As a schoolkid I was a fan of bands like Madness and The Specials.
I liked the songs and at the time was not old enough to appreciate the political messages from some of the songs.
It was Ghost Town the number one hit from The Specials that painted a portrait of the economic devastation in many cities and towns in Britain heaped on by Mrs Thatcher's Tory Party.
Founded by Jerry Dammers. The Specials were a multicultural band soon morphed from reggae to ska with Terry Hall's distinctive vocals. The 2 Tone label attracted bands like Madness who released their debut and sole single through the label.
Other bands that were 2 Tone acts were The Selector, The Beat and The Bodysnatchers.
The classic Specials line up disbanded in 1981. Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Horace Panter went on to start Fun Boy Three.
Dammers remained and continued with The Specials. Their last big hit was the iconic Free Nelson Mandela. Released in the days when showing support for the imprisoned anti apartheid activist was seen as a bad thing.
This documentary was much about Coventry than the 2 Tone label. The city's cosmopolitan heritage was important in the creation of the 2 Tone sound.
It needed more contributors and needed to be more comprehensive. I would have liked to hear from more members of The Specials as well as other 2 Tone acts. The Selector were the only other act that talked about the early days of the label.
I got the impression that Jerry Dammers might not have been easy to get on with which might explain why there was a shortage of contributors. When The Specials reunited several decades later, Dammers, the founder of the band was left out of it.
