Editing 2 Tone Records (section)

== History ==
[[Jerry Dammers]] of the ska revival band [[the Specials]] started the record label in 1979.<ref name="King2018">{{cite book|author=Ian King|title=Appetite for Definition: An A-Z Guide to Rock Genres|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SltKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT28|date=6 November 2018|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0-06-268889-7|pages=28–}}</ref><ref name="Patton2018">{{cite book|author=Raymond A. Patton|title=Punk Crisis: The Global Punk Rock Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LB1rDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA105|date=4 September 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-087237-3|pages=105–}}</ref> Chrysalis had wanted to sign the Specials, but Dammers arranged a label deal, for Chrysalis to fund 15 singles a year and release at least ten of those.<ref>{{cite book
| last                 = Reynolds
| first                = Simon
| chapter              = Chapter 14: Ghost Dance: 2-Tone and the ska resurrection
| author-link          = Simon Reynolds
| date                  = February 2006
| title                 = [[Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984]]
| type                = paperback
| publisher             = [[Penguin Books]]
| edition               = US
| isbn                  = 1-4295-2667-X}}</ref>

The label spawned the [[2 Tone (music genre)|2 Tone]] music and cultural movement, which was popular among [[skinhead]]s, [[Rude Boy|rudies]] and some [[mod revival]]ists. The label stopped operating in 1986, though "2 Tone" is still used as an imprint for back catalogue issues. 2 Tone Records signed [[the Selecter]], [[Madness (band)|Madness]] and [[The Beat (British band)|The Beat]], but they all left within two years. 2 Tone Records acts signed a contract that allowed them to leave the label after releasing just one single, which was unusual in the record industry. Madness and The Beat both took advantage of this clause; the former to sign to [[Stiff Records]], and the latter to start their own label, [[Go Feet Records]].

Although 2 Tone Records was closely identified with the ska revival, efforts were made to broaden the label's musical output, releasing recordings by artists such as singer-songwriter [[Elvis Costello]] and the [[funk]]-punk band [[the Higsons]].

Dammers, with the assistance of [[Horace Panter]] and graphic designers John "Teflon" Sims and David Storey, created artwork that was to become central to 2 Tone Records. The logo portrays a man in a black suit, white shirt, black tie, [[pork pie hat]], white socks and black [[loafers]]. Named "Walt Jabsco", the fictional character was based on a photograph of [[Peter Tosh]], a former member of [[The Wailers (1963–1974 band)|the Wailers]].<ref>Panter, Horace:''Ska'd For Life'' [[Sidgwick & Jackson]], 2007</ref> Walt got his name from an old American bowling shirt that Dammers owned.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://2-tone.info/articles/label.html | title=The 2 Tone Label | access-date=17 June 2019}}</ref> He influenced the design of an [[emoji]] (originally meant to depict a suited man doing the [[Pogo (dance)|pogo]]): {{unichar|1F574|MAN IN BUSINESS SUIT LEVITATING|nlink=MAN IN BUSINESS SUIT LEVITATING}}.<ref name="veix">{{cite web|last1=Veix|first1=Joe|title=The secret history of the 'Man in Business Suit Levitating' emoji|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2016/05/06/secret-ska-history-man-business-suit-levitating-emoji-442192.html|website=Newsweek|access-date=2 December 2016|date=30 March 2016}}</ref>