''Original Rude Boy'' (2009) is the autobiography of

Neville Staple Neville Eugenton Staple (born 11 April 1955), sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born English singer, known for his work with the 2 Tone ska band the Specials, as well as with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. He also pe ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

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 ...

band

The Specials 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, Lynval ...

. The book was launched in May, 2009 to coincide with the reunion tour of The Specials. It sets out to chart the black

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

influence on the second wave of ska which originated in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

in the late 1970s — in particular, Staple's involvement in the

rude boy Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi, and rudy are slang terms that originated in 1960s Jamaican street culture, and that are still used today. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other ...

scene.

Major themes

In ''Original Rude Boy'', Neville Staple describes the

Sound system (Jamaican) In Jamaican popular culture, a sound system is a group of disc jockeys, engineers and MCs playing ska, rocksteady or reggae music. The sound system is an important part of Jamaican culture and history. History The sound system concept fir ...

scene that developed in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s. He became a DJ with a system called Jah Baddis alongside future Specials

road crew The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

members Trevor Evans and Rex Griffiths. Staple candidly describes how he slipped into a life of crime, eventually resulting in his conviction for burglary and a period in

borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

. This part of the book has attracted criticism from some ska fans. At the Holyhead Youth Club in Coventry, Staple first heard a band called The Coventry Automatics rehearsing and became their roadie. After a couple of years touring with them, he joined the band on vocals and they renamed themselves The Specials. Staple details his involvement in the Third Wave or American wave of ska music. His production work including time in the studio with US ska bands like

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, the ...

Unwritten Law Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California. They have released seven full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour. They are notable for their singles ...

and Rancid. ''Original Rude Boy'' details how Staple spent several years in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

working on various production projects before returning to the UK in 2001. The Specials announced a reunion tour in 2008 with sell-out UK dates in April and May, 2009. Specials founder member Jerry Dammers refused to join the tour and Staple gives his explanation why Dammers declined to tour with other band members.

References

External links

Neville Staple interviewed on Sky News
*
Neville Staple's literary agent web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Original Rude Boy 2009 non-fiction books British autobiographies Music autobiographies Aurum Press books