Introduction
On February 14, 1981, the soundtrack to the Dance Craze film was released, which premiered in England a day later. The 2 Tone craze was on its last legs, so the album and the film became more of an afterthought.
2 Tone
The 2 Tone label kept audiences thoroughly engaged from 1979 through 1980. With sparkling, uptempo, socially critical music, exciting performances, and perfect singles, the label was responsible for the ska revival that had gripped the UK and large parts of Europe. By 1981, things began to fade. Almost all the bands had turned their backs on the 2 Tone label. The Specials were (of course) still associated with 2 Tone, but they too were nearing the end, even though the band would deliver one final masterpiece: the brilliant Ghost Town single on June 12, 1981.
Dance Craze – Film poster
Dance Craze (film)
The concert film/documentary consisted of live recordings of bands that had previously been associated with the 2 Tone label (with the exception of Bad Manners). Director Joe Massot had originally planned to only film Madness, whom he had met during their first tour of the United States, but decided to adjust his plans and focus on the 2 Tone movement instead.
All recordings were taken from English concerts in 1980, when the 2 Tone craze was still at its peak. The idea behind the film was to capture a youth movement on film.
Incidentally, the documentary’s interpretation (providing context and commentary on the 2 Tone phenomenon) does not go much further than an introduction and the inclusion of old Pathe News footage from 1958 halfway through the film.
The film opens with images of several neon signs referring to dance halls, after which the narrator guides the viewer into the story.
All over Britain signs like this flash their nightly invitation. And in response more than half a million people go dancing every week all the year round.
…
Today they’ve turned off the wireless and turned on the musical heat in the nation’s dance halls. Beneath the neon lights youth resolves its differences. It’s an offbeat toe tapping sound. A rhythm for their feet that takes high-spirited youngsters off the streets and into a music that speaks to them. It’s been called ska, it’s even being called blue beat and rock steady. But when these bands start swinging our young people are in total agreement. The only word for it is fun.
After that, the film effectively becomes a concert movie. The following bands/songs are presented in sequence:
- Nite Klub – The Specials
- The Prince – Madness
- Ne-Ne-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nu-Nu – Bad Manners
- 007 (Shanty Town) – The Bodysnatchers
- Three Minute Hero – The Selecter
- Ranking Full Stop – The Beat
- Big Shot – The Beat
- Concrete Jungle – The Specials
- Swan Lake – Madness
- Razor Blade Alley – Madness
- Missing Words – The Selecter
- Let’s Do The Rock Steady – The Bodysnatchers
- Lip Up Fatty – Bad Manners
- Madness – Madness
- Too Much Too Young – The Specials
Dance Craze – Soundtrack – Poster
At this point, the film is interrupted by six minutes of footage from old Pathe News broadcasts, including a segment titled It’s the Age of the Teenager, implying that 2 Tone was no different from the youth movement of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
After this interruption, the concert film resumes where it had left off.
- On My Radio – The Selecter
- Easy Life – The Bodysnatchers
- Rough Rider – The Beat
- Man At C&A – The Specials
- Inner London Violence – Bad Manners
- Night Boat To Cairo – Madness
- Twist And Crawl – The Beat
- Wooly Bully – Bad Manners
- Too Much Pressure – The Selecter
- Mirror In The Bathroom – The Beat
- One Step Beyond – Madness
- Nite Klub – The Specials
N.B.:
The Bodysnatchers had already split up by the time the film was released.
Dance Craze – Soundtrack
Dance Craze (soundtrack)
The soundtrack reduced the 27 songs featured in the film to 15 tracks.
- Concrete Jungle – The Specials
- Mirror In The Bathroom – The Beat
- Lip Up Fatty – Bad Manners
- Razor Blade Alley – Madness
- Three Minute Hero – The Selecter
- Easy Life – The Bodysnatchers
- Big Shot – The Beat
- One Step Beyond – Madness
- Ranking Full Stop – The Beat
- Man At C&A – The Specials
- Missing Words – The Selecter
- Inner London Violence – Bad Manners
- Night Boat To Cairo – Madness
- Too Much Pressure – The Selecter
- Nite Klub – The Specials
On the American CD reissue of the soundtrack, the Madness recordings were removed for “legal reasons”. To compensate, the tracks from The Specials’ EP Too Much Too Young and a live recording of The Selecter’s Carry Go Bring Come were added to the release. On the same edition, The Beat was listed as The English Beat.
Dance Craze – 2023 reissue
After Dance Craze, 1981
The 2 Tone craze would soon fade away, apart from the release of The Specials’ Ghost Town. The status of Dance Craze as a monument to the movement and the energy of its heyday was fortunately revived in 2023. Both the film and soundtrack had long been out of print when the film even returned to cinemas, followed by Blu-ray and DVD releases. The footage was remastered and the film looked fantastic.
In closing
What do you think of Dance Craze? Let us know!
Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: Dance Craze, the movie and soundtrack. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.
