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Harry
Too Hot
Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 1781
Location: London
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| Post subject: What were the Top Ten best 2-Tone Singles? |
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I think I'd go for...
10) The Special AKA — "Gangsters" / The Selecter – "The Selecter"
9) Elvis Costello & The Attractions — "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" / "Girl's Talk"
 Tears Of A Clown" / "Ranking Full Stop"
7) The Specials — "Stereotype" / "International Jet Set"
6) The Selecter — "On My Radio" / "Too Much Pressure"
5) The Specials — "Do Nothing" / "Maggie's Farm
4) Madness — "The Prince" / "Madness"
3) The Specials — "A Message to You, Rudy" / "Nite Klub"
2) The Special AKA — "Nelson Mandela" / "Break Down The Door!"
And my fave is...
1) The Specials - "Ghost Town" / "Why ?" / "Friday Night, Saturday Morning"
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I got one art O'level it did nothing for me |
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 Posted:
Tue Jun 16, 2020 6:46 pm |
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HarryJ185
Gangster
Joined: 10 Dec 2008
Posts: 400
Location: Belfast
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Easy Life
Rat Race
On My Radio
Three Minute Hero
The Prince
Gangsters
A Message To You Rudy
Nelson Mandela
Too Much Too Young
Ghost Town
The order would depend on my mood but Ghost Town would be Number 1.
I prefer the LP version with Parts 1 and 2 of Stereotype - although I feel guilty for excluding it when it has an equally impressive B Side. |
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Posted:
Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:32 pm |
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Harry
Too Hot
Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 1781
Location: London
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On some days I'd include; Rat Race, What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend, The Feelings Gone, and Ruder Than You in my top ten
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I got one art O'level it did nothing for me |
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Posted:
Tue Jun 16, 2020 8:11 pm |
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HarryJ185
Gangster
Joined: 10 Dec 2008
Posts: 400
Location: Belfast
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Harry,
I did think about What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend. I absolutely love the single (and the video). Just could not decide what to leave out - maybe it should be a Top Eleven! |
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Posted:
Tue Jun 16, 2020 8:29 pm |
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my stan smiths
Stereotype
Joined: 23 Nov 2010
Posts: 34
Location: middlesex
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The Whisper/Train To Skaville would have been right up there for me, but sadly doesn't qualify.
Impossible to pick a top 10 but number 1 will always be Too Much Too Young and the live EP. If you ever wanted to tell someone what 2-tone was all about show them the cover and tell them to play both sides of the single. |
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Posted:
Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:44 pm |
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Harry
Too Hot
Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 1781
Location: London
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| my stan smiths wrote: |
The Whisper/Train To Skaville would have been right up there for me, but sadly doesn't qualify.
Impossible to pick a top 10 but number 1 will always be Too Much Too Young and the live EP. If you ever wanted to tell someone what 2-tone was all about show them the cover and tell them to play both sides of the single. |
Yeah, I love the sleeve of the Too Much Too Young e.p. too.
The song I play most from of that e.p is "Long Shot Kick De Bucket" - Brad's drumming on that is brilliant and Nev was at the peak of his powers.
When you play that live e.p. it's very hard to think of a band that could come onstage afterwards. I can't think of anyone U.K. band that could follow The Specials at that point in time
_________________
I got one art O'level it did nothing for me |
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Posted:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 5:44 am |
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Trojan
Too Hot
Joined: 25 Aug 2002
Posts: 2501
Location: Area 3
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Ghost Town would be my number one. Of all the singles from the height of the label's success I would find it impossible to rank favourites. However, I would.say my least favourite is Missing Words. It was a poor choice for a single from Too Much Pressure. Street Feeling was rumoured to have been lined up as single at the time, which would have been a much better choice.
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Richard Eddington is innocent.
http://2-tone.info/ |
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Posted:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 7:43 am |
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Trojan
Too Hot
Joined: 25 Aug 2002
Posts: 2501
Location: Area 3
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| Harry wrote: |
| my stan smiths wrote: |
The Whisper/Train To Skaville would have been right up there for me, but sadly doesn't qualify.
