In 1979, 2 Tone Records was founded by Jerry Dammers, the founder and keyboard player in The Special AKA. He had a vision and wanted to create the British version of Motown, the similarities with his hometown of Coventry were already there. He'd already put his own band of black and white musicians together and they hit the charts with the release of Gangsters in 1979. 2 Tone then went on to sign and release records by other bands, Madness, The Selecter and The Beat, all of whom fused punk, ska and reggae and dragged it into the present. The record label had no fewer than 15 Top 40 singles and they continued the trend, signing The Swinging Cats, Rico and even released a single by Elvis Costello & The Attractions, or did they?As time moved on, the label branched out to accommodate the funk era and signed a number of non-ska bands with The Higsons, The Apollinaires, The Friday Club and JB's Allstars all releasing singles on the label in the 1980s. However, 2 Tone's light had faded and by 1986 it had been closed down permanently. The story of these particular bands has never been covered in great detail in print before, until now! 2 Tone: Before, During & After tells the story, before, during & after of each band that appeared on the label and also updates the story on each member with a full Where Are They Now? section, covering every single musician that ever appeared on the label. FEEDBACK SO FAR... "The story of 2 Tone Records is the stuff of legends, and in 2 Tone: Before, During & After, author Lee Morris tells the surprising stories behind every 2 Tone release. The 200-page mini-encyclopedia provides band bios, discographies and where-are-they-now profiles on every musician who ever appeared on the label. Based on primary source research (see the extensive bibliography) and personal interviews, the book is packed with things you didn't know about the label, the records and the musicians behind it all" Charles Benoit, Reggae Steady Ska "Lee Morris makes his mark with a fine book that documents all artists that appeared on the label, rather than just the more famous 'ska' bands. He also continues the post 2 Tone story of all bands involved and provides information on each person ever to appear on the label. 2020 has been a great year for 2 Tone with some important reissues on the label and this book compliments those releases and will no doubt become an essential purchase of fans of the label". 2-Tone.info "A Must read for all 2 Tone fans" - Do The Dog Skazine. "I appreciate the angle of covering beyond the well tread period of the label's run to the later acts (who deserve more love) and up to today" Kevin Feinberg "Excellent and very thorough" - Charlie Higson "I HIGHLY recommend it, a brilliantly researched analysis of 2 Tone Records" John Barrow

Born in 1953 to Anglo-Jewish/Nigerian parents, Pauline Black was subsequently adopted by a white, working class family in Romford. Never quite at home there, she escaped her small town background and discovered a different way of life - making music. Lead singer for platinum-selling band The Selecter, Pauline Black was the Queen of British Ska. The only woman in a movement dominated by men, she toured with The Specials, Madness, Dexy's Midnight Runners when they were at the top of the charts - and, sometimes, on their worst behaviour. From childhood to fame, from singing to acting and broadcasting, from adoption to her recent search for her birth parents, Black By Design is a funny and enlightening story of music, race, family and roots.

New Foreword by Irvine Welsh. In Before We Was We Madness tell us how they became them. A story of seven originals, whose collective graft, energy and talent took them from the sweaty depths of the Hope and Anchor's basement to the Top of the Pops studio. In their own words they each look back on shared adventures. Playing music together, riding freight trains, spraying graffiti and stealing records. Walking in one another's footsteps by day and rising up through the city's exploding pub music scene by night. Before We Was We is irreverent, funny and full of character. Just like them.

'Fascinating . . . a must-read' Mojo As bass player with the Specials, in his second-hand suit and pork pie hat, Horace Panter was a member of one of the most innovative and exciting bands to come snarling out of the punk era. Founded by Jerry Damners, their fusion of punk, reggae and ska created a new musical fashion, spearheaded by their own record label Two Tone. They stood for unity and racial harmony in a polarised society. They even got British men dancing again. In Ska'd for Life Horace takes the reader on a musical odyssey with the Specials from their early days on Coventry's punk circuit to chart storming success with singles like 'Too Much Too Young' and the eerily prescient 'Ghost Town', released as the race riots saw Toxteth and Brixton go up in flames. Written with wry humour, taking an affectionate look at a band whose sublime music remains influential today, this is a must for all Specials fans. 'I found myself laughing out loud whilst revisiting some long forgotten memories . . . It was a fantastic journey and I thank Horace for sharing it' Lynval Golding

The culmination of three years of exhaustive research, this text compellingly recounts how a monochrome and embattled Britain was re-energised and coloured by two tone and its legacy.