Listen: Reason For Living / Doc Alimantado & The Rebels
Reason For Living / Doc Alimantado & The Rebels

One of the first records Howard Thompson played Corinne and I on our initial visit to his place in Agate Road was by Doc Alimantado & The Rebels. The memory is vivid, and the record probably larger than life because of the moment. This was March ’77, I had waited four years to get back to London. It seemed like an eternity. Corinne had never been.

‘Born For A Purpose’ and it’s flip, ‘Reason For Living’, instantly became her songs. We had a small cassette machine with us, so she recorded the dub B side, ‘Reason For Living’, repeatedly over both sides of a tape at Howard’s that next evening, bringing it back to the hotel room which was literally one foot wider than the mattress on each side. The place was a crammed, uncomfortable but typical bed and breakfast in King’s Cross, very down at heel, as they’d all say. Perfect. A better setting you couldn’t have invented. We loved it.

As I’ve written prior, this ’77 visit was non-stop. London was in orbit, punk was everywhere, but still underground and shocking the mainstream. Howard took us all around, to the Island offices where he worked at the time, to buy clothes in Shepherd’s Bush Market, records in Ladbroke Grove, well everywhere actually; to the Marquee, Red Cow, Dingwalls, Hope & Anchor and Roxy. It was at The Roxy that Don Letts played mostly reggae to the punk crowd. It’s been well chronicled and he was indeed there on those nights, doing then what he does now on 6Music, presenting some of the best records in the solar system to anyone who’s bright enough to listen. Check out a recent show.

I remember hearing the Dr. Alimantado 12″ there several times. Me, I wanted the 7″, and sure enough, it was available. The A side ‘Born For A Purpose’ is pretty trippy, but the flip is total psychedelic dub, a sonic LSD trip one could say. I woke up and fell asleep to that cassette over the next two weeks. There was no escaping her playing it after a night out, where you’d hear it constantly as well. Lots of memories, but all good, so this record’s indeed a true time traveler back to then.

Listen: Hiawatha / The Belle Stars
Hiawatha / The Belle Stars

I guess Two Tone spawned The Belle Stars. Never in all my years, until tonight, did it hit me that ‘Hiawatha’ is based on a ska beat. Having formed off the back of The Bodysnatchers demise, it’s with fondness I recall seeing them for the first time at Dingwalls, with Madness and The Selecter and God knows who ruling the Camden Town in crowd roost. The lineage becomes pretty clear. Only took thirty years to dawn on me.

And if memory serves me well, it was Naomi on WNYU’s New Afternoon Show, who played the grooves off ‘Hiawatha’ around Christmas of ’81. This weather brings that all right back.

Listen: On My Radio / The Selecter SelectorOnMyRadio.mp3

The Ska Revival, that was it, the thing that followed punk. (see The Psychedelic Furs post below). Now I remember what we did on New Year’s Eve that Christmas holiday in London ’79. Went to Dingwalls to see The Selecter and The Bodysnatchers. What a scene. Everyone was way into making sure they looked the part. Oh yes, punk was very yesterday and the ska crowd was here to let you know it.

There was nothing not to love, yes it was a blast. The two bands just leveled the place. It was a dance party plus. Dingwalls was heaving, and it’s probably the thrill of it all that I recall to be honest. But I definitely remember The Selecter being tight and sharp.

Listen: Let’s Do Rock Steady / The Bodysnatchers BodysnatchersRockSteady.mp3

The Bodysnatchers were a mostly female band, I think a few of them went on to form The Belle Stars. And they looked super snazzed with really crazy thrift store rags proudly sewn into riches. Great singles.