Why the False Dots love playing Ska music

One of the key moments in my musical develpment was when I saw The Specials in 1979 at the Lyceum supporting The Damned. I wrote of this a couple of years ago

Every song on the Specials first album is a classic, but to me this is the stand out track, for its melancholic tone and message. A masterpiece that is often overlooked for the more frenetic and well known songs. I went to see the Specials supporting the Damned and The UK Subs. I'd not really heard of the Specials. As they came on, I was about to take a sip of beer. They transfixed me for their whole set and it was only when they went off that I finally moved the glass to my lips. They blew me away. I loved the Subs, but I can't remember their set at all, as I was so blown away by The Specials.

Although I had memories of the ska music of the late 60's and early 70's, I associated it more with football than music. At school,  as my mates got into music, they preferred heavy and prog rock. This never really did it for me. I preferred Glam in the mid 70's, which was very uncool, so I kept my tastes to myself. When I got into Punk, I no longer cared about being cool. I wanted to be a punk. I'd previously had a passing interest in Reggae music, as my sisters liked Bob Marley, but I didn't rally get it. I didn't smoke Ganja or live in Jamaica, so I didn't really get it, although there were a few banging tunes that you can't help but love, such as The Israelites by Desmond Dekker. When myself and Pete Conway, who I founded The Dots with, bought the Clash's first album, like many, we decided Reggae must be cool when we heard their cover Police and Theives. If the Clash liked it, then it must be good. We tried to write a Reggae song called Kingston Rock. It was Pete's baby and in truth would've been a great song if we weren't completely inept musicians.  

Seeing the Specials, and getting turned onto Two Tone and Ska, once again, I came up against musical snobbery in the circles I moved. The hippy's had sort of got into Reggae and preferred tunes you could get stoned to. Those who remained punks had become very hard core. Anything that wasn't ear splitting noise was deemed naff. I'd often end up going to gigs on my own, seeing bands like The Selecter, The Beat and Madness. I also started delving a bit into the music that inspired them. I realised that the Trojan sound was something I loved. By this time Pete had left the band and Paul Hircombe had joined on Bass. Paul was a far better musician. We again decided to have a crack at a Ska/Reggae song and came up with a number called Falsedub (which pretty much summed it up). I realised that proper Reggae was impossible to do if you sounded like you came from North London. Sadly for me, I drew an incorrect conclusion here and rather missed the point, but I was none too keen on some of the Cod reggae doing the rounds (especially the Police and things like Clapton's 'I shot the sheriff'), so it rather put me off the concept. 

Then, we got an amazing singer, Vanessa Sagoe, who could sing anything. Venessa's heritage was Nigerian, so I started to write a batch of material that was ska/reggae based. The only problem was that when we played it, it just sounded like slow rock. The drummer we had only really did straight beats. As it all sounded great, it didn't really matter. When Venessa left, we eventually morphed into a 9 piece band, with a brass section. By this time, I'd met my wife, Clare. Our first date? Desmond Dekker at Dingwalls. 

With this large ensemble, we decided to try and earn some money and do a few covers. We picked an eclectic mix, including "Take it Easy" by Prince Buster. In truth, the version was awful, far too cod. I realised that the False Dots were not a covers band and we were at our best when we were doing things our own way. I assumed that this meant that we'd never really get the Ska/reggae thing right. 

It always grated a little bit with me that the music I liked best and the bands I saw most, such as The Specials, played a form of music that sounded wrong when we played it. In about 2017, Allen Ashely wrote a song called "They Cleared Out Your Desk" for the band. We put a bit of a Ska/Reggae feel to it and I thought it worked really well. A penny dropped and I realised that if we were to do it successfully, we'd have to do it in a False Dots way, as The Specials and Madness interpret earlier Jamaican artists songs and inspiration. The truth had been staring me in the face and I'd missed it. Songs such as Night Boat to Cairo by Madness and Ghosttown by The Specials are great examples of the genre, but are very English. 

I thought it may be fun to write a song for Lee Thompson of Madness, who is a mate. I put together a riposte to The Pioneers "Long Shot Kick De Bucket" called "Long Shot Didn't Die".  We performed it once with Allen, who added a few killer lyrical lines, then lockdown hit. Allen left the band during lockdown. We started rehearsing as a three piece, I wanted to try and get Lee to sing it, so we recorded a rough version. When we heard it, everyone said that my lyrical style suited the song. It was a revealation. I realised that The False Dots were a damn good Ska band, when we didn't try and be someone else. Anyone who has ever attended a False Dots rehearsal will know that they are fairly raucous affairs. We like a bit of banter and to exchange un PC jokes and stories. There is also, these days, a lot of nostalgic story telling and discussion of old time. I wrote a song called "Sunday in the 70's" inspired by our drummer Graham talking about whelks on a Sunday morning in the 70's. In truth, my first stab at the lyrics was about religious practicies of the 70';s and was awful. The second cut got rid of most of that and it became a humourous observation of North London life in the 1970's. It worked rather well. 

In June 2022, we decided to try the material out on an unsuspecting public at The Mill Hill Music Festival. We did a short set with the Alan Warner Band at The Adam and Eve and got a great response. It seemed that our brand of North London Ska inspired Pop was a winner. A gig at The Dublin Castle in September cemented this. A review of the gig stated

The False Dots – Nicely sardonic punk/post punk with flights of fancy and social comment in equal measure. Take on some nice ratty skanking that reminds a bit of Alternative TV, via Madness maybe, also a bit of head wobbling trippy jangling, all topped off with nicely pitched mockney vocalising. Will please fans of Squeeze, Half Man Half Biscuit and even Bad Manners I shouldn’t wonder! Excellent stuff. 

Perhaps the strangest endorsement, if you believe in such things, happened a couple of weeks ago. Our old bass player, Paul Hircombe, who I mentioned above, died in 2012 from the dreaded C. When he passed, I nearly hung up my guitar. I couldn't envisage playing without him. Luckily, Allen, Graham and Fil persuaded me otherwise. I have often dreamed of Paul. Anyway, a fortnight ago,  I had a dream that we were having a cup of tea and a chat and discussing the band. As sometimes happens in such dreama, I realise Paul has passed away, but here he is chatting with me. So I say to him "Paul, tell me, what do you think of this new stuff? Would you have been happy playing it". Paul replies "Are you mad, if we'd done this sort of stuff in 1981 when I joined the band, we'd have been massive". You can draw what you like from that. For me it is a very real endorsement from a friend who I feel is still with us in spirit. 

Next Friday (15th September) The False Dots play at The Dublin Castle. It only took us 40 years to get the set to the point where we are happy with it! It will be a great gig, as we are joined by Mr Tom Hammond, a wonderful Trumpet player, who really brings out the ska element in our music. Please come along if you can.

I have learned three things over the last two years with the band

1) Never give up believing in your music

2) Be yourself (unless copying is what you enjoy)

3) Make music that makes you smile

Here's an example of what we do