Rude Boys, most commonly associated with the
Two-Tone craze, are still a common sight at shows. The Rude Boy
movement has a long
history.
The
street-tough young men of
Kingston,
Jamaica used to dress in the newest and
heppest
clothes at the
Kingston dance hall. They were know as "Rude Boys", rude meaning "
cool". The authorities saw the Rude Boys as
thugs, but they viewed themselves as
heroes, like the
cowboys of movie westerns of the day.
To most, it was a way of
rebelling against the
poor and
opressive social conditions in which they
grew up.
Towards the end of the 19
70's, the Second Wave
British SKA!
bands, such as
Madness and
the Specials, re-invented the Rude Boy. He was now the
fun-loving young man who dressed in the oh-so-stylish
2 tone suit and
pork-pie hat. This movement also died down, until it was resurected with the Third
Wave of
SKA! in the late Eighties.
Today a Rude Boy is someone who is totally into the
SKA! scene. He or She has a good sense of the
roots of
SKA! as well as a great sense of
fashion!