Various Artists “Dance Craze” 1981. 2 Tone Records. Soundtrack from the movie Dance Craze, “the best of British ska…live!” and that hype isn’t wrong. The movie, shot in ’80, is a movie about the 2 Tone movement; according to wiki director Joe Massot originally intended the movie to be just about Madness but it evolved into a tour documentary of the bands in the UK. Songs on the LP include a selection of track from the film: Madness of course (though apparently on later album pressings their songs were removed, my guess for copyright issues or similar), plus The Specials, English Beat, The Selecter, Bad Manners and one lone track from The Bodysnatchers. I don’t think I’ve seen the movie (which is a situation that needs to be rectified soon) but this record is great! I adore Madness so their tracks “Razor Blade Alley,” “Night Boat to Cairo” and the forever fave “One Step Beyond” are for sure tops. English Beat is another band that has been a favorite of mine for 40 plus years (and we’ve seen them multiple times live) so I extra appreciate “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Big Shot” and “Ranking Full Stop” which are their featured tracks. The Specials are epic and they have “Concrete Jungle,” “Man at C&A” and “Nite Klub” on the soundtrack. I’m less familiar with The Selector’s catalog – we do have one of their records – but I really like their “Too Much Pressure.” Same with Bad Manners though I know we have or had one of their albums (and their track “Inner London Violence” on here is pretty great), and am also woefully under-informed about The Bodysnatchers who appear here with “Easy Life.”

You can see the movie in its entirety here