The Selecter – At The BBC: The Complete Recordings 1979-1981

Listening to this music now, its youthful exuberance and enthusiasm is plain to hear. A couple of years earlier, punk rock had exploded onto Britain’s music scene and there had been an unexpected connection with reggae. Two-Tone originally came from Coventry in Britain’s south midlands, and there is punk-flavoured anger mixed in with rigid ska rhythms at sometimes at truly breakneck speed, played mostly on electric guitar and organ (and an occasional reggae interlude); remember that when the earliest of the material here was recorded (for counter-cultural radio DJ John Peel in October 1979) Maggie Thatcher had been Prime Minister for around six months – things would only get worse, as some of Pauline’s song introductions suggest as the set progresses.

Two-Tone really kicked off with The Specials AKA – The track The Selecter was on the ‘B’ side of the first hit Gangsters, credited to “The Selecter” but actually two members of The Specials. A band of that name did not exist, so a racially- and gender-diverse band was formed from the city’s punk, soul and reggae bands. Pauline Black was the frontwoman, a force of nature at the time, with music that included covers of Justin Hinds’ Carry Go Bring Come, Leon & Owen’s Murder, The Pioneers Time Hard (a.k.a. Everyday)’ and The James Bond Theme drawing from Roland Alphonso. All are present here, with Hinds’ and Leon & Owen’s songs in duplicate versions. The original material – some of it very political – is often present from different dates too, as is only to be expected, and there are a couple of The Selecter’s hits included: Missing Words and Three Minute Hero. Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson sings the lead vocal on the curious Tell Me What’s Wrong.

These tracks come mainly from radio show appearances and some from television, and include tracks from a live show in London. The music is not subtle, but it is hard-hitting and still, (sadly, given the political issues that are addressed) relevant today. And of course, it stands as the link between the originators and the “Third Wave Of Ska”. The Selecter and The Specials were far and away the best two Two-Tone Bands, and Pauline Black still puts on quite a show. But these tracks are from when Two-Tone was young and fresh, and the energy and commitment is still quite something to hear.