The Bodysnatchers were a seven-piece all-female band involved in the British

2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell * Two-tone sequential paging, sel ...

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Career

Formed in London by Nicky Summers in 1979, in the aftermath of the punk rock scene, The Bodysnatchers released two

/ rocksteady singles on 2 Tone Records. Their first concert was in November 1979 at the Windsor Castle pub in west London, where they supported

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGow ...

's band

The Nips ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. For their third gig, they were invited by Chrysalis Records to play at

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

's birthday party in late 1979. After signing to 2 Tone Records, the band released the single " Let's Do Rock Steady" (UK No. 22) and made an appearance on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' in March 1980. They undertook a tour supporting

The Selecter The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979. The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead ...

in spring 1980, and during that summer toured with

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

and

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...

. They also released the double A side single "Easy Life"/"Too Experienced" which was produced by

Jerry Dammers Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band The Specials (also known as The Special A.K.A.) and later The Spatial AKA Orche ...

. The Bodysnatchers also played London's

Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...

supporting

Toots and the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

, as well as other slots with artists such as

Lene Lovich Lene Lovich (; born Lili-Marlene Premilovich; March 30, 1949) is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singl ...

and Madness. They appeared in the documentary film ''

Dance Craze ''Dance Craze'' is a 1981 American documentary film about the British 2 Tone music genre. The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness, whom he met during their first US tour. Massot lat ...

'', featuring live performances by various

bands. The Bodysnatchers played together for less than two years, with the group disbanding in 1981, not having released an album. The band recorded two sessions for the ''

John Peel Show John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

''. 14 April 1980: What's This?; Ghost of the Vox Continental; Happy Time Tune; The Boiler. 8 September 1980: Private Eye; Hiawatha; Mixed Feelings; The Loser

Aftermath

Many of the original members evolved into another all-female band,

The Belle Stars The Belle Stars were an all female British pop/rock band. Formed in 1980, they are best known for their 1983 hit single " Sign of the Times". Career After The Bodysnatchers broke up, guitarists Stella Barker and Sarah-Jane Owen, saxophon ...

, who had a number of chart hits in the UK between 1982–83 and a US Top 20 hit with their version "

Iko Iko "Iko Iko" () is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written and released in 1953 as a sin ...

" in 1989 (three years after the band had split up, though the track was featured in the film ''

Rain Man ''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive, selfish young wheeler-dealer Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), who discovers that his estranged ...

''). After The Specials' original vocalists left the band, the Bodysnatchers' lead singer,

Rhoda Dakar Rhoda Dakar (born 1959) is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label. She also worked with The Specials and Special AKA, also 2-Tone artists. Career Dakar, bo ...

, went on to sing with

The Special AKA The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynva ...

. Although The Bodysnatchers did not record an album, their original composition "

The Boiler "The Boiler" is a single by Rhoda Dakar with The Special AKA (The Specials). It was released in January 1982 on 2 Tone Records. Early version "The Boiler" is about a woman with low self-esteem (she compares herself with an old boiler) who is ra ...

", 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-female ska band, The Deltones, who released an album and two singles on

Unicorn Records Unicorn-Kanchana is a British independent record label founded by John Goldsmith (died 2020), a former London police officer. Originally known as Unicorn Records, the name Kanchana was added later to distinguish the company from Unicorn Digital o ...

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".

Line-up

– vocals * Sarah Jane Owen – lead guitar * Stella Barker – rhythm guitar * Nicky Summers – bass guitar * Penny Leyton – keyboards * Miranda Joyce – alto sax * Jane Summers – drums (1979–1980) * Judy Parsons – drums (1980–1981)

Discography

*1980 " Let's Do Rock Steady" (UK No. 22) / "Ruder Than You" * 1980 "Easy Life" (UK No. 50) / "Too Experienced"

Compilations

* ''

'' * ''The Two Tone Story'' * ''This Are Two Tone'' * ''A Taste of Two Tone''

References

External links

The Bodysnatchers history

Blog by Nicky Summers, The Bodysnatchers founder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodysnatchers, The Second-wave ska groups All-female bands English ska musical groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Musical groups from London 2 Tone Records artists