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First book on women in Ska to be released on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2023​

By Staff Contributor
Pauline Black at the

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.

Rude Girls Heather Augustyn cover

Main Photo: Pauline Black at the Loopallu music festival in Ullapool in 2016 Credit: ANDREW MACCOLL

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