The Bodysnatchers were signed to the legendary British Ska label 2 Tone after only two gigs and were part of that multi-cultural musical revolution in the late 1970s. Yet surreally they never recorded an album so vocalist Rhoda Dakar has finally put that right some four decades later.
To realise this dream of finally making the great lost 2 Tone album she’s recruited a team of crack ska musicians including members of Pama International, the Sidewalk Doctors and bone fide legends Lynval Golding and Sir Horace Gentleman from former labelmates The Specials.
Recording a more modern version of their lost hit Easy Life was straightforward, but most of the tracks were pieced together from dodgy bootleg tapes and old John Peel Sessions.But they’ve pulled it off as they stomp and shank their way through dance anthem 007 and a bouncy Too Experienced which was the B-side of Easy Life.
This album was funded through Pledgemsuic and knocked out in a day, but you can’t tell as it all culminates in the mighty Let’s Do Rocksteady as Golding’s guitar, Karl Wirrman’s sax and Sean Flowerdew’s keyboards dart around Panter and drummer Mark Claydow’s locked in rhythms as Dakar sings her heart out like she was a teenager again.