Impossible to pick a top 10 but number 1 will always be Too Much Too Young and the live EP. If you ever wanted to tell someone what 2-tone was all about show them the cover and tell them to play both sides of the single. |
Yeah, I love the sleeve of the Too Much Too Young e.p. too.
The song I play most from of that e.p is "Long Shot Kick De Bucket" - Brad's drumming on that is brilliant and Nev was at the peak of his powers.
When you play that live e.p. it's very hard to think of a band that could come onstage afterwards. I can't think of anyone U.K. band that could follow The Specials at that point in time |
As brilliant as the live version of The Skinhead Symphony is I prefer the version recorded for The John Peel Show.
_________________
Richard Eddington is innocent.
http://2-tone.info/ |
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Posted:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 7:48 am |
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Halfy
Special
Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Posts: 612
Location: Kent
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Missing Words gets my vote as best 2 Tone single by the Selecter. The Whisper might have taken that honour were it to qualify. I thought their singles from that era got stronger with each release though their chart positions suggest otherwise!
I'd find it difficult to order a top ten, but like most, the Specials would fill out the top 6 positions. If I was judging on stand alone leading tracks then Do Nothing & Stereotype would occupy my top 2 places. But because of the strength of the accompanying tracks of the 2 chart topping EP's it's not that straight forward! Gangsters and Rat Race would also be in the mix.
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"And he listens to his stereo" |
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Posted:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 11:25 am |
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Harry
Too Hot
Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 1781
Location: London
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| Halfy wrote: |
| . If I was judging on stand alone leading tracks then Do Nothing & Stereotype would occupy my top 2 places. But because of the strength of the accompanying tracks of the 2 chart topping EP's it's not that straight forward! Gangsters and Rat Race would also be in the mix. |
I wonder what percentage of Specials fans played Maggie's Farm and loved it as much as Do Nothing? I think it was an interesting experiment etc but I wonder if anyone thought, "F***ing Hell, this is the most brilliant b-side ever!"?
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I got one art O'level it did nothing for me |
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Posted:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:20 pm |
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Trojan
Too Hot
Joined: 25 Aug 2002
Posts: 2501
Location: Area 3
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| Harry wrote: |
| Halfy wrote: |
| . If I was judging on stand alone leading tracks then Do Nothing & Stereotype would occupy my top 2 places. But because of the strength of the accompanying tracks of the 2 chart topping EP's it's not that straight forward! Gangsters and Rat Race would also be in the mix. |
I wonder what percentage of Specials fans played Maggie's Farm and loved it as much as Do Nothing? I think it was an interesting experiment etc but I wonder if anyone thought, "F***ing Hell, this is the most brilliant b-side ever!"? |
I'll put my anorak on here...
Do Nothing and Maggie's Farm was double A sided single.
It's a track I have grown to like as I got older. I'll take it over Dylan's version.
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Richard Eddington is innocent.
http://2-tone.info/ |
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Posted:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:45 pm |
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Harry
Too Hot
Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 1781
Location: London
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(Just out of interest) Was Maggie's Farm ever played on the radio when it was released and did they ever perform it on TV or live?
_________________
I got one art O'level it did nothing for me |
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Posted:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:56 pm |
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Trojan
Too Hot
Joined: 25 Aug 2002
Posts: 2501
Location: Area 3
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| Harry wrote: |
| (Just out of interest) Was Maggie's Farm ever played on the radio when it was released and did they ever perform it on TV or live? |
The track appears on live bootleg recordings from 1981. It was played on the radio on, where else ? The John Peel Show.
_________________
Richard Eddington is innocent.
http://2-tone.info/ |
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Posted:
Wed Jun 17, 2020 7:52 pm |
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Harry
Too Hot
Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 1781
Location: London
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Posted:
Thu Jun 18, 2020 5:54 am |
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Imani
Too Hot
Joined: 26 Apr 2008
Posts: 1878
Location: Bradford
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I'd have to narrow it down to three singles: Gangsters/The Selecter, On My Radio and the Ghost Town EP.
