2 Tone Legacy - Free Nelson Mandela

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the songs covered in this series.Free Nelson Mandela might be the song that finally demonstrated the power of 2 Tone. The song was originally released as a single in March of 1984 by The Special AKA from their In The Studio album to protest the imprisonment of Mandela by the apartheid regime in South Africa. The song soon became the unofficial anthem for the international anti-apartheid movement that put pressure on the then white minority regime in South Africa. It took 27 years but Mandela was finally freed in 1990 and then elected President in 1994. While the song had a world changing impact in helping to draw attention to apartheid and Mandela's situation, the origins of the song – written by Jerry Dammers -- are fascinating and quite dramatic, not only because of the impact of the song, but also the strange and surreal circumstances under which it was recorded. The In The Studio album on which it appears took 2 years and cost half a million pounds to produce making it one of the most expensive albums ever made.Ska Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George and appears on Pantheon Podcasts. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  This episode of the Ska Boom podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. For more information visit https://betterhelp.com/skaboomPlease note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Ska Boom - An American Ska & Reggae Podcast is hosted by Marc Wasserman, author of Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History published by DiWulf Publishing. Wasserman helped to found Bigger Thomas -- the first ska band from New Jersey -- in 1988 and had a front row seat to watch the growth of American ska. Ska Boom is the audio companion to the book, which tells the origin stories of 18 American ska and reggae bands and one national tour from the early 80s through the mid 90s that helped to give birth to and define a uniquely American version of ska and reggae. The podcast explores the impact of ska and reggae on popular music and features interviews with key ska and reggae musicians, audio documentaries about the history of ska and reggae and special episodes based on news and developments in the world of ska.