2 Tone

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2 Tone (or Two Tone) is a style of music created by fusing elements of punk rock and ska.

The 2 Tone sound was pioneered in the late 1970s after English musicians (mostly based in the West Midlands area) heard the sounds of 1960s Jamaican ska artists and decided to play the same music, although with influences from contemporary punk and pop music. These bands included The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat and Madness. The new music genre (and associated subculture) became known as 2 Tone, because most of the bands were signed to the record label 2 Tone Records. Other record labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff Records and Go Feet Records.

The term 2 Tone was coined by Jerry Dammers of the Specials, and summed up the West Midlands scene at the time. The name had a double meaning: it referred to the black and white outfits worn by ska-loving rude boys and skinheads — and to unity between blacks and whites, at a time when racial tensions among the British working class were high.

Jerry Dammers, with the assistance of Horace Panter, created artwork that was to become central to the 2 Tone world. The Walt Jabsco logo was based on an early album cover picture of Peter Tosh, with black and white check pattern dropped in for good measure. Although most people think the black and white pattern was based on the symbolism described in the previous paragraph, Dammers has said in interviews that he simply based it on the pattern that was painted on his scooter.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Artists associated with the 2 Tone sound

[edit] External links

2 Tone info 2 Tone history and discography
2 Tone Tribute BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
The Specials Official band site

Reggae
Reggae - Mento - Rocksteady - Ska - Blue Beat - Dub music - Dub poetry - Toasting - Lovers Rock - Dancehall (music) - Ragga - Reggaeton - Roots reggae - 2 Tone
List of reggae genres - Caribbean music in the United Kingdom
Related topics
Jamaica - Haile Selassie - Marcus Garvey - Rastafari - Rude boy - Skinhead - Dancehall (venue) - Dubplate - Jamaican sound system - Sound system (DJ) - Riddim - Jamaican English - Studio One - Trojan Records - Island Records - Coxsone Dodd - Chris Blackwell - Reggae musiciams - Dub artists - Jamaiican record producers