Sunday, March 05, 2023

The Bodysnatchers: Let's Do Rock Steady

The Bodysnatchers were a seven-piece all-female band involved in the British 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

They disbanded after two years without releasing an album, but this single did get to 22 in the charts and they toured with The Selecter and supported Toots and the Maytals.

The lead singer, Rhoda Dakar, went on to sing with The Special AKA, while several other members of the band turned up in The Belle Stars.

Let's Do Rock Steady, was written by the Jamaican-British singer and producer Dandy Livingstone. It was released in October 1967 as B-flip side of his single We Are Still Rude. I love The Bodysnatchers' take on it,

You can hear more from The Bodysnatchers in a Peel Session, including The Boiler. This tale of rape is a long way from the 'irresistible flippancy' (Record Mirror) of Let's Do Rock Steady.

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