The English Beat, Bad Manners and Chris Murray live in Chicago

I’ve seen The English Beat and Chris Murray a few times before. So one of the main reasons why I drove a total of 1370 kilometers to Chicago was to go see the great British ska band Bad Manners. I believe the last time they came to Montreal was in the 80s.

I know they have always been pretty active in the UK but for me this was quite an event. What a line-up! The English Beat and Bad Manners are two of my favorite bands from my teenage years. The only way I can think of a better line-up is if I had been in the crowd in 1980 during the recording of the Dance Craze album.

To have Chris Murray, my favorite contemporary traditional ska artist as an opening act was more than I could hope for. Chris was as good as ever and although he was alone on stage, his presence rivals that of any 8-piece band. I could tell he was happy that my girlfriend and I were singing along to all of his songs.

Bad Manners didn’t disappoint either. When Buster came out in his fuzzy leopard suit, I knew instantly that we were in for a great set. All the classics were played and it justified the many miles we had traveled to get there. Between two songs, I overheard a guy next to me say: “He might be a bad singer but he’s one hell of an entertainer!” You could say that…

At this point, everybody was sweating profusely, on stage and off. The place was hotter than a furnace in hell! That didn’t stop The English Beat from giving a stellar performance. I was quite impressed with the new kid on the block, Antonee First Class. He toasted a few of his own compositions and it was well received. The boy has talent.

Aside from the intolerable heat, I was glad to have seen my teenage heroes in a city like Chicago. Next time around, I hope they stop in Montreal. And mister Dave Wakeling, what have you done with my pin? (see April 5 2010 post)

Want to see a few videos of the concert without having to suffer from the heat. Follow these links:

Bad Manners - Sally Brown

Bad Manners - Lip Up Fatty

The English Beat - Hands Off...She's Mine (extended version)

Mods, parkas and pins

Pins have adorned many parkas over the years. They range from music labels, favorite bands, cult movies, scooter models, Mod icons, every design of the Mod target possible to your preferred brand of 2-stroke oil. This phenomenon seems to have been most popular during the Mod Revival of the eighties. I did not live through the original movement of the sixties so it’s hard for me to judge how prevalent that fashion statement actually was. From what I can tell of the many photos I have seen, pins or badges were not a widespread convention. The only person from that era that might have influenced that trend was Pete Townsend from The Who. But when the Mod Revival hit, watch out, pin overload!

The Mod target, also referred to as the roundel, is the Mod symbol by excellence. It first symbolized the British Air Force and aside from its apparent and indistinguishable appearance, that’s where the similarities end. The Mod target is more of a Pop Art symbol than anything else. Keith Moon, of the band The Who, claimed that he was the first to introduce the roundel in popular culture.

Another common figure to grace numerous suit lapels is Walt Jabsco, better known simply as the Rude Boy or the Ska Man. He entered the collective consciousness with the arrival of the 2-Tone ska label. Horace Panter, original bass player for The Specials, talks about the origins of Walt in his book Ska’d for Life: “This was a caricature of Peter Tosh taken from an early photo of The Wailers. It was a brilliant image. Simple, which said everything about us in a three-inch circle of paper. Those four years at art college were not wasted! The 2-Tone man was, somewhere along the line, given the name Walt Jabsco. This was the name on the back of a bowling shirt Jerry had picked up somewhere.”

His girlfriend, the Ska Girl, later accompanied him. Also known as the Beat Girl, she first appeared on The Beat album I just Can’t Stop It. Hunt Emerson was credited for coming up with the iconic image. She was based on a sixties photo of a girl dancing with the ska forefather Prince Buster.

 Her image might be just a notch above a stick figure drawing but I still think she is sexy as hell.

My most prized pin is of Walt and her on a Mod scooter. I bought it when I was in high school in Toronto. It came from a small shop on Yonge Street. Not only was it pretty cool but also very rare. I’ve been going to ska shows for over 20 years now and I never came across someone who had one. Every once in a while, somebody comes up to me and offers to buy it from me.

As a matter of fact, a few years ago, The Beat was in town. They were playing the Café Campus on a Tuesday night. I decided to show up early to buy tickets before I went to have dinner on Prince Arthur Street. The ticket booth was closed so I decided to walk upstairs to the third floor where the show was being held. That’s when I came face to face with Dave Wakeling, legendary front man for The Beat.

This is how the conversation went:

- Dave: Can I help you guys?

- Me: I hope so. I came to buy tickets to come and see you.

- Oh cool! Why don’t you give me your names and I’ll put you on my guest list.

That’s when he noticed the Walt and Beat Girl pin I had on my Harrington.

- Dave: Wow! You have that pin! That one’s pretty rare. I’ll give you my email so you can send me a picture. I want to start a website on rare pins.

As he was saying that, I unhooked the pin from my Harrington and handed it to him.

- No, I can’t accept that. Are you sure?

- It’s the least I can do. You put me on YOUR guest list. Besides you’ve given me so much over the years. I couldn’t think of a more deserving person.

He smiled, thanked me and asked me for my email so that he can send me the link once the website would be up. I have no regrets about giving him my most cherished pin. I eventually found another one on eBay and paid a pretty penny for it. The thing is Mr. Dave Wakeling, I never received that email. No need to worry, I have no ill will towards you. I would even go as far as thanking you. You were a huge inspiration in starting this blog. So here it is… The pin not only has a premiere spot on my parka but now also has a well-deserved place in the blog universe.