Bad Manners

Born in north London around singer Buster Bloodvessel, Bad Manners took shape in the late 1970s amid the British ska revival. The lineup, often expanded with a brass section and keyboards, developed a style that blends Jamaican ska, two‑tone, light reggae and punchy pop, with brisk rhythms, direct choruses and a deliberately offbeat tone. Close to the 2 Tone aesthetic without having belonged to the label of the same name, Bad Manners established themselves in the early 1980s on the British scene with television appearances, songs like 'Lip Up Fatty' and 'Special Brew', and an appearance in the 1981 film Dance Craze, an important document of that generation of British ska bands. Bad Manners then released Ska 'n' B (1980), Loonee Tunes! (1980), Gosh It's... Bad Manners (1981) and Forging Ahead (1982), before continuing with Mental Notes in 1985. After a split in the late 1980s and a later reformation, Bad Manners have continued to tour regularly in the UK and internationally, with Buster Bloodvessel as the constant thread in a band whose lineup has changed considerably over the decades.