Even before the overwhelming success of The Specials’ reunion shows, the 2-Tone and ska revival story had generated a number of well-researched tomes dedicated to the vibrant black-and-white subgenre of the late 70s and early 80s. To his credit, Bushell, better known in recent times as an outspoken tabloid TV critic, has opted for a more personal approach to chronicling the movement.
The author was present at The Specials’ first gig after changing their name from The Coventry Automatics, coinciding with his first week writing for the much-missed weekly music magazine Sounds. From this multi-cultural boot-stomping epiphany onwards, Bushell weaves some genuinely evocative stories which focus as much on the slavishly devoted fans of The Specials, Madness and The Selecter as they do the musicians themselves.
It’s a passionate, funny and compelling travelogue, written in the present tense of an ongoing diary, with Bushell working up a sweat in the thick of the audience, then labouring to convince the old guard at Sounds that this particular new wave was worth covering. The prose occasionally suffers from his over-enthusiasm, but there’s no denying the fire of his convictions, nor his ability to convey just how thrilling it was to witness the birth and subsequent triumphs of the scene.
