Too Much Too Young, the 2 Tone Records Story: Rude Boys, Racism, and the Soundtrack of a Generation

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Daniel Rachel

Too Much Too Young, the 2 Tone Records Story

Rude Boys, Racism, and the Soundtrack of a Generation

Daniel Rachel

$71.95 $64.50

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Akashic Books, Ltd.
04 June 2024

Music reviews & criticism; Reggae; Punk, New Wave & Indie; Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies

"--A Times/Sunday Times Book of the Year --An Uncut Book of the Year

--Long-Listed for the Penderyn Music Book Prize

--A Louder Than War Book of the Year

--A Blitzed Magazine Book of the Year

In 1979, 2 Tone Records exploded into the consciousness of music lovers in Britain, the US, and beyond, as albums by the Specials, the Selecter, Madness, the English Beat, and the Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born. 2 Tone was Black and white: a multiracial force of British and Caribbean musicians singing about social issues, racism, class, and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and fought against rightwing extremism. It was exuberant and eclectic: white youths learning to dance to the infectious rhythm of ska and reggae, crossed with a punk attitude, to create an original hybrid. The idea of 2 Tone was born in Coventry, England, and masterminded by a middle-class art student, Jerry Dammers, who envisioned an English Motown. Dammers signed a slew of successful artists, and a number of successive hits propelled 2 Tone onto Top of the Pops and into the hearts and minds of a generation. However, infighting among the bands and the pressures of running a label caused 2 Tone to bow to the inevitable weight of expectation and recrimination. Over the following years, Dammers built the label back up again, entering a new phase full of fresh signings and a beautiful end-piece finale in the activist hit song ""(Free) Nelson Mandela."" Told in three parts, Too Much Too Young is the definitive story of a label that for a brief, bright burning moment shaped British, American, and world culture."

By: Daniel Rachel
Imprint: Akashic Books, Ltd.
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 41mm
Weight: 660g
ISBN: 9781636141893
ISBN 10: 1636141897
Pages: 496
Publication Date: 04 June 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

"Daniel Rachel is a Birmingham-born, best-selling author whose previous works include: Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters; Walls Come Tumbling Down: The Music and Politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone, and Red Wedge; Don't Look Back in Anger: The Rise and Fall of Cool Britannia; The Lost Album of the Beatles: What If the Beatles Hadn't Split Up?; One for the Road: The Life & Lyrics of Simon Fowler & Ocean Colour Scene; and Oasis: Knebworth: Two Nights That Will Live Forever. He is also coauthor of Ranking Roger's autobiography, I Just Can't Stop It: My Life in the Beat. In 2021, Rachel was a guest curator of the ""2 Tone Lives & Legacies"" exhibition as part of Coventry Cultural City 2021, and he curated the anniversary edition of the Selecter's debut album, Too Much Pressure."

Reviews for Too Much Too Young, the 2 Tone Records Story: Rude Boys, Racism, and the Soundtrack of a Generation

"""A brilliantly vivid account of one of British pop culture's most inspiring movements--surely the definitive telling of the 2 Tone story.""--John Harris, author of The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock ""An incredible and detailed account of a massive watershed moment in British culture.""--Gurinder Chadha, filmmaker ""Daniel Rachel has bagged the whirlwind of 2 Tone with joy, honesty, and compassion to create the definitive account of one of Britain's finest youth movements.""--Suggs, singer of Madness ""This is a book about a few exceptionally talented people who came together and created something extraordinary.""--Charlie Higson, actor, comedian, author ""In Daniel Rachel, the great untold story of the post-punk era finally gets the storyteller it deserves. Too Much Too Young is every bit as thrilling, and just as achingly evocative, as the music it was written to celebrate.""--Pete Paphides, journalist and broadcaster"