THE SKA VENDORS

The Ska Vendors, based in Victoria, have been delighting lovers of ska and rocksteady for more than two decades. Featuring top shelf singers and musicians, The Vendors reprise ska and rocksteady classics and 2Tone standards while also delivering originals that are true to their roots.

The Ska Vendors formed in early 2003 when Steve ‘Stevie’ Montgomery met Steve Phillips, at the SkaBar in Melbourne’s Royal Artillery Hotel. Scottish-born Stevie grew up singing hymns and gospel, and playing trumpet and guitar. He got into Madness and 2Tone more generally as a teen during the peak of ska in the UK in the early 1980s. A decade and a half later, now living in Melbourne, Stevie joined The Mighty Mighty Swankers who played an eclectic musical style, performed a few gigs and released an eight track EP. Meantime, Steve Phillips had been playing drums since his teens in Adelaide. He first heard ska at a 1979 gig by The Jumpers, generally acknowledged as Australia’s first ska band, but really got into it a few years later while listening to a friend’s Madness cassette. In 1986, Steve helped found Just Kidding, hometown ska favourites who released two singles and an EP on their own label, and also had songs included on two European compilation albums. Steve left the band in 1989 and shortly afterwards moved to Melbourne to pursue work as a graphic designer.

Bonding over their mutual love of ska, and tapping into a resurgence of the genre across the city, Stevie and Steve began recruiting musicians for a band of their own. Then, as Stevie tells it, they “had the audacity to invite the late great Lowell Morris to join”. Lowell was the drummer with The Caribs, a band featuring Australian musicians, who helped shape early ska in Jamaica.[i] At The Ska Vendors’ first rehearsal, Lowell apparently was stunned by the pace. “His face was priceless as he watched us bash out our tunes at 100 miles an hour,” Stevie recalled. “He stuck around though and we cherish the time we had with him.”

The Ska Vendors’ first line-up included: Steve Montgomery on lead vocals; Steve Phillips on drums; Lowell Morris on congas; James Majernik on guitar; Luke Walsh on bass; Gus Kenny on keys; Stuart Ferguson on trumpet, and; Eoin Pehm on trombone. The Vendors played their first gig as support to local indie band The Specifics at The Dan O’Connell Hotel in Carlton. Their set, stuffed with originals from Stevie, was lapped up by an appreciative crowd and was recorded by radio presenter and DJ, and longtime supporter, Gary Skaman.

With that, The Ska Vendors were away, gigging regularly and filling dancefloors at venues around Melbourne, especially the Morning Star Hotel in Williamstown, a bayside suburb that was home to several band members. From the first, The Vendors’ gigs have been joyous celebrations of the offbeat. They quickly built a following amongst rudes, rastas, skins and mods. And they were called up to support touring 2Tone greats including The Selecter, Bad Manners, and the SpecialBeat featuring Ranking Roger and Neville Staples.

Along the way, The Vendors refined and expanded their sound. “We started off doing a lot of our own songs and playing very fast,” Stevie said. “We knew that we needed to learn our craft in terms of doing Jamaican stuff so we did our homework, listening to the experts. As well as original Jamaican bands, we took inspiration from [UK ska and rocksteady band] Intensified and [US ska, reggae and soul outfit] The Slackers. Our sound become more cultured, more informed by what we were listening to. We wove in Jamaican rhythm and blues and ska and rocksteady. And Melbourne’s got its own unique sound from its rich history of ska, reggae and rocksteady. All those ingredients created what we are.”

In the DIY tradition of 2Tone, The Vendors have relied on community radio to promote their music and gigs, and on the broader ska community to put out recordings. Two releases in 2005 were recordings of a performance on Mohair Slim’s Blue Juice radio program on community broadcaster PBS, and of a gig at The Corner Hotel. Their first two EPs were Vendors’ Stew, which was released on Skaman Records in 2006, and The Ska Vendors, which was produced by Rob Rolfe in 2007. Each ranged across originals and covers, showcasing their songwriting and musical chops as well as their commitment to traditional sounds. I Don’t Want You To Go, from Vendors’ Stew, was among 44 tracks selected for the United Colors of Ska 4.0 album, released on the Pork Pie label in 2007. The reggae instrumental, Skin Up Matt from The Ska Vendors, was included on the Birth of the Fourth Wave of Ska compilation album, released by Angel City Records in 2018. Another eight-track EP, The Ska Vendors, was released on Nicky Bomba’s Transmitter Records in 2008.

