band released the single "Let's Do Rock Steady" (UK No. 22) and made an appearance on Top of the Pops in March 1980. They undertook a tour supporting The Selecter in spring 1980, and during that summer toured with The Specials and The Go-Go's. They also released the double A side single "Easy Life"/"Too Experienced" which was produced by Jerry Dammers. The Bodysnatchers also played London's Hammersmith Odeon supporting Toots and the Maytals, as well as other slots with artists such as Lene Lovich and Madness.
They appeared in the documentary film Dance Craze , featuring live performances by various 2 Tone bands. The Bodysnatchers played together for less than two years, with the group disbanding in 1981, not having released an album.
The band recorded two sessions for the John Peel Show . 14 April 1980: What's This?; Ghost of the Vox Continental; Happy Time Tune; The Boiler. 8 September 1980: Private Eye; Hiawatha; Mixed Feelings; The Loser
Five of the original band-members evolved into another all-female band, The Belle Stars, who had a number of chart hits in the UK between 1982–83 and a US Top 20 hit with their version "Iko Iko" in 1989 (three years after the band had split up, though the track was featured in the film Rain Man ). After The Specials' original vocalists left the band, the Bodysnatchers' lead singer, Rhoda Dakar, went on to sing with The Special AKA. Although The Bodysnatchers did not record an album, their original composition "The Boiler", a harrowing tale of rape, was later recorded by Dakar and The Special AKA, featuring Nicky Summers on bass guitar.
In 1984, Sarah Jane Owen and Penny Leyton formed the all-female ska band, The Deltones, who released an album and two singles on Unicorn Records in 1989. The group disbanded in 1991.
Dakar has performed in Skaville UK, alongside former Bad Manners members Martin Stewart and Louis Alphonso. Dakar contributed vocals to Skaville UK's debut album, 1973, which was released in July 2007. In late 2007, Dakar released a solo album on Moon Ska World. Cleaning In Another Woman's Kitchen is an acoustic album featuring new material plus covers of The Bodysnatchers hits "Do Rocksteady" and "Easy Life".
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, were 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, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy outfits ". Their music combines the danceable rhythms of ska and rocksteady with the energy and attitude of punk. Lyrically, their work presented overt political and social commentary.
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish reggae, including harmony groups such as the Techniques, the Paragons, the Heptones and the Gaylads; soulful singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy, Ken Boothe and Phyllis Dillon; musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Lynn Taitt and Tommy McCook. The term rocksteady comes from a popular (slower) dance style mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rocksteady", that matched the new sound. Some rocksteady songs became hits outside Jamaica, as with ska, helping to secure the international base reggae music has today.
More Specials is the second album by English ska band the Specials, released by 2 Tone Records in September 1980. After the success of the band's debut album, band member Jerry Dammers assumed the role as the band's leader and stirred them into expanding their 2 Tone sound into other genres of music, most prominently a lounge music and easy listening style inspired by Muzak. Several band members disagreed with Dammers' vision and brought their own influences to the album, including from northern soul and rockabilly, contributing to an eclectic sound palette. The relations between band members continued to sour into the album's accompanying tour and most of the band departed in 1981.
Two-tone or 2 tone, also known as ska-rock and ska revival, is a genre of British popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s that fused traditional Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae 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.
Roddy Radiation is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers. He wrote the Specials favourites "Concrete Jungle", "Rat Race" and "Hey, Little Rich Girl", later covered by Amy Winehouse. Currently, Byers leads The Skabilly Rebels, a band that mixes ska rhythms with rockabilly.
The Selecter is an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979.
The Belle Stars were an all female British pop/rock band. Formed in 1980, they are best known for their 1983 hit single "Sign of the Times" as well as their cover of "Iko Iko" originally released in 1982 and featured on the soundtrack to the film Rain Man in 1988.
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.
Moon Ska Records was one of the most influential ska record labels of the 1980s and 1990s.
The Ethiopians were one of Jamaica's best-loved harmony groups during the late ska, rocksteady and early reggae periods. Responsible for a significant number of hits between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the group was also one of the first Jamaican acts to perform widely in Britain.
Too Much Pressure is the debut studio album by English 2 tone ska revival band the Selecter. After the band's official formation in 1979 in Coventry, following the release of a song entitled "The Selecter" by an unofficial incarnation of the band, the band's hit single "On My Radio" prompted their labels 2 Tone and Chrysalis to ask the band to record their debut album. Working with producer Errol Ross, the Selecter recorded the album at Horizon Studios over two months. The album contains original material, mostly composed by band founder and guitarist Neol Davies, as well as numerous ska and reggae cover versions, in a similar fashion to the Specials' debut album.
Moon Ska World, formerly known as Moon Ska Europe, was a ska record label based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1998 as the European sister label of the defunct American label Moon Ska Records, which was owned by Robert "Bucket" Hingley of The Toasters. Moon Ska World is a licensed affiliate run by Laurie "Lol" Pryor, former manager of The Business and Dojo Records and Link Records head. Due to illnesses in both Pryor and the other principal owner, Sonia "Red" Bailey, as well as deaths in their families, the label was put on hold until 2006, when Pryor changed its name to Moon Ska World and began running the label on his own.
The Leyton Buzzards a.k.a. The Buzzards were an English rock band, active between 1976 and 1980, best known for their minor hit single, "Saturday Night ".
Return of the Ugly is the sixth studio album by British 2 Tone and ska band Bad Manners released in 1989. It was the band's first release on an independent label and their first album release without David Farren, Brian Tuitt, Andy Marson and Paul Hyman.
Special Brew is a compilation album by British 2 Tone and ska band, Bad Manners. It was released on 11 April 2000.
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.
Rhoda Dakar is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label. She also worked with The Specials/Special AKA, and also other 2-Tone artists.
"The Boiler" is a single by Rhoda Dakar with The Special AKA. It was released in January 1982 on 2 Tone Records.
"Let's Do Rock Steady", also known as "(People Get Ready) Let's Do Rock Steady" and "People Do Rock Steady", is rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone that was first released in October 1967 as the flip side to his single "We Are Still Rude". It was then released in early 1968 on his album Rock Steady with Dandy as "People Do Rock Steady". The song is better known for being covered by the Bodysnatchers in 1980.
Skaville UK were a British ska band. Bassist and vocalist Nick Welsh had previously played with a number of bands including Bad Manners, The Selecter and Prince Buster, whilst Louis Alphonso (vocals/guitar) and Martin Stewart (keyboards) also played with Bad Manners. Drummer Al Fletcher also played with The Selecter, Die So Fluid and Lee "Scratch" Perry. He died in 2016. The band regularly played with noted ska singer Rhoda Dakar on guest vocals and she also sang on the Decadent album.
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