After a year in the UK, Gen and I will be back in Sydney very soon. We'll be heading along to Take It or Leave It @ Kelly's in Newtown on Saturday January 10. I've bought a few new records while over here and will be spinning, so please come along!

From photos and reports, the night is only becoming more and more popular, which makes me quite excited. While I witness a year of nights at the Sly Fox, I'm amazed a night dedicated to ska, reggae and punk has been able to continue, largely due to the hard work of Danielle Sullivan as well as the punters. Let's hope it keeps going strong.

I'll be missing the Specials tour and Madstock in Victoria Park by heading back to Sydney, but the sun and ocean will go some way to making up for that.

Rockers Revolt
http://www.rockersrevolt.com

For fans of: reggae in its many guises, particularly at the dub end of the spectrum

Pama International was one of the busiest bands in the UK during 2008 and it doesn’t look as though 2009 is going to get any quieter for the reggae act. Their latest project, which includes the album in question and a 2009 tour, is called Highrise and aims to focus attention on the need to curb the amount of knife and gun crime in the country.

It is a poignant issue here in the UK, with incidents of serious violence occurring on a regular basis. The album itself (well the first half) takes aim at this issue using a variety of versions of the Pama International song Highrise, first found on their last album, Love Filled Dub Band. Singer Michie One is the vocalist on the original track, a call for the young to settle, over the classic Cherry Oh Baby rhythm, while the likes of Dennis Al Capone, Billy Bragg, Wrong Tom and Mungos Hi Fi offer their names and talents to the versions.

You’ll want to like the Cherry Oh Baby rhythm to buy this album then, but I don’t imagine there are many reggae fans that don’t. Having seen Dennis Alcapone perform earlier this year and been entirely absorbed by his skills, I found his version my favourite. His yelps and squeals, mixed with a relaxed lyrical delivery, make him a particularly entertaining performer. He’s also had years to master how to complement the original vocalist. Another favourite performer, Billy Bragg, is next up. I was slightly disappointed he didn’t offer something knew – it is simply To Have and Have Not over the rhythm, but it is interesting to hear it as a reggae track. Wrongtom’s dub is fairly standard and Mungos Hi Fi provide a dubstep version, which although it is not my thing, shows talent, and is probably the most diverse of the versions.

Madness fans around the world would all like to say they were at the original Madstock, and many of them were. The Madness outdoor extravaganza in London was a phenomenal success and ever since, there have been calls for it to return.

Mark 17 July 2009 in your calendars! Madstock will return to London's Victoria Park. Add to the Specials string of gigs announced recently and you have somewhat of a 2-tone heaven. Unfortunately, I won't be here for either. But then, I've had my share of luck.

There hasn't been a huge amount of updates to Dizzybeat lately, but that doesn't mean I've been doing nothing. It is under a month until I leave the UK after about a year here and so I am starting to reflect on all that we've done here as well as looking to Australia and what it has to offer (the sun, oh how I miss the sun). These thoughts have manifested themselves in the form of a print zine that will hopefully be out by February 1st and a guide to Australian ska and reggae, which will be accessible soon, at least in its earliest stages.

So that is where we are at. There are plenty of Xmas dos around so make sure you get out and about to support those people who share a love of ska and reggae.

Great news for many, although I will have left the UK by then. Unfortunately, Jerry Dammers isn't going to be a part of the tour, unless he changes his mind, which you would have to think is unlikely. I'm sure it will still be a great night, and I wish I was going, but one can't ignore the lack of the founding member.

Newcastle, Academy - April 22nd

Sheffield, Academy - 23rd

Birmingham, Academy – 25th & 26th

Glasgow, Academy - 28th

Manchester, Apollo - May 3rd

London, Brixton Academy - 6th & 7th

When I was first trying my hand at something resembling a zine, I received a package in the mail containing a wad of A4 paper. It was titled Tour Madness, and described every single Madness gig to that date including, in many cases, set lists and press coverage. It was amazing, and I've always thought it wasn't really presented in the way it should have been. Now it makes up part of a website called Madness Central, brought to you by the same people that present the Madness Information Service, a weekly email newsletter of all things Madness. They are an obsessive lot.

Along with Tour Madness, the website features a news blog, downloads, interviews and press archive.

Spend a few days, or weeks rather, perusing it.
http://www.madness-central.com

Rudeboy Corner Records
http://www.rudeboycorner.com

For fans of: Soulful swinging ska and reggae

Rarely does an entire album grab my interest. It isn’t surprising, as we all have different tastes and favour different styles of Jamaican music. Bands have the difficult job of trying to cater to different predilections and rarely are they completely successful. The better road to take may be to do what you do best and hope that people like it, and that is the option one feels Mr T-bone and the Young Lions have taken with their album, Heroes. And they hit the spot.

If you had to make comparisons, I suppose The Pietasters or Spearhead could get a mention, but there is a European flavour and a quirkiness that gives the band their very own identity. Take a track like, The president of the republic of bananas. It is a song about the attitude of rogue heads of state, not a new topic, but done in a different way and with a great catchy up-beat number. I’ve backed calls by others that some ska bands aren’t forthright enough in their positions, but Mr T-bone can’t be accused of that. Alongside Republic of bananas, we have a series of songs, such as Money and Excuse me that send a strong message in a frank, but not oversimplified fashion, while maintaining music that provides for dancing.

The more upbeat numbers are my favourite, but the slower songs such as the minor key Somewhere or dubbed out Me and my soul provide a variety that is welcome and sophisticated in its musicianship. It’s worth mentioning here that Mr T-bone himself has written, arranged and produced the entire album, and done so very successfully. Some of the English is a little amiss, but it doesn’t affect the enjoyment I gain from listening to this great record.

Favourite Tracks: The president of the republic of bananas, Excuse me, Let ‘em go.

Overall: It was with great pleasure that I reviewed this album. You won’t find a more soulful swinging contemporary ska album this year. Buy it for someone for Christmas and then borrow it.

Album available from: http://www.rudeboycorner.com
Mr T-bone on the web: http://www.mrtbone.com