In the late eighties a bunch of South London musicians of various ethnicities named themselves after a town in Jamaica which had been the driving seat of anti-imperialist rebellion in the eighteenth century. The music that inspired Maroon Town, the band was equally uproarious: authentic Jamaican ska, borne of Caribbean mento and American jazz and r'n'b with an off-beat rhythm that set pulses racing and bodies jockey-dancing. Maroon Town knew what they liked but to learn how to really play it, they gigged endlessly - on the Barcelona underground, at the legendary Gaz's Rockin' Blues in Soho and in tiny pubs and clubs all round Europe. Their brassy ska sounds gradually won them media attention - a two page profile in the Face here, a session on Radio One there - remarkable for an unsigned nine-piece playing unfashionable music. They didn't even try and cater to the last remains of the revivalist Two-Tone crowd but instead forged a new alchemy of break beats and instrumental ska, drafting in acclaimed rapper Stevie Bee into an already busting line-up. For the band this was a natural progression. After all, who was the first ever rapper? The ska and rock steady producer/chatterer Prince Buster, that's who. And where had the first hip hop posses come from? New York, home to second generation immigrants from Jamaica, that's where. They recorded their first single, City Riot, using samples from the Detroit riots of the sixties, with Specials' drummer, John Bradbury at the controls. The track and it's B-side, "People" cost all of two hundred pounds to record but nonetheless was spun by the likes of Peel, Kershaw, Judge Jules (then on Kiss) and Simon Mayo. The fanzine, Zoot, voted it their record of the year. Even greater success greeted their next single "Pound to the Dollar" featuring searing condemnatory lyrics from Stevie Bee. It has now been iconified by it's inclusion on the second of the now epic series of dance compilations. Totally Wired. The material on "High and Dry" - also produced by Bradbury - reflect the raw energy of the band's early days. From the high pageant-rap of Welcome and Nostalgia to the big ska sounds of Man in the Street and Fire, this debut album vividly demonstrates Maroon Town's sense of fun and lack of pretentiousness. This approach of course was a product of extensive touring - by the time of the follow-up release, the band had already completed their fifteenth European madcap tour and visited Japan too. Now the venues were huge outdoor festivals packed with thousands of admirers - the MT Head Possee. Some eight years on and the band are still going strong, boosted by a six figure sponsorship deal with Dr Martens. It may be suddenly fashionable to like the Maroon Town vibe - even the young artist Jeremy Kidd, whose work adorns the sleeve of High and Dry is now a much-trumpeted talent throughout the United States for god's sake - but their early recordings as displayed by the tracks and spirit of High and Dry, have a seductive innocence, even naivity, which is quite simply irreplaceable.
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