Neville Staple & Christine Sugary Staple join our roster for worldwide publishing admin!
NEVILLE STAPLE – ‘ORIGINAL RUDE BOY’
Neville Staple, Legendary front man of The Specials, Fun Boy Three and Special Beat, also known as The Original Rude Boy, is credited with changing the face of pop music not only once but twice. His celebrates a super 40-year career in the music business which is well documented and started out from the early days with Ray King, Pete Waterman, The Coventry Automatics and his Jah Baddis Sound System, before taking to the stage with The Specials during the famous ‘Clash’ tour.
Neville states, “I remember the massive reactions to the hit songs like Ghost Town, Too Much Too Young and Gangsters and fans still write to me about my rugged, energetic and fun stage presence. The way we brought ska to the mainstream was by mixing Jamaican music with the English style, which at the time was punk. A lot of young bands are now putting their own spin on ska –some with dance music and some with a rock beat. It’s all good. The music just makes you want to dance. Even when singing about tough times, every-day things or bad things, the beat and the rhythm makes you want to move. I turn all our live shows into a massive party. The crowd love it and sing along to all the tracks!”
Neville’s 2-Tone legacy is huge. 2-Tone fused traditional ska music with punk rock attitude, energy and musical elements. The movement helped to transcend and defuse racial tensions in Thatcher-era Britain. The actual black and white chequered imagery of 2 Tone has become almost as famous as the music itself.
Neville Staple continues to write and produce music and along with his wife and manager, Christine Sugary Staple, he works with schools, charities, university and youth groups providing talks, performance tips, music lesson guest-tuition and fund-raising activities. In his hometown of Coventry (where 2Tone music was born), he is celebrated as a Living Legend. He worked with the Lord Mayor to support Coventry in winning the ‘City of Culture 2021’ bid and was recently presented with a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award,’ during a special performance with the children of Foxford School. Now as patrons of the historic Albany Theatre, Neville and his wife continue to work with inner-city children on various creative projects. Neville’s work and performances are regularly screened on mainstream TV.
Following on from the 2009 Specials reunion and his departure from the band in late 2012, Neville Staple continues to be a forerunner of the ska movement and continues to thrill audiences with his own excellent band, The Neville Staple Band, at venues and festival appearances worldwide. His relentless tours across the UK sees him performing at many festivals, including a recent headline slot on the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury Festival and other top fests. His recent Worldwide shows include Hong Kong, Europe and Australia with US and others planned for 2018 onwards.
Sugary Staple
Christine ‘Sugary Staple’ has been writing, producing and performing in film, video and music since her teens and is the wife and manager of the Original Rude boy Neville Staple (ex The Specials & Fun Boy 3). As an additional lead vocalist of the Neville Staple Band, she is especially known for bringing energy, charisma and fun to the stage during tours and is currently performing songs from her forthcoming joint ska/punk album with husband Neville Staple. The album also features Roddy Radiation (ex The Specials), plus a reworking of Stranger Cole & Patsy Todd’s, ‘When I Call Your Name’, as a duet with Neville.
Sugary spearheaded the highly celebrated Skamouth music festival and works for various charitable trusts and schools, helping children into music and drama, as well as fund-raising activities. Sugary and Neville work tirelessly supporting Coventry City with projects like the 2021 City of Culture Bid, directing and producing super shows like Diversity Rocks and is Patron to the iconic 2Tone Village in Coventry. Her recent acting and singing performances were screened on BBC1, TNT, Vintage TV and Virgin Media TV.
Sugary fronts the Neville Staple Band stage with husband Neville and has also performed as a soloist with a ska/punk indie band. She recently wowed the audiences with her energy and fun stage presence during a Rebellion Festival headline performance.
Neville & Sugary Staple released their latest album “Rude Rebels “ on Cleopatra Records in September 2018, which followed on from Sugary’s “Rudegirl Sounds” EP and Neville's “Return of Judge Roughneck” album released last year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t43BVfsYOAs (403)