Music of The United Kingdom (1980s) - 2 Tone and Reggae

2 Tone and Reggae

Having emerged out of the post punk and reggae scenes in the West Midlands in the 1970s, the ska revival associated with 2 Tone records was a remarkable commercial success in the early years of the 1980s. Bands like The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, Madness, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers all enjoyed chart success, with Madness and The Specials managing number ones. The Specials "Ghost Town" (1981) is often seen as summarising the disillusionment of Thatcherite, post-industrial urban youth. Madness managed to sustain a career that could still chart into the second half of the 1980s, but the T-tone movement faded early in the decade, and would have a longer term impact through American bands of the third wave of ska. The more reggae based music of UB40 allowed them to continue to chart in to the twentieth century, enjoying four number ones in the UK, the last of these in 1994.