The late-70s mod revival and the rise of ska are the subject of at a night of discussion in East London next month.
Inspired by the punk explosion of '76 and '77, and the rise of The Jam, the mod revival really kicked into gear in '79, propelled by the release of The Who-related films The Kids Are Alright and Quadrophenia.
Allied to that was the appearance of the 2Tone label and the rise of ska with The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat and The Bodysnatchers emerging alongside a simultaneous rise of far-right groups like the National Front and British Movement.
These bands - many of them multi-racial - stood in direct conflict with those rump organisations, and were allied to Anti Nazi League and Rock Against Racism. As tensions escalated, leading to a summer of rioting in the UK in 1981, the Specials' 'Ghost Town' sat ominously at number one in the charts.
On Tuesday 23 January at Second Home, Hanbury Street, Shoreditch, DJ and music historian Bill Brewster will chair a panel of Acid Jazz and Countdown label founder and noted DJ and mod spokesperson Eddie Piller, mod author Terry Rawlings and former Bodysnatcher and 2Tone artist Rhoda Dakar.
Tickets are available here, with all proceeds going to the Kibera Hamlets School in Nairobi.
