AUTHOR: RICHARD EDDINGTON
INTRODUCTION BY MARK BEDFORD OF MADNESS
By 1979, punk had grown up and smacked of an almost middle-aged respectability. Waiting in the wings, punk's smarter, but no less snotty little brother - Two Tone - was about to emerge. Within two lightning fast years, Two Tone had become the dominant music, fashion and dissenting voice of a disillusioned generation. It is a story rooted in the socio-economic climate of the late Seventies/early Eighties, but also in Two Tone's punk and ska predecessors. With 'Sent from Coventry', author Richard Eddington meticulously examines the pre-Two Tone lives of pivotal figures within this unique youth movement such as Jerry Dammers and The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, Bad Manners et al. He follows their story from before the birth of Two Tone through to its sudden demise at the peak of its influence, coincidentally just as British society itself seemed to be fragmenting into scattered pieces. He also traces its continuing impact and enormous influence on global music and fashion.
Eddington has collated extensive interview material with key band members, insights from idustry commentators such as broadcasting legend John Peel, record producers and also friends and associates of the numerous bands.The culmination of three years of exhaustive research, this book compellingly recounts for the very first time how a monochrome and embattled Britain was re-energised and coloured by Two Tone and its subsequent lasting legacy.
In his desperation to be part of the Two Tone scene in any way possible, author Richard Eddington lived and worked in the heart of Coventry during those heady years. His experiences indelibly mark this chronicle with a deeply personal slant, whilst setting the saga firmly within the context of life in Thatcher's Britain. The tale is complemented by previously unpublished photographs from the personal archives of key band members.