THE SELECTER is currently taking a sabbatical. For info on what Pauline Black is currently doing click here.
The Selecter formed in 1979, spearheading the 2-tone movement alongside The Specials. The band, fronted by lead singer Pauline Black, enjoyed chart success, with the singles, Missing Words, Three Minute Hero, The Whisper and the classic On My Radio. Two albums were also released, Too Much Pressure and the critically acclaimed Celebrate The Bullet. The Selecter also contributed 4 songs to the cult film Dance Craze, which also featured The Specials, The Beat, Madness, Bad Manners and the all-female The Bodysnatchers. The band split up in 1982, with Pauline pursuing a career in TV, radio, theatre and film, as well as recording as a solo artist on Chrysalis records.
In 1991,Pauline, together with original guitarist and songwriter Neol Davies, reformed The Selecter recruiting ex-Bad Manners members, Martin Stewart (the Hammond organ) and Nick Welsh (bass), for a one off tour of the U.S.A. The reception of the band was so good that it was decided to carry on permanently and tours of Europe and Japan followed, resulting in the live album Out On The Streets released in 1992.
In 1993 Neol Davies parted company with The Selecter, just before the bands high profile Skavoovie tour with the founding fathers of ska, The Skatalites and the newly formed Special Beat. Since then the band have released seven studio albums of new material, which also feature contributions from original Jamaican legends, Prince Buster, trombonist Rico Rodriguez and Mr Double Barrel Dave Barker. In 1999, The Selecter was commissioned to record 45 songs from the illustrious back catalogue of the renowned reggae label Trojan Records.
1994 The Happy Album Demon
1995 Hairspray Triple X
1998 Cruel Britannia snapper
1999 Trojan Songbook Receiver
2000 Trojan Songbook 2 Receiver
2001 Trojan Songbook 3 Receiver
2003 Reel to Real Captain Mod
2004 saw the first ever DVD release of The Selecter, entitled Live In London, recorded at Dingwalls and released on Secret Films.
Other current projects of Selecter interest are Selecter Acoustic. Pauline and Nick have released two albums, Unplugged For The Rudeboy Generation and Requiem For A Black Soul with a stripped down, raw ska and reggae sound. Also the duo feature in 3 Men+Black, an acoustic ensemble, alongside JJ Burnel (The Stranglers), Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), Dave Wakeling (The Beat) and Roddy Radiation (The Specials). A Cd, Acoustic is available through A2E Records
The Selecter remain one of the true originals of the 2-tone era; always diversifying their music and never afraid to try something new. They still influence artists today, as shown by Basement Jaxxs sampling of On My Radio for their track Same Old Show and Gwen Stefanis invitation to the band to tour the U.S arena circuit with No Doubt.
The band is currently recording a new album, due for Spring 2006 release
Rolling Stone Magazine 2005: Hands down Pauline Black possessed the best voice that ever graced a 2-Tone release. Blessed with a bewitching soprano and dramatic panache, Blacks voice reached plateaus that made every other musical detail sound like part of a backdrop painted just to set the stage for her entrance. While The Specials were content to merely jazz up old ska standards, and Madness pleased themselves by playing up the zany angle, The Selecter shuttled through their songs like a band of ska revisionists, with Black rewriting songs with her voice and leaving her signature in every piercing note. Even if The Specials outsold them, and Madness outlasted them, The selecter were arguably the best that 2-Tone had to offer.
L.A.Times U.S.A: 'Whisky-A-Go-Go': "they turned the crowd on the dance-floor into a single throbbing creature"