After a year’s break, The Ska Vendors re-emerged in 2009 at Ska Nation, an annual

festival run by The Resignators’ frontman Francis Harrison. Over the next several years, in between a steady roster of gigs, The Vendors produced another seven recordings. Another live performance on Blue Juice was recorded and released as a five track CD, Arrivederci, and their contribution at a benefit for the Melbourne Crusaders Scooter Club in 2010 was turned into a short-run release titled Just The Tonic Live. This was followed two years later by another six track EP. In 2014, The Vendors’ first full album, Feelin’ Fine, was produced by musician and recording engineer Paul Coyle and released on Transmitter Records, with originals making up nine of the 13 tracks.

The Ska Vendors played as the backing band at Jamaica Jump-Up events, moonlighting as The Jump Up Allstars, run by PBS between 2015 and 2017, and at major events like the Jamacia Music and Food Festival, and the Newport Ska, Reggae and Rocksteady Festival. In 2013, The Vendors joined Strange Tenants and The Caribs for a ‘Celebration of Melbourne Ska’ as part of the Melbourne Arts Festival. They’ve had a long association with touring Jamaican musicians including backing Carlos ‘Bonanza Ska’ at an unforgettable Morning Star gig, sharing the stage with celebrated guitarist Eugene Grey, and supporting reggae star Richie Stephens and rocksteady duo Keith and Tex. And they were honoured to be asked to play four dates with Jamaican ska and rocksteady legend, Stranger Cole, during his Australian tour in 2022. Stranger was so impressed with The Vendors that he wrote a tune especially to record with them. More Ska was backed with a cover of Singer Man, with both tracks recorded straight to tape.

After a two-year hiatus while Stevie was working as a teaching principal in Qatar, The Ska Vendors returned to the stage and the recording studio in 2024. The single, Good Love Bad, was released in 2024 and an album of the same name in 2025.

The Ska Vendors are beloved for their distinctive sound, a blend of foundation tunes and originals written by multiple band members. Stevie is the principal song writer but several others have contributed tunes including Steve Phillips, bassist Chris Rogers, trombonist Russell Roberts, saxophonist Robert Calvert, and Blues Music Victoria’s Hall of Fame inductee Kerri Simpson. “I write some daft things and some serious things,” Stevie said. “I used to go to a local café, Pludo, that made great BLT so I wrote a song about that, bouncy and fun. I also wrote songs like More Than This, Feelin’ Fine and Happy Man about love, my wife, my kids, about being grateful for what I have. There’s a lot of optimism.” Mixed in is a bit of what he calls dark ska, like the tune Tumble Down from The Ska Vendors, which calls out corporate greed. And, while Stevie is the main singer, he shares the mic with Steve, Kerri and vocalist extraordinaire Pat Powell.

A classy lineup, a playbook of cracking tunes and an irresistible exuberance have earned The Vendors a loyal local and interstate following. “I think there’s a joyousness for the music,” Stevie said. “We enjoy playing together and we want people to feel good at our gigs. Because sometimes the world can be a bit shitty and we want people to have a bit of soul food.”

The Ska Vendors with Lowell Morris on congas (centre) playing at Williamstown RSL. Photo by Wendy Rowe 2010.

Poster of Pat Powell's first appearance with The Ska Vendors at Williamstown RSL 15th June 2012.

The Ska Vendors. Back row L-R. Dean Hilson, Steve Phillips, Chris Rogers. Middle Row L-R John Holmes, Michael Havir, Sarah Heffernan, Russel Roberts. Front row L - R Kerry Simpson, Steve Montgomery. Photo by Wally Maloney 2016.