Paul Williams (author)
Encyclopedia
Paul Williams is an author, commentator and lifelong devotee to 2-Tone, ska
music and the British skinhead
subculture
. He is best known for writing the book You're Wondering Now - A History of The Specials which was published by ST Publishing.
Williams' love of ska and 2 Tone
started in 1980, when he sneaked out of his parents' home in York and travelled to nearby Bridlington, where he saw The Specials
perform live when he was 13 years old. This event had a long-lasting and profound effect on him. Throughout the late 80s Williams was a regular visitor at the "Pressure Drop" ska nights in York. In the 1990s, he created, wrote and distributed his own quarterly ska and 2 Tone fanzine Street Feeling (1994-1998) from his back bedroom. In 1995, Williams wrote You're Wondering Now - A History of The Specials (ST Publishing). It received a few reviews in the media, including three stars from "Q Magazine", and was used to compile the band history section on the official Specials website. The book is now a collectors' item.
Williams describes himself as a 'ska specialist', often consulting with media outlets including TV companies such as VH1(satellite) and Channel 4(UK terrestrial TV). He has been featured on BBC4 Radio's celebration of 2-Tone music, "Fashion Music" and was interviewed by Radio Coventry for which he contributed rare Specials tracks to the programme. His work can now be seen online, as the co-administrator for the Specials fansite and as the administrator for Roddy "Radiation" Byers
' My Space profile. He designed and maintained the Ska Splash website, which was a ska festival that took place in Skegness in 2008. Williams has also promoted a handful of ska nights in his hometown of York at The Junction pub under the banner of "YorkSka Promotions".
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) 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 with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
music and the British skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
subculture
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.- Definition :...
. He is best known for writing the book You're Wondering Now - A History of The Specials which was published by ST Publishing.
Williams' love of ska and 2 Tone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
started in 1980, when he sneaked out of his parents' home in York and travelled to nearby Bridlington, where he saw The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
perform live when he was 13 years old. This event had a long-lasting and profound effect on him. Throughout the late 80s Williams was a regular visitor at the "Pressure Drop" ska nights in York. In the 1990s, he created, wrote and distributed his own quarterly ska and 2 Tone fanzine Street Feeling (1994-1998) from his back bedroom. In 1995, Williams wrote You're Wondering Now - A History of The Specials (ST Publishing). It received a few reviews in the media, including three stars from "Q Magazine", and was used to compile the band history section on the official Specials website. The book is now a collectors' item.
Williams describes himself as a 'ska specialist', often consulting with media outlets including TV companies such as VH1(satellite) and Channel 4(UK terrestrial TV). He has been featured on BBC4 Radio's celebration of 2-Tone music, "Fashion Music" and was interviewed by Radio Coventry for which he contributed rare Specials tracks to the programme. His work can now be seen online, as the co-administrator for the Specials fansite and as the administrator for Roddy "Radiation" Byers
Roddy Radiation
Roddy Radiation is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers...
' My Space profile. He designed and maintained the Ska Splash website, which was a ska festival that took place in Skegness in 2008. Williams has also promoted a handful of ska nights in his hometown of York at The Junction pub under the banner of "YorkSka Promotions".