COMPILATIONS
BAD MANNERS
THE ALBUMS 1980-85
CHERRY RED
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Representing the novelty wing of the early 80s British ska revival, Bad Manners always experienced a certain ongoing credibility problem. Indeed, their troubled relationship with the 2 Tone elite of The Specials, The Selecter and Madness was akin to that between Jilted John and first-generation punks such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash.
Yet Bad Manners were no duffers. They knew their ska-pop chops and from 1980 to 1984 enjoyed a string of hit singles, including going Top 3 with 1980’s Special Brew and the following year’s rather grisly cover of The Can-Can. Some viewers who saw their rendition of that song on Top Of The Pops at the time are still in therapy.