Too Much Too Young: The Music of 2Tone & Beyond

Too Much Too Young comes to the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on Saturday 8 May 2027, starting at 7:30pm. It's a ska theatre show that's back by popular demand after a record-breaking tour in 2026. The production hails from Coventry, the home of The Specials, and it's the only show endorsed by Lynval Golding of The Specials and Neol Davies of The Selecter.

On stage is a nine-piece live band with a full brass section, and the set draws on the sounds of Madness, The Specials, The Beat, Bad Manners, The Selecter and The Bodysnatchers. Those are the big names of the 2Tone era and the ska revival that followed, so if you know those bands, you'll know the kind of songs they're working with. The show pairs those tracks with digital visuals, authentic styling and a dynamic cast, and it runs for two hours.

It's a high-energy night, and the brass section is a big part of that — it's a live band, not a backing track, so the sound comes from the stage. The whole thing is built around the 2Tone sound that started in Coventry, and the endorsement from Golding and Davies puts it in direct conversation with the people who were there at the start. Tickets are £32.50, and the show starts at 7:30pm at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on Saturday 8 May.