The 1981 concert film Dance Craze anthologizes performances by many of the UK acts of the 80’s ska revival, many of whom were associated with the legendary record label 2 Tone.
The name of that label emphasizes one of the most remarkable aspects of that ska resurgence in the UK: groups with black and white members, performing music that combined the energy and politics of punk with the rhythm and horns of ska.
I’m not especially fond of concert films but this one is truly exceptional. It is not just the bands’ performances, but a snapshot of a microcosm that will be, lamentably, as brief as the life of the 2 Tone label that led the movement.
2 Tone was the creation of Jerry Dammers, keyboardist and chief songwriter of The Specials. It is no surprise that group is one of the main attractions in this picture.
One particularly noteworthy moment occurs while they are doing “Too Much Too Young” and are nearly overwhelmed by the audience. The people at the front of the stage start piling on top of each other, like a tidal wave slowly building up until it threatens to crash down upon the stage.
The Specials also bookend the feature, appropriately, with their song “Nite Club.” The encore performance of the number rolls under the end credits while audience members swarm the stage.
One thing I was very happy to see is, as much as I like The Specials, other acts have (almost) as much screentime. We get to see Madness, The Beat (we know them as The English Beat here in the colonies), Bad Manners, The Bodysnatchers and The Selecter.
Among those acts, The Bodysnatchers are noteworthy for being all-female. Another act which stood out from the others is Bad Manners though, unfortunately, because frontman Buster Bloodvessel’s shtick wore on me fast. Basically, he’s fat, yells all the lyrics and jumps around a lot with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Huh.
The one aspect of this movie which most surprised me is how exceptionally well it is shot. Fortunately, it doesn’t use showy camerawork, but it does put a Steadycam to great use. That was a relatively new innovation at the time and there were few people in the world trained to use it well. The fluid motion of the camera on stage really captures the energy of the performances.
Joe Massot directs, and I am glad he was able to largely rein in what would have likely been poor creative impulses, as he also directed the bombastic Led Zeppelin film The Song Remains the Same. Still, there are some bizarre moments, such as footage of ballet dancers inexplicably interspersed into a Madness number. Also, the film takes a weird detour at the midpoint, where footage from old newsreels and television programs shows some of the teenage music and movements of the late 50s.
I watched this on a BFI set that has an astonishing restoration demo showing before and after versions of a few clips. The audio is also lavishly restored, and can be heard in stereo, surround and even Dolby Atmos. Quite simply, this is a film that looks and sounds stunning on blu-ray.
Other features on the disc include some cut performances which are not restored. There’s also a fantastic half-hour installment of the BBC’s program Arena from 1980 which follows an NME journalist to Coventry where he hangs with The Specials in the 2 Tone “offices”. I especially like Dammers going through the drawers of their sole desk, saying things like “And this is the A&R department. And these are the contracts…”
Dammers also shows the record that was his introduction to ska, a budget collection of original tracks from the 60’s. I had a huge smile while watching the group dance and sing to “You’re Wondering Now” by Andy & Joey, one of my very most favorite songs.
The title of Dance Craze is appropriate, as the performances are consistently high-energy and have a lot of dancing in them. Given all the mics are wired, I was astonished nobody tripped at any point. The movie left me happy to have been briefly immersed in a time and place where black and white could work together to make such amazing music. And yet I also felt a bit depressed, and not just because of racial struggles that continue to this day, but because every single person I noticed in the audience was white.
Dir: Joe Massot
Concert film with numerous acts
Watched on BFI blu-ray (region B)