Specialized 2 project – Beat Teenage Cancer
In 2013 we moved onto Specialized 2- Beat Teenage Cancer. This year’s album would feature the songs of The Beat.
Such was the success of our first year we thought it would be silly to stop there! So this year the Specialized Project announced that The Beat (known in North America as The English Beat and in Australia as The British Beat) would be the focus of our second annual campaign.
The response we had from artists wanting to appear on our second album release Beat Teenage Cancer was phenomenal. Specialized, it seemed, really did capture imaginations and this year’s venture showed this in abundance. Acts flooded in to take part, promoters were keen to stage events and the offers from people who wanted to be involved were just amazing.
Interest in our Big One Ska & Reggae Festival was now growing at an incredible pace, and it was humbling to receive many offers not only from artists but also from individuals who just simply wanted to help in any way they could.
This year really did see the Specialized Community start to evolve and grow.
Beat Teenage Cancer: A tribute to The Beat
The Beat was a natural choice for our second album entitled Beat Teenage Cancer. As a melodic and sometimes experimental band, they provided scope for a variety of superb interpretations by the artists appearing on the album.
In complete contrast to last year’s black and white 2-Tone colour theme, this 44 track compilation album was released in a bright red two-disc box set, with the full support of members of The [English] Beat. In fact, both Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger provided updated favorites for inclusion on the album – Wakeling re-recorded Mirror In The Bathroom and Ranking Roger appeared with Hunt Emerson’s band The Spritely All-Stars (Emerson is also the designer of The Beat girl logo) on the track Two Swords (Majestic Mix).
They were joined by other 2-Tone stars of the era – Neal Davies and Charley Anderson of The Selecter and Rhoda Dakar of The Bodysnatchers who also contributed songs. The album also highlighted the best current ska, reggae and rock bands playing in the United Kingdom, Australia, Czech Republic, and the United States.
The album was supplemented by single releases of Save It For Later by Nick Welsh, Tears Of A Clown by Andrew Crayford, Two Swords from The Spritely All-Stars and featuring Ranking Roger, and lastly Mirror In The Bathroom and Sole Salvation from Dave Wakeling with Bigger Thomas.
For a full list of all tracks and artists on Beat Teenage Cancer, please click the following link
The Big One Festival
In November 2013, hundreds of people attended The Big One 2 event at Parkdean Holiday Park, Sandford in Dorset. The culmination of years hard work resulted in a feast of music, mayhem, and fun!
The Big One 2 saw The Beat (with Ranking Roger) headline with a fantastic set. Lee Thompson (Madness) and his Ska Orchestra brought the house down, as did The Hotknives with their unique sound.
In total, over 30 bands performed over the three days. The weekend also featured merchandise stalls, bars, clothing, special guests, even a silent auction in which one of the lots was a signed guitar previously owned by Wilko Johnson of Dr. Feelgood. The festival was recorded live resulting in the release of a Specialize DVD and an audio digital download.
On the Road
The Specialized tour traveled throughout the United Kingdom with performances from Roddy Radiation, Horace Panter’s Blue 2 Go, King Hammond, The Pressure Tenants, The Talks, The Iconics, Billy Brown plus many more. Dr. Ring Ding even hosted a Specialized event in Germany!
Wolfman Radio held a 36-hour marathon radio show, Paul Cowley ran a marathon on behalf of Specialized, and the Calne Bike meet ran a Specialized stage at their own event.
Fundraising
Throughout 2013 we raised over £18,000, which is another incredible achievement for the Project! We were delighted to hand all proceeds once again to Teenage Cancer Trust.
