Club Ska were a Sydney based band playing 1960’s Jamaican ska music in its authentic form

which formed in January 1986 and toured Australia until disbanding in early January 1988. Featuring musicians from the Allniters, Igniters, Caribbe, and Diddy Dimwits. The band quickly built a solid live reputation and large following around the country. Club Ska developed its own unique sound and released three singles in its brief career - Black And White, Cupid and On the Road - none of which made an impression on the major music charts but were highly successful on the National Independent Charts and number 99 in the National Charts.

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Formed in January 1986 when former Allniters Stuart Crysell (guitar) and Phillip (Ted) Ayres (saxophone) teamed up with former band mate Mark Taylor (keyboards) and Igniters’ vocalist, Patrick Powell (Igniters & ex-Caribbe) who were writing and recording songs under the name ‘Gone Public’ who brought in bassist Keith Elphick (ex-Caribbe) and guitarist Teddy Cavanagh (Diddy Dimwits and B’Jesus Burgers). Former Allniters David Lennon joined on drums and trumpet.

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The band began playing Sydney pubs, clubs and Universities to large and enthusiastic crowds with songs such as: Black and White (Three Dog Night) – Struggling Man (Jimmy Cliff) – It Mek (Desmond Dekker) – I’m in a Dancing Mood (Delroy Wilson) - Rub up push Up (Justin Hinds)

- the Israelites (Desmond Dekker) - Soul Shakedown Party (Bob Marley) - Tide is High (John Holt) – On the Road (Igniters)  - Montego Bay (Bobby Bloom/Allniters) - Peace of Mind (Igniters) – My Darling Patricia (Owen Gray) - Soon you'll be Gone (Blues Busters) - Stop that Train (the Spanishtonians) - The Harder they Come (Jimmy Cliff)  - Johnny too Bad (the Slickers) - Wear you to the Ball (John Holt) - Rivers of Babylon (Melodians) – Cupid (Sam Cook) - Good thing Going (Sugar Minott’s version) - Stir it Up (Bob Marley) - Hard road to Travel (Jimmy Cliff) - Doors of my Heart (the Beat).

 

Reggae occupies a curious slot in the Australian music scene. You’d be hard pressed to find it on the hit parade, or even on the radio, and reggae records are mostly expensive imports the major local distributors ignore. Yet seek out a reggae band playing a pub gig and, chances are, the place will be packed.

    Skinheads who showed up for Club Ska’s first gig at the Hopetoun Hotel in Surry Hills, a few weeks back were told they had to take off their trademark boots if they wanted to come in – and they did.

     Club Ska is a case in point. The band has only played four gigs so far, to crowds that have spilled on to the footpath. They came to hear versions of reggae and ska music classics played as they were originally in mid-1960s Jamaica. The band’s seven members are all fans of Jamaican music from way back, and lead singer Patrick Powell was born there.

    The others are Irish-born guitarist/vocalist Ted Cavanagh, Bass player Keith Elphick and four former Allniters: Mark Taylor (keyboards), Stewart Crysell (guitar), Phillip Ayres (Sax and humour) and Dave Lennon (drums and trumpet). [i]

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     In March of 1986 the band recorded Black & White as a single at Trackdown Studios in Bondi Junction, where the second Igniters’ Ep was recorded. The band signed a lease deal with independent label Powderworks Records and the single was premiered the following month on Channel Ten’s Telethon in aide of the Prince of Wales Children’s Hospital & Royal NSW Institute for Deaf and Blind Children. The single’s film clip helped to  sell out it’s first pressing in a week and rose to number 10 on the national independent charts. The band’s show at the Picadilly Hotel in King’s Cross was filmed by the A.B.C and featured in the Edge of the Wedge ska special ‘Tribes – Rudies’ which broadcast in September of 1986.

     In July Club Ska toured Adelaide for the first time followed by a tour to Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney. The band also played Canberra and spent a week at Smiggin’s Holes Ski Lodge, Perisher Valley.

  The band filled the rest of the year with non-stop self-funded tours around South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia. To keep things interesting, they’d invite local vocalists to join them onstage and improvise a reggae backing to songs such as John Denver’s Leaving on a Jet Plane and dub/rap versions of Neil Diamond’s (not UB40's version) Red Red Wine and Wild Cherry’s, Play that Funky Music.

