Bad Manners are a famous name in the world of ska. Anyone who hasn’t spent the last forty years living in a vacuum will undoubtedly recognize Buster Bloodvessel and his trademark tongue-out grin. Personally, discovering this band was one of the moments that drew me into ska and made me completely fall for the genre for a period of my life. I still remember a classmate from high school returning from a family vacation with a triple-CD ska compilation. Once it found its way into my hands, I listened to it nonstop for weeks. The internet already existed and was accessible, but music was still largely discovered through fanzines, recommendations from friends, and pure chance encounters.

Last year, Aggrobeat Records released Bad Manners’ version of Skinhead Girl, originally written and recorded by Symarip, on a seven-inch vinyl (the greatest format ever invented!). For me, this is one of the absolute classics of the genre. Back in 1988, Bad Manners gave the song their unmistakable signature, injecting it with all the dancefloor energy, joy, and spontaneity that allowed bands like Madness, Bad Manners, The Specials, The Beat, and The Selecter to take second-wave ska into the charts, reach mainstream audiences, and leave a lasting mark on British culture. By 1988, of course, the golden age of the second wave was already long behind them, while the foundations of the punk-influenced third wave were slowly beginning to take shape.

Aggrobeat have now decided to bring this classic back on seven-inch vinyl, which is great news not only for DJs but also for collectors and fans who want to own this legendary track as a standalone single. The B-side features an alternative version of Skinhead Boy, recorded with vocalist Verona Davis. This particular recording is being released on vinyl for the very first time, making it an especially appealing bonus for longtime followers of the band.

What more can be said? In this format, the single has tremendous power. It’s exactly the kind of song that can drag people onto the dancefloor even in a city that has just been hit by a nuclear blast and turned into an uninhabitable wasteland. Skinhead Girl is simply one of those songs that works anytime, anywhere. A fantastic addition to any collection and a reminder of just how powerful the finest moments of British ska really were. This reissue was handled by the Dutch label Aggrobeat Records, and for that, we can only be grateful.