Screaming Believers - My Eyes 7" (1984)

These guys were from Australia and I have their albums "Communist Mutants From Space" and "Refugees From the Love Generation" which have no ska on them so the B-side on this recording "Unprofessional" may be their only ska song. The A-side "My Eyes" is an alternative rock song with some Madness-style saxophone.



A - My Eyes
B - Unprofessional


DOWNLOAD

Private I.D. - A Little Fun 7" (1981)

Private I.D. was a new wave/ska band from Aberdeen, Scotland who only released two singles (as far as I know). This is their first one and both songs are ska-influenced.

A - A Little Fun
B - Stay Back



The vocalist was Jacqui Copland who was a back-up vocalist for some well-known acts including Duran Duran. Read about her HERE.

The second single isn't ska at all but I can't find any trace of it ever being online so I included the 12" version of it in the download.

A - Cold Cold Sweat
B1 - Cold Cold Sweat (instrumental)
B2 - Perfect Lady

DOWNLOAD

Audrey Hall - Eight Little Notes (1985)

Pop-reggae with a slight new wave influence from 1985. It might take a while to grow on you but play it a couple times. You'll love it.


1 8 Little Notes
2 Oh What a Fool
3 Nobody Wants to be Alone
4 I Want to Know What Love Is
5 Anyone Who Had a Heart
6 Holding Hands
7 No Honorary Whiteship
8 Imagine
9 One Dance Won't Do




DOWNLOAD

Beeside - What You Call Love 7'' (1981)

This is an extremely rare record that took me years and years to find. The a-side is female-fronted punk reggae. The b-side is a rockin' song with an early new wave influence. Both sides are good.

I don't know anything about the band but I'm pretty sure they were from the US. I have no idea if they ever released anything else.
As rare as it is there is currently a copy available on Discogs for $45.00 which I think is reasonable (no, I'm not the one selling it and I don't know the person who is selling it.)


DOWNLOAD

Humdrum - 79 7" (1980)

A - 79
B - Tooza

Belgian rock band who only released this one record. I don't know what the rest of their repertoire was but the A side is power pop with a 2 Tone influence and the B side is power pop/new wave with a 50s influence that's kinda reminiscent of The Bay City Rollers' "I Only Want to be With You". Both songs are sung in English with a harsh but charming accent.



DOWNLOAD

Danny and the Terminals - Investigations 7" (1981)

This one has been overlooked by everybody. I don't know one person who has it or has even heard it and it's too good to be this unknown, not to mention that it is readily available. There are lots of copies out there and some are very cheap.

Two sides of great ska-inspired power pop that get better every time you listen to them.

A - Investigations
B - Lazy Afternoon

DOWNLOAD


/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I still haven't even started the list yet. Life has been hectic lately. I'm really aiming for next weekend.

After Drizzle - Jamaican Tango 7" (1980)

A - Jamaican Tango
B - Back in '83

DOWNLOAD


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is just a quick post because I didn't have time this week to do anything else. I haven't even started making a list of the things I'm getting rid of. I'm sorry. Stay tuned...

Peter Proud - Hypnotist 7" (1981)

A - Hypnotist
B - Crazy



DOWNLOAD

Strange Idols - Tired of Earth 7" (1982)

A - Tired of Earth
B - I'm Normal

This is the very rare single from this Australian band. The a-side did get some airplay and they even made a music video for it, but I'm posting this for the b-side that you can hear HERE.



DOWNLOAD

Click Clack - Ketchup 7" (1982)

Click Clack (not to be confused with the British band Click Click) were a Belgian new wave/disco/ska band who put out this 7" in 1982. I have seen it for sale quite a few times listed as a ska record but I had never heard it so I was reluctant to buy it. I found a cheap copy so I thought 'what the hell' and bought it.
I was very surprised...this is a great record. It's not exactly ska but it is definitely Tone and Wave type of stuff.
There are at least three other singles that I intend to get at some point and I'll post them when I get them. It won't be for a while. I have to put it at the bottom of my list with the other "not exactly ska" stuff like Otitis and Ex-Hole.

