I went to see The Selecter
at Bodega in Wellington last weekend, and while it won’t rate as the best gig I’ve
seen all year, it was certainly one to help restore my otherwise ragged faith in
the concept of the "nostalgia circuit".
Fronted by originals Pauline
Black and Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson, The Selecter
offered the not-quite-sold-out venue a highly polished performance; the band
was professional, tight, and as sharp as ever. There were new (ish) songs near the end, but for the most part the gig was all
about giving the punters exactly what they came to see – old stuff from the Too
Much Pressure album, and other tunes from the band's 1979-1981 pomp.
And so we took a trip
back in time, from ‘Three Minute Hero’ second song in, to ‘Missing Words’,
‘Black and Blue’, ‘Celebrate the Bullet’, a superb ‘Train To Skaville’ cover, plus
many others, right on through to stand-outs ‘James Bond’ and ‘On My Radio’, which
closed the set after more than an hour of whirlwind energy. We then got another
20 minutes in the form of an encore, which included ‘Too Much Pressure’, the ubiquitous
title track from the album we were there to celebrate the 35th
anniversary of.
Fantastic news this week that 2-tone legends The
Selecter will open a six-date tour of Australia with three gigs in NZ this October – one each for Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland. For me
this is a bucket list gig, up there with The Specials in Godzone back in 2009.
I’ve always believed that The Selecter and The Specials were/are the most authentic
acts of the late 70s ska explosion. I didn’t
mind missing out on The Beat (a few months back) and I
never really warmed to Madness, but there was a degree of political nous and serious social commentary
present in the music of The Specials and The Selecter that elevated
both bands to a height other acts of the era never quite attained ...
PRESS RELEASE:
Metropolis Touring and Tombowler proudly present:
TOO MUCH PRESSURE – 35th Anniversary Tour!
2-Tone Legends The Selecter will return to Australia this
October on their Too Much Pressure 35th Anniversary Tour!
One of the most vital, visceral and important ska / 2-Tone
acts ever, The Selecter are fronted by the female icon of the 2-Tone era, Pauline
Black (cited as a prime influence by No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani) and Arthur 'Gaps'
Hendrickson. Mixing punk, ska and reggae, The Selecter reflected the social and
political issues of the early Thatcher years in Britain and gave a voice to
disaffected youth across the racial divide that still rings true today.
The Selecter burst onto the ska scene in March 1979 with the
self titled song on the flipside of The Specials 'Gangsters' (the debut release
on 2-Tone Records). They followed that in October with their own single, the
skankin’ classic 'On My Radio'. And in February 1980 they released their classic
debut album Too Much Pressure which spawned the timeless - 'Three Minute
Hero', 'Missing Words' and of course 'Too Much Pressure'. It will be played IN
FULL along with a special encore of all your favourites from their extensive
back catalogue!
Pauline Black “We thought our 35th anniversary would be the
perfect time to revisit our very first album Too Much Pressure and perform it
in full…for the very first time! We can’t wait to get on the road to bring our
message of multiculturalism from across 4 decades to venues up and down the
land. See you there!”
After hitting Australian shores in 2012 for the first
time ever, the band have jumped at the chance to return to a country filled
with 2-Tone lovers. They will kick things off with three shows in New Zealand,
where they are venturing for the first time before playing every capital city
in Oz. As anyone who came along last time knows this isn’t a band simply going
through the motions – they still put every bit of energy they have into their
shows and deliver the ska goodness!
"The pit and circle of sweaty dancers threatened to
spin out of control." Coachella Review
"A joyous rude-boy revue from an act as slick and brash as
their shiny silver suits." GQ Magazine
I went to see The Selecter
at Bodega in Wellington last weekend, and while it won’t rate as the best gig I’ve
seen all year, it was certainly one to help restore my otherwise ragged faith in
the concept of the "nostalgia circuit". 
