About 5 years ago I was given a LP (vinyl, record….you know one of those giant black CD’s that you play with a needle) called “Dance Craze The Best Of British Ska…LIVE”. Being a huge fan of the genre it was one of the most awesome gifts I had ever received. About a year or so later I learned that it was a soundtrack to a 1981 film of the same name. And the search began. I searched every video store, pawn shop, record store (good luck finding a video or record shop nowadays) and thrift store I came across to no avail. I did a little research and found out it has been out of print since about when the first VHS run of it was made back in 1988. Frustrated and let down… I gave up the search and forgot all about it. Skip ahead a few years and while searching through various ska music videos on that most famous of video sharing tube sites what did i come across? Dance Craze!!!! In It’s Entirety!!!!!!!!!! Elated, I grabbed a bottle of some of my finest party liquor and let the joyous occasion unfold.
For those of you unfamiliar with ska and the term 2-tone, I’ll give you a short history lesson. In the late 50's and early 60's Jamaican musicians, influenced by American jazz, pop music and R&B, incorporated the elements of these styles with their own native flavors, including Nyahbinghi drums and other folk music of the island. What came out was to be named Ska. Upbeat and original to the island it became a craze that took over the island seemingly over night. Musicians then slowed the tempo and sang songs of love, the local ruffians aptly named “rude boys”, and of social inequality in the mid 60s, and it became one of the most revered ages in Jamaican music called Rocksteady. After roughly 2 years of Rocksteady ruling the pop charts in Jamaica Reggae became the new hot sound, and in large part remains so on the Island to this day. But I’ve gotten a little past where I was going. In the 1970s in England many youths, inspired by Jamaican ska, rock steady and early reggae as well as punk rock formed bands that played a newer, and for the most part happier, version of ska music. Known as the second wave of ska, ska revival or simply 2 tone bands such as The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The English Beat (known simply as “The Beat” in England) and more created their own sound by incorporating the early Jamaican classic ska sound with faster tempos and more energetic stage persona’s.
Dance Craze is 86 minutes of the top names in 2 tone playing in their prime. Filmed at various concerts in England in 1980 the movie showcases not only these amazing bands but the scale to which the second wave of ska took England by storm showing packed theaters and clubs with the crowds going crazy throughout. Featuring 27 of the biggest hits Britain has ever seen Dance Craze is 2 tone’s answer to the movie Woodstock, and is a must see for all fans (even passive ones) of the genre. Standouts include but are not limited to : Buster Bloodvessel in his younger days dancing up and down the stage shouting his large and in charge hit “Lip Up Fatty”, Madness in all their weirdness and glory singing the likes of ”night Boat To Cairo” and “one Step Beyond” and the pure energy of The Specials Playing “Night Klub” at the beginning and ends of thie movie. And I am extremely mad it has been out of print for so many years, if Hollywood can bring back the likes of Beverly Hills 90210 and Dallas, surely they can bring back classic concert video for the in home entertainment of the ever growing masses of ska fans. We are here and we demand an official release of Dance Craze, and some other stuff to be named later.
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