Original stereo and surround sound mixes by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley remastered for this release, plus a new Dolby Atmos surround sound mix approved by Jerry Dammers It’s 1980 and the policies implemented by Margaret Thatcher, elected British Prime Minister a year earlier, are already making an impact. That spring, riots broke out in the St Pauls district of Bristol. Inflation rose to over 20%. Unemployment stood at around 1.5 million and by the end of that summer it had risen to 2 million, with young people hit particularly hard. An inquest into the death of Blair Peach, killed as he took part in an anti-National Front protest, returned a much disputed verdict of misadventure, and the man dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper was engaged in a grotesque murdering spree. I could go on but you get the picture. Dance Craze is a 1981 concert film recorded at various venues throughout 1980 at the height of the 2Tone movement. It features exclusive live recordings by The Specials, Madness, The Selecter, The Beat, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers. US director Joe Massot, known for the psychedelic 60s curiosity Wonderwall and Led Zeppelin concert movie The Song Remains the Same, directed this tremendously vivid 1981 documentary about the British 2 Tone movement, this vital music being a kind of evolutionary product of reggae’s coexistence with punk the decade before.

Newly remastered in 4K from original film materials, DANCE CRAZE is presented here by the BFI and Chrysalis Records on Blu-ray and DVD (Dual Format Edition) for the first time, more than 40 years on from its theatrical release. But seeing the potential for the whole 2 Tone movement rather than just the one band, he decided to cover the whole scene. So live footage was shot in 1980 featuring Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, The Bodysnatchers, the Beat and Bad Manners.ABOUT USLouder Than War is a music, culture and media publication headed by The Membranes & Goldblade frontman John Robb. Online since 2010 it is one of the fastest-growing and most respected music-related publications on the net. The layers of archival treats on this DVD/Blu-ray release include a BBC Arenathat sent NME "cub reporter" Adrian Thrills to the chaotic offices of the record label in Coventry, where Jerry Dammers, the founder of The Specials, and the rest of the band were in fine form. DANCE CRAZE premieres at the Glasgow Film Festival on Thursday 9 March and will be screened at BFI IMAX, the biggest screen in Britain – 65 foot high with a 12-channel sound system – on Wednesday 22 March. The already sold out BFI IMAX screening will be introduced by members of the bands featured. 30 x Picturehouse cinemas are holding a special one-off screening on 23 March.

There’s live performances by The Specials, Madness, The Selecter, The Beat, The Bodysnatchers and Bad Manners (the latter being the only featured band never to have signed to 2 Tone) and the film flits between these six acts for a song or two at a time. Massot and his cinematographer Joe Dunton capture the kinetic energy on display inventively, with Dunton even sharing space with the musicians onstage as they play. Yes, the BFI, no less. Which seems like quite an honour. It didn’t seem quite so high-brow when I was watching this on a Saturday afternoon at Bolton Odeon all those years ago. It was utter carnage for the entire screening. Drench yourself in the high-energy, sweatbox world of British 2 Tone in the late-1970s and early 1980s with this legendary concert film. The DANCE CRAZE film, shot throughout 1980 and released in cinemas in 1981, brilliantly captures the cultural phenomenon that was the 2Tone movement and represents an important social document of the times. Directed by Joe Massot ( The Song Remains the Same) and filmed by Bafta award-winning cinematographer Joe Dunton, it showcases the very best of the British Ska phenomenon, with exclusive live performances from The Specials, Madness, The Selecter, The Beat, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers. The movie doesn’t get many screenings, and it hasn’t had a release on either DVD or Blu-ray. Until now. The BFI has produced a dual-format edition that works as both a DVD and Blu-ray.

It was blown up to 70mm because at the time that was the best way of achieving true multichannel sound in a widely compatible format, as opposed to the comparative fudge of Dolby Stereo. Available on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time ever, the film is presented in a new 4K restoration (from original film materials) and features brand new sound mixes by Chrysalis Records. Madness took their name from one of Buster’s biggest hits, while their one and only 2 Tone release was a tribute to him called The Prince, with the B-side an infectious cover of his single Madness. Their second single, One Step Beyond, was another cover. The Specials themselves naughtily stole the tune of his Al Capone for their debut single Gangsters. Too Hot was a direct cover of another of his songs, while Stupid Marriage borrowed its premise from Buster’s Judge Dread. 2 Tone owed a huge debt to the singer born Cecil Bustamente Campbell. It was shot in Super 35, one of the first films to use that process, if not the very first. As per the booklet, the BFI's release has been "scanned and remastered at 4K resolution using the only surviving 70mm print, held in the personal collection of Joe Dunton".