2 Tone

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2 Tone

2 Tone (or Two Tone) is a music genre

Music genre

A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music....
created in England

England

Ska

Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and Calypso music with United States jazz and rhythm and blues....
, punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock....
, rocksteady

Rocksteady

Rocksteady is a music genre that was most popular in Jamaica, starting around 1966, and its reggae successor was established around 1968.The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rock Steady"....
, reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Music of Jamaica, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady....
and pop

Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
. Within the history of ska music, it is classified as its second wave.

The 2 Tone sound was developed by English musicians (mostly based in the West Midlands

West Midlands (county)

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in West Midlands England with a population of 2,591,300. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
area) who grew up hearing 1960s Jamaican music and decided to play a similar style of music. They combined that style with influences from contemporary punk and pop music.

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Encyclopedia

2 Tone (or Two Tone) is a music genre

Music genre

England

Ska

Punk rock

Rocksteady

Reggae

Pop music

West Midlands (county)

Subculture

In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong....
) became known as 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to the record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
2 Tone Records

2 Tone Records

2 Tone Records was an England record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone.Jerry Dammers of the ska revival band The Specials started the record label in 1979 in music....
at some point. Other record labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff Records

Stiff Records

Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976 in music by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985 in music....
and Go Feet Records

Go Feet Records

Go Feet Records was an England record label founded, by and predominantly used to release recordings by, the ska revival band The Beat . The band had some chart success in the United Kingdom in the 1980s....
. Bands considered part of the 2 Tone genre include The Specials

The Specials

The Specials are an England 2 Tone ska revival Musical ensemble formed in 1977 in Coventry. They have had Chart-topper in the United Kingdom, and their music is featured in film and television soundtracks....
, The Selecter

The Selecter

The Selecter were a 2 Tone ska revival Musical ensemble from Coventry, England, formed in the late 1970s.Like many other bands in the ska revival movement, The Selecter featured a racially mixed line-up....
, The Beat

The Beat (band)

The Beat are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, Pop music, Soul music, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics....
, Madness

Madness (band)

Madness are an English Pop music/ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976. As of 2008, the band have continued to perform with their most recognised lineup of seven members, although their lineup has varied slightly over the years....
, Bad Manners

Bad Manners

Bad Manners are an England Second Wave ska revival musical ensemble. They quickly became the novelty favourites of the fad through their bald, enormous-bodied frontman's silly on-stage antics, earning early exposure through their Top of The Pops TV exploits and an appearance in the live film documentary, Dance Craze....
and The Bodysnatchers

The Bodysnatchers (band)

The Bodysnatchers were a seven-piece all-female band involved in the Great Britain ska revival of the early 1980s....
.

The music term 2 Tone was coined by Jerry Dammers

Jerry Dammers

Jerry Dammers is a founder and Keyboard instrument player of the Coventry, England based ska revival musical ensemble The Specials .Before his days in The Specials, Dammers had been a Mod in the 1960s, then became a hippie, before becoming a skinhead....
of The Specials. Dammers, with the assistance of Horace Panter

Horace Panter

Horace Panter also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the Bass guitar for the Coventry 2 Tone, ska revival Band The Specials.After spending most of his formative years in Kettering, Northamptonshire, Panter started a one-year art course at Northampton School in 1971, where he met many influential musicians....
, created the Walt Jabsco logo to represent the 2 Tone movement. It was based on an early album cover photo of Peter Tosh

Peter Tosh

Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh was a reggae musician who was a core member of The Wailers who then went on to have a successful solo career as well as being a trailblazer for the Rastafari movement....
, and included an added black-and-white check pattern.

Footnotes

External links

Impressive 2 Tone record collection
2 Tone history and discography
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire