6 Reasons To Be Excited About The New London International Ska Festival – A Strictly Personal Selection

Since the return of the London International Ska Festival has been announced by Sean Flowerdew the excitement cannot be bigger.  More than 2800 fans on Facebook and 300 applications from bands convey a clear message. Anyone who has been into Ska for more than just a few weeks seems to be thrilled. Four days with 30 Ska bands from all over the world – in London: Has there ever been a bigger Ska event? Probably not.
And here is another great thing: The LISF will definitely build on the legend of its predecessor in the 1980s. One focus is on tradition, a considerable percentage of the confirmed bands had already played in 1988. Are you excited about the festival? I am for sure. Here are my reasons.

Reason No 1: The Venue

Take a look at the pictures posted by Sean and you know that the comeback of the festival will be in style. A theatre with balconies and red velvety backdrops – the Clapham Grand Theatre is a giant step away from the Sir George Robey, where day one of the first London International Ska Festival was held in 1988. Although no pictures of the new venue’s bathrooms have been posted, I expect them to be posher than the ones at the Sir George Robey. As the singer and guitarist of The Braces I was lucky to be on the bill at the Robey in 88. The state of the gents’ toilets became the subject of our favourite story from that event. Once you opened the door, you were looking at a giant sea of urine. The male Ska fans didn’t make much of it. They just queued at the door step to pee from there.

Reason No 2: The City

Other cities have played major parts in the history of Ska. From Kingston to Coventry, from New York to Berlin. But there can’t be any doubt that London has been at its center in many ways most of the time. The Jamaican community, Madness, Gaz’s Rocking Blues, Carnaby Street…. the list goes on. Even if many contributors to Ska music come from the most distant small towns, most of them still share a longing for the big city called London. Is there a better reason to finally see London than this festival?

Reason No 3: The Line-Up – Bim Skala Bim

After many years of relative quietness, this band from Boston turns out to be everyone’s darling in 2010. Sean’s brother Kevin (of Do the Dog-Magazine) just stated on Facebook that Bim Skala Bim is his favorite American Ska band. No.1 Ska blogger Marc Wasserman (Marco On the Bass) has repeatedly mentioned something along the same lines. And, well, not that anyone has asked, I can’t agree more. Now you better believe that I know what I’m talking about. The Braces had the pleasure of staying with Bim Skala Bim at Buster Bloodvessel’s house for one week in December 1988 before the first LISF.
My band mates were not in favour of EVERY group we shared stages with. But all of us loved Bim Skala Bim. Whenever we had the chance to watch them rehearse or play gigs on their borrowed instruments, we did, in awe. They also won us over offstage, with their relaxed friendliness and individual style. The Bims had their completely own thing going on, while many others had yet to find their place. Plus, roughly all of us shared an interest in their front woman Jackie Starr, ranging from shy curiosity to long lasting obsession. Bim Skala Bim were also the first US Americans I met personally. They probably didn’t know and didn’t care, but they did a hell of a job representing their country.

Reason No 4: Line-Up – Napoleon Solo

As far as I remember, there was no bonding between The Braces and Napoleon Solo. Our attitude towards them could better be described as a mixture of admiration and jealousy. With a clear tendency towards the latter. I don’t think we ever talked anything with the exception of exchanging hellos. And I surely wouldn’t have told them then what I’m telling you now.
Napoleon Solo were another band that got invited to support Bad Manners on a few dates of their December 1988 tour through the UK that eventually led to the 1. London International Ska Festival. They joined in the second week, in a village called Retford. When I was told the running order for the night I was deeply upset. The Braces were first on in Retford, Napoleon Solo after us. Before playing a single note this Soul outfit from Denmark had stepped up in the tour hierarchy. That was hard to take – but the right decision, because the stunt that Napoleon Solo pulled was irresistible to the roughest roughnecks (of which a good number were in the audience). Napoleon Solo had a unique drive, a great singer with a lot of style and a trumpet player who seemed always in a position to go one octave higher. Yes, we paid our dues in Retford. Until 2007 I owned no less than two copies of Napoleon Solo’s first album. Then I sold one while DJing in Japan in order to finance the flight back. The loss still hurts.

Reason No 5: Line-Up –Intensified

What’s so particularly exciting about these guys? Intensified doesn’t live in an exotic place (Kent), they haven’t had a long hiatus. And their most celebrated record “Faceman Sound” is eleven years old. Still I can’t wait to see Intensified at the Clapham Grand Theatre. My personal reason: Britain’s best Traditional Ska band’s new organ player Steffi Noell. She joined earlier in 2010, after four Ska-less years in her new hometown London. When she was still in Germany and a member of The Braces we used to call her “The first lady of Ska”. Intensified dubbed her “Omelette”. They seem to have a silly sense of humor. That’s good. Steffi has one, too. “Omelette, expect me for a spontaneous visit about Easter 2011.”

Reason No 6: It’s The Right Time

In 1988 a new Ska generation climbed the stage, nurtured on 2Tone Ska, stubbornly growing up after its implosion. The first London International Ska Festival was brilliant, but it had one flaw: The 2Tone originators were in a state of denial. The Specials, The Selecter, Madness and The Beat had “moved on”, either becoming pure pop or departing. Mostly doing the former, and then the latter. In 2010 the 2Tone people are back, even Terry Hall has made his peace with his past. Of course it’s not realistic to have The Specials or Madness on the bill. And it wouldn’t make much sense. But a welcome bonus would be to have some of them in the audience jumping on stage to join in on some classic.

Now you know why I plan a trip to London next Easter. Will you be there, too? What are YOUR reasons?