The Selecter's "Three Minute Hero" single cover

The Selecter were a 2 Tone ska revival band from Coventry, England, formed in the late 1970s.

Like many other bands of the ska revival movement, The Selecter featured a racially mixed line-up. Their lyrics featured themes such as violence, politics and marijuana. Much of what set The Selecter apart from the other 2 Tone bands at the time was the voice of Pauline Black. The band's name is based on the term selector, which is a Jamaican word for DJ.

Pauline Black has been the lead singer in The Selecter since its formation in 1979 when the band released the singles "The Selecter", "Three Minute Hero", "The Whisper", "Missing Words" and "On My Radio". The Selecter's debut album Too Much Pressure was recorded at the end of 1979 and beginning of 1980, and released by the 2 Tone Records and Chrysalis Records. Their second album, Celebrate the Bullet, was issued in 1981. The Selecter were featured in the 2 Tone documentary Dance Craze.

After the band split in 1982, Black developed a career in TV and theatre, appearing in dramas such as The Vice, The Bill, Hearts and Minds and 2000 Acres of Sky. She won the 1991 Time Out award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in the play All or Nothing At All. She starred next to Christopher Lee in the horror film The Funny Man. She reformed The Selecter in 1991 and has released several new albums and has toured all over the world. In the 2000s, the band has continued to occasionally reform to perform concerts.

Discography

Albums

• Too Much Pressure (1980) UK #5
• Celebrate the Bullet (1981) UK # 41
• The Happy Album (1994)
• Pucker! (1995)
• Cruel Britannia (1999)
• The Trojan Songbook (1999)
• The Trojan Songbook - Vol 2 (2000)
• The Trojan Songbook - Vol 3 (2001)
• Reel to Real (2003)

Singles

• "On My Radio" (Oct 1979) UK #8
• "Three Minute Hero" (Feb 1980) UK #16
• "Missing Words" (March 1980) UK #23
• "The Whisper" (August 1980) UK #36
• Celebrate The Bullet (Nov 1980)
• On My Radio 91 (1991)
• Hairspray E.P. (1995)

Lineup on Too Much Pressure

• Pauline Black: vocals
• Compton Amanor: guitar
• Charley Anderson: bass guitar
• Charley 'H' Bembridge: drums
• Desmond Brown: Hammond keyboard
• Neol Davies: guitar
• Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson: vocals

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7

External links

• Official site
• Official Pauline Black site
• Official Pauline Black Myspace profile
• Biography from 2-tone.info
• Pauline Black at the Internet Movie Database