The Bodysnatchers (band)
Encyclopedia
The Bodysnatchers were a seven-piece all-female band involved in the British
2 Tone
ska
revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
by Nicky Summers in 1979, in the aftermath of the punk rock
scene, The Bodysnatchers released two ska
/rocksteady
single
s on 2 Tone Records
. Their first concert
was in November 1979 at the Windsor Castle pub
in west London
, where they supported Shane MacGowan
's band The Nips. For their third gig, they were invited by Chrysalis Records
to play at Debbie Harry
's birthday party in late 1979. After signing to 2 Tone Records, they undertook a tour supporting The Selecter
in spring 1980, and during that summer toured with The Specials
and The Go-Go's
. The Bodysnatchers also played London's Hammersmith Odeon supporting Toots and the Maytals, as well as other slots with artists such as Lene Lovich
and Madness
.
They appeared in the documentary film
Dance Craze
, featuring live performances by various 2 Tone
bands. The Bodysnatchers played together for less than two years, with the group disbanding in 1981, not having released an album
. Some of the original members evolved into another all-girl band, The Belle Stars
. After The Specials' original vocalists left the band, the Bodysnatchers' lead singer, Rhoda Dakar
, went on to sing with The Special AKA.
", a harrowing tale of rape, was later recorded by Dakar and The Special AKA, featuring Nicky Summers on bass guitar.
In 1984, Sarah Jane Owen and Penny Layton formed the all-girl ska band, The Deltones, who released an album and two singles on Unicorn Records in 1989. The group disbanded in 1991.
Dakar has performed in Skaville UK, alongside former Bad Manners
members Martin Stewart and Louis Alphonso. Dakar contributed vocals to Skaville UK's debut album, 1973, which was released in July 2007. In late 2007, Dakar released a solo album on Moon Ska World
. Cleaning In Another Woman's Kitchen is an acoustic
album featuring new material plus covers
of The Bodysnatchers hits, "Do Rocksteady" and "Easy Life".
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
2 Tone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Career
Formed in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by Nicky Summers in 1979, in the aftermath of the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
scene, The Bodysnatchers released two ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
/rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s on 2 Tone Records
2 Tone Records
2 Tone Records was an English record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone.-History:...
. Their first concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
was in November 1979 at the Windsor Castle pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where they supported Shane MacGowan
Shane MacGowan
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan is an Irish musician and singer, best known as the original singer and songwriter of The Pogues.-History:...
's band The Nips. For their third gig, they were invited by Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
to play at Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
's birthday party in late 1979. After signing to 2 Tone Records, they undertook a tour supporting The Selecter
The Selecter
The Selecter are a 2 Tone ska revival band from Coventry, England, formed in mid 1979.Like many other bands in the ska revival movement, The Selecter featured a racially diverse line-up. Their lyrics featured themes connected to politics and marijuana, set to strong melodies and a danceable beat...
in spring 1980, and during that summer toured with The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
and The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
. The Bodysnatchers also played London's Hammersmith Odeon supporting Toots and the Maytals, as well as other slots with artists such as Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich is an American singer based in England, who first gained attention as part of the New Wave music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her most popular hit single was "Lucky Number", first released in 1979.-Early years:...
and Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
.
They appeared in the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Dance Craze
Dance Craze
Dance Craze is a 1981 British documentary film about the English 2 Tone music genre.The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness, who he met during their first US tour. Massot later changed his plans to include the whole 2 Tone movement...
, featuring live performances by various 2 Tone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
bands. The Bodysnatchers played together for less than two years, with the group disbanding in 1981, not having released an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
. Some of the original members evolved into another all-girl band, The Belle Stars
The Belle Stars
The Belle Stars were an all female British rock band, founded in London in 1980 by former members of the 2 Tone ska revival band, The Bodysnatchers.-Career:...
. After The Specials' original vocalists left the band, the Bodysnatchers' lead singer, Rhoda Dakar
Rhoda Dakar
Rhoda Dakar is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label.-Career:...
, went on to sing with The Special AKA.
Aftermath
Although The Bodysnatchers did not record an album, their original composition "The BoilerThe Boiler (song)
The Boiler is one of two transitional songs of the Specials, the other one is Jungle Music, transitional because they are both released between the split of the Specials and the start of the Special AKA, it was released on 2 Tone Records....
", a harrowing tale of rape, was later recorded by Dakar and The Special AKA, featuring Nicky Summers on bass guitar.
In 1984, Sarah Jane Owen and Penny Layton formed the all-girl ska band, The Deltones, who released an album and two singles on Unicorn Records in 1989. The group disbanded in 1991.
Dakar has performed in Skaville UK, alongside former Bad Manners
Bad Manners
Bad Manners are an English 2 Tone ska band. They quickly became the novelty favourites of the UK pop scene through their bald outsized frontman's on-stage antics, earning early exposure through their Top of The Pops exploits and an appearance in the live film documentary, Dance Craze.They were at...
members Martin Stewart and Louis Alphonso. Dakar contributed vocals to Skaville UK's debut album, 1973, which was released in July 2007. In late 2007, Dakar released a solo album on Moon Ska World
Moon Ska World
Moon Ska World, formerly known as Moon Ska Europe, was formed in 1998 as the European sister label of the defunct record label Moon Ska Records. It is based in the United Kingdom. The name change was revealed through the Moon Ska Europe website in 2006...
. Cleaning In Another Woman's Kitchen is an acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
album featuring new material plus covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Bodysnatchers hits, "Do Rocksteady" and "Easy Life".
Line-up
- Rhoda DakarRhoda DakarRhoda Dakar is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label.-Career:...
– vocals - Sarah Jane Owen – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Stella Barke – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Nicky Summers – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Penny Leyton – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Miranda Joyce – alto saxAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
- Jane Summers – drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s (1979–1980) - Judy Parsons – drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s (1980–1981)