A - Ketchup (hear it on Soundcloud)
B - Theo (hear it on Soundcloud)

DOWNLOAD through Zippyshare

DOWNLOAD through MEGA

va Goat's Milk Soap (1982) [REPOST]

1 Mockers - Trendy Left
2 Swingers - Never Never
3 Newmatics - Playing the Champion
4 New Entrants - The Kids are Crying
5 Famous Five - The Girls
6 Instigators - The Israelites
7 Toy Love - 2nd to Last Song Toy Love Wrote
8 Screaming Mee Mees - Pointy Ears
9 Danse Macabre - ECG
10 Corners - Ward
11 Blue Asthmatics - Blue Asthma
12 Bongos - Familiar Strangers
13 She Collapsed - Save It
14 Riot 111 - 1981

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

DOWNLOAD from MEGA

Jil Thorp and the Beat Boys

Jil Thorp and the Beat Boys (also spelled Jil Thorp & the Beat Boys) were from Louisville, Kentucky. They were a five-piece new wave/rock/ska band that sometimes went a little psychedelic. They played everything and Jil Thorp sometimes sounded like Patti Smith. The reason you may know them is because the song "Central Intelligence" from this album was on the Jump Up Records compilation "Death of an American Skathic" 

1 Father Knows Best
2 Music for Easy Girls
3 Play with Fire
4 Slippin' Away Boys
5 Tourists
6 Greasy but Fast
7 Central Intelligence
8 Moisture
9 Black Jeans
10 Tumours of Love
11 (Got to) Get Rid of Them
12 Mission Complete

This download also includes their 7" even though it doesn't have any ska on it. My record is in pretty rough shape so I apologize for the sound quality but since it's hard to find and usually sells for about $60.00 I'm in no hurry to replace it.

A - The Young and the Breastless
B1 - Stranded
B2 - Love Young


DOWNLOAD - Jil Thorp and the Beat Boys from Zippyshare

DOWNLOAD - Jil Thorp & the Beat Boys from MEGA

...................................................................................................

BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE!!!

What the hell...I threw this one in as a bonus

DOWNLOAD - Death of an American Ska-thic

Not Quite Ska - Part 1

Quite often I find a lot of music on eBay, Discogs, and other online sellers that is sold as "ska" which isn't ska. I have been disappointed so many times by buying things blindly that you would assume I would learn my lesson at some point and only buy things that I hear first, but I keep falling for it. There are a couple reasons for this - firstly, when I go to record shops, conventions, thrift stores, etc. I take way more chances on things than I do when I buy online and I have struck gold too many times that I see no need to to change my ways. Secondly, I listen to lots of different types of music (we all do, I know) so, even though it may not be what I'm looking for, it might still be good.

Here are a few things I bought thinking they were ska but they aren't - but they're still pretty good.


Drive-Ins - Movie Girls (1985)

I'm posting this one because I get requests for it - a lot of requests. It's labeled as ska on Discogs but it's not ska at all. It's upbeat new wave/rock with lots of keyboard, distorted 80s guitar, and a bit of saxophone here and there. The closest it comes to ska might be the title track "Movie Girls", or maybe the song "Get the Message". But it is very rare so you might want to download it for that reason alone.

1 Just Respondin'
2 Don't Kiss My Face
3 Movie Girls
4 You're so Independent
5 Life ain't no Day on the Beach
6 Busy Signal
7 Sylvia
8 Secret Sessions
9 Echoes of War
10 Get the Message


DOWNLOAD DRIVE-INS - MOVIE GIRLS


Grunwaldt & Bley - Shout it Loud 12" (1987) 

I knew this one wasn't ska before I bought it because there is an edited video for the song. How do you not like that energy?



A - Shout it Loud
B - Sing es Laut


Alleybirds - Habasit 7" (1981)

This one was on my wishlist for years because it was sold on eBay as a ska record. I think this was only due to the title of the b-side which is neither ska nor reggae. I quite like the a-side though.

A - Habasit
B - Reggae Music




DOWNLOAD GRUNWALDT & BLEY 12", & ALLEYBIRDS 7"

Buddy System - Sad Story 7" (1983)

I am not a fan of Buddy System. They had a hard rock look with a soft rock sound and all of their music was incredibly 80s. They wanted to impress Cyndi Lauper's, Poison's, and Bonnie Raitt's fans all at the same time. They were radio-friendly enough to the point of being bland.
Now, after slandering their good name (I know they have a fan base that wouldn't tolerate my comments all that well), I have to admit that I absolutely love their first record. Both sides are great. It doesn't sound like their other releases. Both songs are a little more heartfelt and there is a slight-but-noticeable ska influence in the rhythms of both songs. I heard samples of both songs before I bought this one and I sat on it too long so somebody else bought it. It took me years to find another copy and the small sample ate at me for those years.
Some of the other stuff in this post is just okay. This is one of my favorite records ever.

I have included their self-titled record and the "Go Back to Hollywood" single so you can compare it to this release.

A - Sad Story
B - Lonesome Cowboy

DOWNLOAD THE BUDDY SYSTEM

The Villians [REPOST]

This is being re-posted by request. This is a cassette rip of the Villians only album "Go Crazy". I have included my vinyl rips of their two 7"s as well because there are some slight variation in the singles.
I did not include the "Life of Crime" EP in this download because the version I have is a shitty rip with a low bit-rate (I'm talking 64 bits). I will find a better version at some point and post it then.

