Rude Girls

Jason was the man for reading all the 2 Tone related books that came out so this is my first outing for a while. The book tells stories of adversity and perseverance from many women involved with ska in the UK in the 70s & 80s driectly from interviews with the women in question. And just as there was enormous racial prejudice in those days, there was also open discrimination towards women, nowhere more so than in the music world, and indeed many ska standards were openly smutty and sexist.

Some uncomfortable reading where less than flattering stories are told about some of our heroes, but stories that need to be told, and there are also great insights into the music scene told from the female perspective, with some new first-hand, behind-the-scenes anecdotes from people who were present at rehearsals, gigs, recording sessions and TV appearances.

Written by Heather Augustyn and thoroughly researched with a commendable attention to sources and citations, this is a great and necessary addition to the 2 Tone library.