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2 tone
2 Tone (or Two Tone) is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff Records and Go Feet Records. Within the history of ska, 2 Tone is classified as its second wave, the product of an early 1980s nostalgia for vintage music. It is the precursor of the third wave ska scene of the 1990s. Read Full Bio2 Tone (or Two Tone) is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff Records and Go Feet Records. Within the history of ska, 2 Tone is classified as its second wave, the product of an early 1980s nostalgia for vintage music. It is the precursor of the third wave ska scene of the 1990s.

The 2 Tone sound was developed by young musicians (mostly in Coventry, West Midlands) who grew up hearing 1960s Jamaican music. They combined 1960s ska with contemporary punk and pop music. Bands considered part of the genre include: The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, Madness, Bad Manners, and The Bodysnatchers.

The term 2 Tone was coined by Jerry Dammers of The Specials. Dammers, with the assistance of Horace Panter, also created the Walt Jabsco logo to represent the 2 Tone movement. It was based on an early album cover photo of Peter Tosh, and included an added black-and-white check pattern.
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Gangsters
by The Specials

Bernie Rhodes knows don't argue

Why must you record my phone calls?
Are you planning a bootleg LP?
Said you've been threatened by gangsters
Now it's you, that's threatening me

Can't fight corruption with con tricks
They use the law to commit crime
And I dread, dread to think what the future will bring
When we're living in gangster time

Don't call me scar face

Can't interrupt while I'm talking
Or they'll confiscate all your guitars
And catch 22 says if I sing the truth
They won't make me an overnight star

Don't offer us legal protection
They use the law to commit crime
I dread to think what the future will bring
When we're living in gangster time

Bernie Rhodes knows don't argue

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CRISPIN MACMICHAEL SANDYS HUNT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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