The Selecter is a band from England that, along with The Specials, pioneered the Two Tone movement, a musical style that borrowed from Ska and also mixed in punk and new wave.
At its best it was an infectious, bouncy sound with a hint of danger.
Two Tone emerged simultaneously with Thatcherism, the British political direction named for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who took office in 1979, the year The Selecter got started.
It was a conscious attempt to modify racial tensions in the Thatcher era.
It never fully caught on in the US, but in the UK, it had a significant impact.
The two bands that basically started the movement were The Specials, who had a nice run with songs like A Message To You Rudy, “Nite Klub,” and Concrete Jungle, and The Selecter.
The Selecter had a bit of a harder edge in some ways. Led mostly by Paula Black, they had some great hits like Too Much Pressure and this one, On My Radio.
It was a brief but interesting musical era.
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