Back to the Duke Blue Devils Newsfeed

YouTube Gold: The Selecter

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.