Rude Girls: Women in 2-Tone and One Step Beyond by ska music historian Heather Augustyn
The first book on women in ska will be released on March 8, 2023, International Women’s Day. Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond, published by Sally Brown Publishing, has been written by ska music historian Heather Augustyn and contains well over 50 interviews with women involved in ska bands that began during the 2-Tone era of ska in the late 1970s through the 1980s.
Women vocalists, musicians, composers, and managers are finally recognized as Augustyn weaves their personal stories of empowerment and struggle into a narrative with details of their bands’ performances and recordings.
Many bands played ska exclusively, while others dabbled in ska or toured with and supported ska. Some are well-known, some are more obscure.
“Women’s voices have been largely silent, until now,” said Augustyn. “These women made space for the rest of us. They are incredibly inspiring, funny, and powerful.”
Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond features interviews with members of the Selecter, the Specials and the Special AKA, the Bodysnatchers, the Beat, the Go-Go’s, the Belle Stars, Bow Wow Wow, Amazulu, Dexys Midnight Runners, Fun Boy Three, the Mo-Dettes, the Deltones, the Swinging Cats, the Potato 5, Maroon Town, Bananarama, Splashdown, the Friday Club, Holly and the Italians, the Forest Hill Billies, the Lemons, the Loafers, and many more.
This is Augustyn’s eighth book on ska music.
Amonghst other titles she has penned Ska: An Oral History, Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation, and Pioneering Women in Jamaican Music.
Augustyn also wrote the award-winning documentary Pick It Up! Ska in the ‘90s from Pop Motion Pictures and has been invited to speak on ska music in Jamaica, Spain, Vietnam, and all over the United States.
Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond published by Sally Brown Publishing March 28. Watch out for Punktuation’s Review.
Main Photo: Pauline Black at the Loopallu music festival in Ullapool in 2016 Credit: ANDREW MACCOLL
Follow Heather Augustyn on Her Socials
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Live review: Crymwav, Syteria & Roadkill Drive-Thru rock the H&A!
We’re super stoked to have LA rockers Crymwav journey back across the Atlantic for another run of shows in the UK, after thoroughly enjoying seeing
Album review: Pet Needs release ‘Elbows Out! This Is Capitalism’
Colchester four-piece Pet Needs are back with their fourth studio album ‘Elbows Out! This Is Capitalism’. Vocalist Johnny Marriott explains: “We wanted to make an
Album review: The Casualties are ready to ‘Detonate’
It’s been a long time between drinks for New York hardcore crew The Casualties. ‘Written in Blood’, their previous album, was released eight years ago
Album review: Wild Billy Childish and CTMF – ‘House on Fire’
There can’t be as many musicians out there as prolific as Billy Childish! Since his early records with punk outcasts, The Pop Rivets, Billy has
Album Review : Evil Blizzard whip up a storm with new LP ‘Death Songs & Lullabies’
This is the band’s 5th album, and I’m happy to report that Evil Blizzard do not get any less interesting. The Preston, UK collective are
Album review: Burned Up Bled Dry – ‘Next Stop…Dead Stop…’
As you can probably imagine, for the most part, ‘Next Stop…Dead Stop…’ is a fast and furious affair, on which the band combine raw, 80s-style
Punktuation Magazine For All Your Daily Punk News, Features, Interviews, Lifestyle and more!
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