As there was only a handful of 2 Tone singles, I'd like to broaden it to also include singles put out by all the bands directly associated with 2 Tone between 1979 and 1986. |
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Posted:
Thu Jun 18, 2020 7:47 am |
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Harry
Too Hot
Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 1781
Location: London
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| Imani wrote: |
I'd have to narrow it down to three singles: Gangsters/The Selecter, On My Radio and the Ghost Town EP.
As there was only a handful of 2 Tone singles, I'd like to broaden it to also include singles put out by all the bands directly associated with 2 Tone between 1979 and 1986. |
I made my pick from looking at the list of releases on Wikipedia but yeah it probably makes sense to include the bands directly associated to 2 Tone in a Top Ten. Special Brew by Bad Manners sounds more like a 2 Tone single than Window Shopping by The Friday Club.
I wonder if Jerry's album of new material will come out on 2 Tone next year?
_________________
I got one art O'level it did nothing for me |
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Posted:
Thu Jun 18, 2020 8:18 am |
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Imani
Too Hot
Joined: 26 Apr 2008
Posts: 1878
Location: Bradford
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| Harry wrote: |
| Imani wrote: |
I'd have to narrow it down to three singles: Gangsters/The Selecter, On My Radio and the Ghost Town EP.
As there was only a handful of 2 Tone singles, I'd like to broaden it to also include singles put out by all the bands directly associated with 2 Tone between 1979 and 1986. |
I made my pick from looking at the list of releases on Wikipedia but yeah it probably makes sense to include the bands directly associated to 2 Tone in a Top Ten. Special Brew by Bad Manners sounds more like a 2 Tone single than Window Shopping by The Friday Club.
I wonder if Jerry's album of new material will come out on 2 Tone next year? |
I wonder if it'll be released at all, to be honest. Mr Costello speaks on Jerry's recording approach at 1:00:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnfayCy6DwM
The Higsons et al never really stood a chance. The ska fans didn't touch it, it wasn't really strong enough to get into the charts, and by 1982 the label was no longer part of the pop zeitgeist. |
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Posted:
Thu Jun 18, 2020 9:18 am |
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Imani
Too Hot
Joined: 26 Apr 2008
Posts: 1878
Location: Bradford
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In no order because it changes with mood:
Mirror In The Bathroom - The Beat
Got No Brains - Bad Manners
Drowning - The Beat
On My Radio - Selecter
Ghost Town - Specials
Embarrassment - Madness
Gangsters - Specials
Night Boat To Cairo - Madness
Too Much Too Young - Specials
Too Nice To Talk To - The Beat
A 'b' sides list would be good. |
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Posted:
Thu Jun 18, 2020 10:51 am |
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bluearmy78
Gangster
Joined: 20 Dec 2012
Posts: 251
Location: England
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Has to be Rat Race for me. First single l ever bought, and still love it now. Selecters The Whisper if it qualified, but it doesnt would be up there. Still love Madness The Prince, great debut single.
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The past is our knowledge, the present our mistake and the future we always leave too late. |
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Posted:
Thu Jun 18, 2020 10:55 am |
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Halfy
Special
Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Posts: 612
Location: Kent
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| Imani wrote: |
In no order because it changes with mood:
Mirror In The Bathroom - The Beat
Got No Brains - Bad Manners
Drowning - The Beat
On My Radio - Selecter
Ghost Town - Specials
Embarrassment - Madness
Gangsters - Specials
Night Boat To Cairo - Madness
Too Much Too Young - Specials
Too Nice To Talk To - The Beat
A 'b' sides list would be good. |
Weren't the majority of the 2 Tone releases double 'A's?
Also most of if not all of UB40's 1980 & 1981 releases were too.
Was this a conscious decision by the label and bands to give the record buying public more bang for their buck or to encourage a stronger chart run?
_________________
"And he listens to his stereo" |
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Posted:
Thu Jun 18, 2020 11:10 am |
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