The Villains - Go Crazy (1984)
1 You Are (All These Things to Me)
2 Call Me Up
3 Laugh it Out
4 Lovers
5 Boogie Man
6 Go Crazy
7 Laylow
8 Long, Short, Skinny, or Fat
9 Wendy's Melody
10 I Don't Care
11 Ska Music

The Villians - Go Crazy 7" (1984)
A - Go Crazy
B - Wendy's Melody

The Villians - You Are (All These Things to Me) 7" (1984)
A - You Are (All These Things to Me)
B - Ska Music

DOWNLOAD

The Memos - Drag Me Down 7" (1985) [LINK UPDATED NOVEMBER 26, 2016]

The Memos was a band from Boston who played new wave and the ocassional ska song. Their live shows incorporated lots of covers of the current new wave hits at the time, which they did amazingly well, with several of their own songs and the occasional oldie but goodie thrown in.
Even though these guys could write a great song they only ever released one 2-song 7". Luckily for us the a-side was a ska original called Drag Me Down.

The Memos - Drag Me Down 7"
A - Drag Me Down
B - Childsplay

I would have loved to see these guys in the eighties. Hell, I'd love to see them now.

They had another original ska song called Procrastination Song that never saw a formal release. You can hear a live version of that on this official bootleg which also includes some other originals and some of those amazing covers I mentioned.

The Memos - Live in '85
1 I Saw Her Standing There
2 New Years Day
3 Who Gives
4 My Old Neighborhood
5 Don't You (Forget About Me)
6 Procrastination Song
7 I Will Follow
8 Everybody Wants to Rule the World
9 Stiff Competition
10 Trouble in Doggyland
11 Hang on Sloopy
12 Save it for Later
13 Stir it Up

DOWNLOAD THE 7" AND THE LIVE TAPE

The Corvairs [California]

This is the record that I consider to be the rarest California ska record ever released.

I have been collecting rare California ska for decades and this is the one record that eluded me year after year. I don't know how many copies were made and there are still some rare California ska releases from the 80s that I don't have yet but I'm basing my criteria on internet presence and how many people I've met at record conventions (and elsewhere) that have actually heard of these records.

The Corvairs - Self Abuse 7" (1983)
A - Self Abuse
B - Never Stop Believin






They had an earlier release in 1981 that wasn't ska (but was still a great record):

The Corvairs - Took so Long 7" (1981)
A - Took so Long
B - Just a Friend




DOWNLOAD BOTH SINGLES

Splitters [California] - Don't Stop 7" (1982)

When I posted the RAM 7" I said that I considered that record to be in the top three of the rarest California ska records. I mentioned that I did not have the other two of the top three, but now I have them and I will be posting them here shortly.
The one I consider the absolute rarest (based on my own mission to find these gems) is by a band called The Corvairs. I have since acquired two singles by the Corvairs and, although I said in the RAM post that the rarest is not as good as good as the other two, I rescind that statement. Both of their singles are excellent.
The one I considered 'the third rarest' is a 4 song 7" by a band called Dutty Rass. I just got that one yesterday and I haven't actually listened to it yet.

The reason I'm saying all of this in this particular post is because this would be #4 on the list. I know nothing about this band except that the lead singer Dilithium Cristil (whose real name is Celena Allen) was invited to pose in Playboy in 1985 in an issue that featured 'The Women of Rock'.

Aside from that I can't find any information about the band or any individual members. I don't know if they ever recorded anything else but I know this record is extremely difficult to track down and both songs are great. Neither track is straightforward ska but quintessential new wave with the B-side showing a 2 Tone influence.

A - Don't Stop

B - Go Home

DOWNLOAD

Steppin Razor - Studio Junkies (1982)

Steppin' Razor was not a band, but a studio project of two people in Florida. This is the only album they recorded. It's a blend of ska and new wave/rock. After they recorded this album they moved to California and formed the band Steppin' Lazer who released an EP called Plain Wrap which included different versions of Follow the Leader and Seein' What I ain't Got.

1 Follow the Leader
2 Seein' What I ain't Got
3 Another Pretty Face
4 You Don't Approve of Me
5 Another Way to Live
6 I Can't Afford it
7 I Really Wanna Dance with You
8 Ready to Break
9 Yellow Lights
10 Für Elise

DOWNLOAD

Naughty Rhythms - Jungle of Love 7" (1985)

A -Jungle of Love

B - Is It True


DOWNLOAD

Fabrics [Finland] - Look at This (1980)

1 Johnny's Dancing
2 Cellophane Stories
3 City a Go Go
4 Look at This
5 Lemonade Song
6 AIRA
7 Radio
8 Factory
9 Rock 'n' Roll Show

"Johnny's Dancing"
"Look at This"


DOWNLOAD