2 Tone took old Jamaican ska and revived it with the speed and rawness of punk. Off-beat guitar chops, a bouncing bassline, and punchy horns drive the dancing. Under a black-and-white checkerboard symbol, the multiracial principle of Black and white musicians playing in the same band was etched into both the sound and the message: joyful on the surface, with anger and solidarity underneath.

In late-1970s Britain, amid rising unemployment and racial tension, the children of immigrants met the punk generation. The 2 Tone label in Coventry, founded by The Specials' Jerry Dammers, became the banner of the movement, with Madness and The Selecter following.

The guitar 'chop' that lands on the off-beat, not the down-beat, is what propels the dance. Feel how punk's rushing tempo coexists with ska's bouncing upbeat. Lyrics often tackle social themes like racism and unemployment.

The Specials' 'Ghost Town' (1981) is the era-defining song about a decaying city. For the cheerful side, hear Madness's 'One Step Beyond' (1979).

'Ghost Town' hit number one in the summer of 1981, just as riots were breaking out across Britain, and the song's bleak vision aligned so eerily with reality that it became a symbol of the moment.