Saugerties, New York
September 9 @ 7:00 pm - 10:30 pm
The 2 Tone Records Story featuring author Daniel Rachel and Dance Craze
Trailer Review Orpheum Tickets
ORPHEUM · SAUGERTIES
A Foreword! event.
Monday, September 9 7:00p
Daniel will be in conversation with Tony Fletcher about his new book “Too Much Too Young”: The 2 Tone Records Story: Rude Boys, Racism, and the Soundtrack of a Generation” with a preface by Pauline Black, singer of the legendary band the Selecter. This is the story of truly iconic bands like the Specials, Madness, the English Beat, the Selecter, Bad Manners, and others in the UK “ska revival” of the early 1980s. These bands were decades ahead of their time, in their integration of Black and white musicians and their musical synthesis of ska, punk, and other genres. The author interviewed ALL the musicians in these bands and presents the history in a fascinating way.
Daniel Rachel is a Birmingham-born, best-selling author whose previous works include: Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters; Walls Come Tumbling Down: The Music and Politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone, and Red Wedge; Don’t Look Back in Anger: The Rise and Fall of Cool Britannia; The Lost Album of the Beatles: What If the Beatles Hadn’t Split Up?; One for the Road: The Life & Lyrics of Simon Fowler & Ocean Colour Scene; Oasis: Knebworth: Two Nights That Will Live Forever; and coauthor of Ranking Roger’s autobiography I Just Can’t Stop It: My Life in The Beat. In 2021, Rachel was a guest curator of the “2 Tone Lives & Legacies” exhibition as part of Coventry Cultural City 2021, and he curated the anniversary edition of The Selecter’s debut album, Too Much Pressure. “As a child, 2 Tone defined the way I saw the world. I was seduced by the off-beat rhythms, the cool-looking clothes, and most importantly the social and political lyrics. 2 Tone taught me about Black and white unity, it gave a voice to the pointlessness of street violence, and it provided an understanding and awareness of the horror of rape and apartheid. That you could dance, look good, and be educated by a record was incredible. This music and these bands have printed an indelible mark on my life. To write the story of 2 Tone is one of profound personal pride. But more so, to honor one of the greatest periods in modern popular culture. 2 Tone at its heart was a movement of great song.”
Tony Fletcher (moderator) is the author of a dozen books, including several best-selling music biographies, a memoir, a novel and more. Born in the UK in 1964, he started the fanzine Jamming! during the punk rock explosion of 1977, which led him into further areas of the music and media worlds, and eventually into writing books. Fletcher moved to New York City in the late 1980s, and to the Hudson Valley in the mid-2000s.
