The Selecter - Post Breakup Years

Post Breakup Years

After the band split in 1982, Pauline Black pursued a career in theatre, TV and Film, even winning awards, most notably the Time Out for London Award for her portrayal of jazz singer Billie Holiday at the Tricycle Theatre in London and the Manchester Evening Standard Award for her performance in 'From The Mississippi Delta' at The Contact Theatre in Manchester. She also featured in many British TV acting roles, most notably as Diane Valentine in Hollyoaks in 2006. From 1991, Pauline Black led a reformed Selecter for 15 years releasing several new albums. In 2006 she decided to take a sabbatical from The Selecter, in order to write her memoirs 'Black By Design' for publishing house, Serpent's Tail. In 2009, she returned to the live arena, playing shows in the UK, Germany and South America guesting with various ska musicians and performing songs from The Selecter's first two albums. Her memoirs, 'Black By Design', is now finished and during June 2010 she signed a book deal with her publisher. Her book will be published on 4 August 2011, and apart from giving a unique woman's view of the 2-Tone movement, she discusses her own ideas about what it meant growing up as a mixed race woman in 1950s Britain. During her sabbatical, Pauline Black also took time out to record a new 13 track solo album, 'Pigment Of My Imagination', which will be released in spring 2011. She recently reformed a version of The Selecter, this time with guest original lead singer, Arthur "Gaps" Hendricskon, and in summer 2010 and they played two high profile shows at the Sinner's Day Festival at The Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium, and at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London.

Neol Davies penned most of The Selecter's hit singles. He started up his own home studio after the band disbanded in 1981 to write and record his own new songs, and he played a number of local shows in the Midlands. Neol formed a new version of The Selecter with Pauline Black in 1991, but he left the band two years later. He started up a new outfit called Selecter Instrumental, mostly playing movie tunes in a ska style. In 1999, he released his 'Box of Blues' album, assisted with Horace Panter and Anthony Harty, and the trio often performed at a number of Blues concerts in the UK. He later recorded another album, 'Future Swamp', with guests including Ronnie Wood and Reef members Dominic Greensmith and Jason Knight. Both albums were released on Neol's own label, VoMatic Records. Neol Davies also currently performs and records as The Selecter, with his own ten piece band including a new male vocalist, John Gibbons, who has worked with Luther Vandross and Boy George.

Charley Anderson moved to Sweden during the 1990s where he performed, recorded and released material with The Skalatones. In 2009, Anderson returned to Coventry to play a charity concert at the Central Hall to promote his Ghetto Child project. Joining him on stage were guests from UB40, The Specials, The Selecter along with Caroline Tambu Masvongo, Miss Muffin and saxophonists Hugh Lawrence and Carlos Garnett.

Charley 'H' Bembridge is currently involved with The All Skas, a ska band who often perform shows in the Midlands and is also a member of a tribute band called UB42 which are the same band. He is currently living in a bedsit in Coventry.

Neol Davies, Gaps Hendrickson, Charley Anderson and Pauline Black have also been involved with unveiling commemorative plaques for the 30th anniversary of 2 Tone on significant buildings associated with the record label in Coventry in 2009.

After leaving the Selecter, some members joined the Hertfordshire group Soul Fish.