A touring theatre show and live ska party band playing the hits of the UK's 2 Tone and Ska era, from Madness and The Specials to UB40 and Dexy's.
House of Fun bring their touring show to The Fire Station on Friday 30 October, a night that puts the UK's 2 Tone and ska era centre stage. It's a live theatre show and a ska party band in one, and the set list runs through the hits of Madness, Bad Manners, The Beat, The Specials, The Selecter and The Bodysnatchers.
There's a bit more to it than just the songs, though. The show traces how Britain's ska revival was shaped by Jamaican music brought over by Caribbean communities, and how by the late 1970s, Black and white British musicians combined those sounds with punk and pop to create the 2 Tone movement. Figures like Pauline Black, Ranking Roger, Everett Morton, Saxa and Rhoda Dakar were at the heart of it. The repertoire also pulls in high-energy versions of songs by UB40, Dexy's, Lambrettas, Jam and the Kinks, so it's not just the 2 Tone bands on the bill.
The date adds another layer: it falls on the final Friday of Black History Month, and the whole show is built around the music that helped define multicultural Britain. The Fire Station itself is a purpose-built live music, theatre and performance venue in Sunderland's cultural quarter, so it's a proper room for a night like this.
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Doors open at 7:00pm, with the show starting at 7:30pm. Tickets are from £27, and under-14s must be accompanied by an adult.
