Although Ska music was a genre that developed in Jamaica in the late-1950s, it was popularised in north of England dance clubs not long afterwards. Meanwhile, it took another twenty years for it to slip into broader pop consciousness and be adopted by such notable bands as The Specials, Bad Manners, The Beat, Madness, The Skatalites and many others. This double-CD 30th birthday special celebration, ‘Ska Mania’ is a great way to sum up an era of musical excellence, which still has a vibrant role to play in many forms of modern music.

Remember, of course, that this is 30 years since the formation of ‘2-Tone’ as a record label and a way of life. Although I would have preferred to heave heard some of the more traditional Ska tracks, to start the disc with The Specials singing ’Too Much Too Young’, was a moment of pop ecstasy that coincides with the band reforming, sorting out their differences and heralding the return of ska-infused pop to a fresh generation of willing listeners.

Of course, Madness has never really been away, the band still playing a hectic gigs diary and their inclusion of ‘One Step Beyond’ is pure magic. The same applies to The Beat and The Selecter as well as those artists that emerged from the punk scene to adopt a funkier, jazzier and hip-hoppier beat in the ‘2-Tone’ music genre. Yet, the original artists are also packed onto this double album, in the forms of Prince Buster, Toots And The Maytals and the phenomenal Desmond Dekker. Of course, there is lots more and it coincides with a resurgence of interest in the ska music scene and there is hardly a DJ on either local or national radio that can resist spinning an old single, plugging in a cartridge or looping a studio recording to hear those delightfully bouncy and cheery summer sounds.

Do yourself a favour and drift gently into the mental illness of ska at its finest, you know that you want to…