    In September of '86, the band recorded a second single, Cupid (Sam Cook) at Glebe Studios and an original song which developed from a sound check jam – Bottom End (Cavanagh/Club Ska). The single was released in November and the band signed a three-album deal with Powderworks Records.

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In January of 1987, David Lennon left the band due to RSI and was replaced with Dale Ryan who recently left the New Allniters in time for more tours of N.S.W. and Queensland. Keith Elphick left in the following month, replaced by bassist Stan Mobbs who made his debut - with no previous rehearsal –at the Sydney Entertainment Centre when the band supported the Eurythmics.

    In March the band returned to Trackdown Studios with engineer Simon Leadey and reworked On the Road, a track from the second Igniters’ EP on which Patrick, Mark, Stuart and Ted played. The Igniters’ track was also recorded in this studio in 1984 again engineered by Simon. On the Road featured John Farnham’s brass section and a harmonica solo by ‘Continental’ Robert Susz of the Dynamic Hepnotics. Due to lack of money, Mark and Stuart recorded an improvised instrumental aptly named B-Side. The band’s record label, Powderworks, were undergoing financial difficulties at this time and no film clip was made to promote the single.

April of '87 saw Stan replaced on bass by ex Mindsweepers/Castles in Spain and Mark’s old house-mate, Cameron Giles in time for more back to back tours to South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria.

    In July, Powderworks Record Company folded owing millions in unpaid tax, leaving Club Ska without a record label. The bands third single, Cupid/Bottom End was deleted from release due to the label’s legal issues. Club Ska signed a deal with Sydney independent label Bigtime Records and Creol Records in England. Patrick goes home to England for a break and the band find a new drummer and bass player.  Peter McKenzie (drums) and John Sheehan (bass) who had both played in Sydney band Clapping Hands joined and played their first Club Ska show at the Riverina College in Wagga Wagga, followed by a week at the Perisher Valley Ski Lodge in the snowy mountains. The remainder of the year saw non-stop touring of South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and back to New South Wales culminating with an appearance on Donnie Sutherland’s Sounds Unlimited Music Show (Channel 7) where they mimed a performance of On The Road.

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“On the other hand, they’ve opened the ears of people who get their entire music knowledge from AM radio and consequently have never heard of ska or reggae, and think Club Ska are playing ‘a new music’. On the other hand, they’re also trying to make sense to those people who dismiss ska as nothing but an early ‘80s trend, ‘and just don’t realise ska’s a timeless music that’s been around since the ‘60s’. At any Club Ska gig, mods, normals, punks, yuppies, skins etc. rub shoulders. One of the best things about this business is that at one out of every ten gigs, something really sparks and things go over the top. At Le Rox in Adelaide, by coincidence everyone one of those 600 people who came must have, while showering, decided to come out and have a great time. From the minute we came on, they were just buzzing.

    At one stage of the night, we had about 20 people up on stage with us. We’d do things like yell out ‘is there as sax player in the crowd’ and some kid who’d never played sax in his life would come up and try a solo, with musically disastrous results! Bit it’d be so much fun. Nights like that just bring home to you that you’re not just singing about love and peace and people getting on, you see all the different tribes in rock dancing away together and know it could work. In the last 12 months we’ve spent ten months of that on the road – the two months off is the total of our nights off. When you look back, you never think of the tiredness, just the fun.” [ii]

 

January 1988 saw Club Ska play a series of shows in Sydney but, without any warning to the rest of the band, Patrick’s new outfit, ‘That Stuff’ (with Club Ska’s rhythm section) debuted at the Hip Hop club in early April and Club Ska had to all intents and purposes ceased to exist as a band, however there were several re-union shows played until Club Ska’s final gig at the Teacher’s Club in Sydney’s CBD in late 1991.  

 

The band re-united in Sydney for a SkaBQ show at the Marrickville Bowling Club, along with the Allniters and Strange Tenants in January 2015 and again in December of 2015  as support for Stranger Cole at the  Jam Gallery  in Bondi Junction.