Best Of 2 Tone

LPA

1. THE SPECIAL AKA - Gangsters
2. THE SELECTER - The Selecter
3. MADNESS - The Prince
4. THE SELECTER - On My Radio
5. THE SPECIALS feat. RICO - A Message To You Rudy

LPB

1. THE BEAT - The Tears Of A Clown
2. THE SPECIAL AKA - Too Much Too Young (Live)
3. THE SELECTER - Three Minute Hero
4. THE BEAT - Rankin' Full Stop
5. THE SPECIALS - Rat Race

LPC

1. THE BODYSNATCHERS - Let's Do Rock Steady
2. THE SELECTER - Missing Words
3. THE SPECIALS - Stereotype
4. RICO - Sea Cruise

LP4

1. THE SPECIALS - Do Nothing
2. THE SPECIALS - Ghost Town
3. THE SPECIAL AKA - Nelson Mandela (Edit)
4. RHODA with THE SPECIAL AKA - The Boiler

Jerry Dammers of The Specials launched 2 Tone Records in 1979. During its six-year run, the tiny cult label was most famous for releasing ska and reggae-influenced music laced with punk and pop overtones.

To celebrate the music and cultural movement that the label helped inspire, Parlophone has created a new compilation that brings together the best tracks from the label’s history. THE BEST OF 2 TONE will be available on July 18th as a single CD, two-LP set, and digital download.

The story of the label began in 1979, when The Specials decided to record and release their own single after being rejected by several record labels. The band had enough money to pay for one track, which later became the U.K. Top 10 hit, “Gangster.” To fill the b-side of the 7-inch single, the group turned to its new drummer John Bradbury, who offered up “Selecter,” an instrumental track he’d recorded previously with the band named The Selecter.

THE BEST OF 2 TONE features 18 tracks, including the first single from Madness (“The Prince”), the Beat’s classic cover of Smokey Robinson’s “Tears Of A Clown,” and Bodysnatchers’ “People Do Rocksteady,” plus three more songs by The Selecter: “On My Radio,” “Three Minute Hero” and “Missing Words.”

Half of the album features music recorded by The Special AKA, which was shortened later to The Specials. Along with “Gangsters,” the collection also includes both of the band’s U.K. #1’s – “Too Much Too Young” (1980) and “Ghost Town” (1981) – as well as several Top 10 songs: “A Message To You, Rudy,” “Rat Race,” “Stereotype,” “Do Nothing,” and “Free Nelson Mandela.”

Beyond the music, artwork was central to 2 Tone Records. With the assistance of Horace Panter and graphic designer John “Teflon” Sims, Dammers created the Walt Jabsco logo, which portrays a man in a black suit, white shirt, black tie, pork pie hat, white socks and black loafers. The fictional character was based on a photograph of Peter Tosh (a former member of The Wailers), and came to be the logo that represented the movement and the music.