Since I ran some Selecter sessions a few days ago, I thought I would also include that other landmark band from the Two-Tone arsenal, The Specials. This batch of sessions from the BBC were recorded on May 29, 1979 and feature the band hitting their stride. They had already made a huge splash in the UK and were getting a wave of popularity going in the States, through a number of tours and club dates (including a rather memorable stint at The Whiskey A-go-go in Hollywood).

Here are three of their trademark songs from that period:

1. Gangsters
2. Too Much, Too Young
3. Concrete Jungle
4. Monkey Man

They recently (as of 2009) reformed and have been touring and recording.

Just goes to show you, you can't keep a good thing down.

Enjoy, and . . .play loud (obviously).

Ska revival band The Selecter tonight on the Roundtable. From a session recorded for the John Peel Program at The BBC on September 10, 1979 - a high-voltage set which includes:

1. They Make Me Mad
2. Danger
3. Street Feeling
4. Carry Go Bring Come

Don't play this if you're having trouble getting to sleep tonight. . . or operating heavy machinery either, for that matter.

Just turn it up and forget about it.

(The Selecter - Pauline Black and crew riding a big wave of Ska)

The UK called it a "resurgence in Ska", but we never got it the first time around, so it was all new to us. The closest the U.S. ever got to Ska was Millie Small's My Boy Lollipop in 1964 and "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker in 1968. We all knew about Bob Marley, but that was Reggae and, according to aficionados, different than Ska.

So in 1979 Ska burst back (or burst on in our case) the scene, bringing us the likes of The Specials, Madness, The Bodysnatchers, The Selecter and many others. The fast-paced music and high energy performance were a shoe-in with Punk audiences and Ska appreciated a huge popularity all over the world in a very short period of time.

Tonight's track is by The Selecter, fronted by singer Pauline Black. On My Radio was a huge hit in the UK and Europe and did quite well over here. It was one the first of several hit singles the band would have between 1979 and 1981. The Selecter would go through a series of personnel changes and reformations, disbanding and reforming between 1982 and 2005. Black would go on to a successful acting career between leaving the band and getting back together with them.

The Selecter were a landmark band during a pioneering time. And for some reason, the music just doesn't seem old. That's a good thing.