Rude Girls: Women in 2-Tone and One Step Beyond by ska music historian Heather Augustyn
The first book on women in ska will be released on March 8, 2023, International Women’s Day. Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond, published by Sally Brown Publishing, has been written by ska music historian Heather Augustyn and contains well over 50 interviews with women involved in ska bands that began during the 2-Tone era of ska in the late 1970s through the 1980s.
Women vocalists, musicians, composers, and managers are finally recognized as Augustyn weaves their personal stories of empowerment and struggle into a narrative with details of their bands’ performances and recordings.
Many bands played ska exclusively, while others dabbled in ska or toured with and supported ska. Some are well-known, some are more obscure.
“Women’s voices have been largely silent, until now,” said Augustyn. “These women made space for the rest of us. They are incredibly inspiring, funny, and powerful.”
Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond features interviews with members of the Selecter, the Specials and the Special AKA, the Bodysnatchers, the Beat, the Go-Go’s, the Belle Stars, Bow Wow Wow, Amazulu, Dexys Midnight Runners, Fun Boy Three, the Mo-Dettes, the Deltones, the Swinging Cats, the Potato 5, Maroon Town, Bananarama, Splashdown, the Friday Club, Holly and the Italians, the Forest Hill Billies, the Lemons, the Loafers, and many more.
This is Augustyn’s eighth book on ska music.
Amonghst other titles she has penned Ska: An Oral History, Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation, and Pioneering Women in Jamaican Music.
Augustyn also wrote the award-winning documentary Pick It Up! Ska in the ‘90s from Pop Motion Pictures and has been invited to speak on ska music in Jamaica, Spain, Vietnam, and all over the United States.
Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond published by Sally Brown Publishing March 28. Watch out for Punktuation’s Review.
Main Photo: Pauline Black at the Loopallu music festival in Ullapool in 2016 Credit: ANDREW MACCOLL
Follow Heather Augustyn on Her Socials
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Album review: Los Pepes – ‘Out Of The Void’
Ahhh, sweet simplicity. The multi-national Los Pepes generally rely on two main ingredients: irresistible melodies and raw, fuzzed-up punk rock guitars. Sometimes they go harder
Album review: Bridge The Gap release ‘Gainsayer’
From Salt Lake City, Utah, Bridge The Gap arrived on the punk scene back in 2023, so you’d think they’re quite a newish band. In
Steve Ignorant, U.K. Subs, Spanish, German and Belgian punk bands rock festival in Leuven
Saturday, 19 April saw the postponed 2024 Breaking Barriers festival in Leuven, Belgium. Two English punk icons ever since the 1970s, Steve Ignorant and UK
Album review: Another Damn Disappointment – ‘Bedlam’
The 90s Epitaph/Fat Wreck skate punk sound has made quite the comeback, and you can add Californian quintet Another Damn Disappointment to the list of
Comeback Kid, London Tufnell Park Dome, 20th April 2025
It’s strange to think that Comeback Kid started out as a mere side project, only to become its members’ main concern after their second record
Six of the Best – 20th April 2025
New Single, EP and Album releases from Tape It Shut – ‘Employee Of The Hour, The Molotovs – ‘More More More’, Gallus – ‘ Cool
Punktuation Magazine For All Your Daily Punk News, Features, Interviews, Lifestyle and more!
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
