Rhoda Dakar (born 1959) is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the

2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell * Two-tone sequential paging, sel ...

record label. She also worked with

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

and Special AKA, also 2-Tone artists.

Career

Dakar, born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London, joined The Bodysnatchers in 1979. Their first single was a double A-side " Let's Do Rock Steady" backed with "Ruder Than You". It reached # 22 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The band were invited to appear on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', to tour with

The Selecter The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979. The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead ...

and to record a session for BBC Radio 1 disc jockey

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

. Their second single "Easy Life" coupled with their version of Bob Andy's "Too Experienced" reached number 50. Several members of the Bodysnatchers then left to form

The Belle Stars The Belle Stars were an all female British pop/rock band. Formed in 1980, they are best known for their 1983 hit single " Sign of the Times". Career After The Bodysnatchers broke up, guitarists Stella Barker and Sarah-Jane Owen, saxophon ...

. Dakar also collaborated with

. Her duet with Terry Hall, "I Can't Stand It", appeared on the album ''

More Specials ''More Specials'' is the second album by English ska band the Specials, released by 2 Tone Records in September 1980. After the success of the band's self-titled debut, band member Jerry Dammers assumed the role as the band's leader and stirred ...

''. After The Specials announced their break up in 1981,

Jerry Dammers Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band The Specials (also known as The Special A.K.A.) and later The Spatial AKA Orche ...

formed

The Special AKA The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynva ...

, along with Dakar and John Bradbury. Their first single release, "

The Boiler "The Boiler" is a single by Rhoda Dakar with The Special AKA (The Specials). It was released in January 1982 on 2 Tone Records. Early version "The Boiler" is about a woman with low self-esteem (she compares herself with an old boiler) who is ra ...

", reached # 35 in the UK Singles Chart in 1982. Dakar performed on The Special AKA album ''

In the Studio ''In the Studio'' is the third studio album by British ska revival band the Specials. It was released under the name the Special AKA in June 1984, their only album under that name. The album took over two years to produce before finally seeing ...

'', which featured the UK Top 10 single " Free Nelson Mandela". The album reached # 34 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. Her first solo album, ''Cleaning in Another Woman's Kitchen'', was released in November 2007 on Moon Ska World. It featured acoustic versions of songs from the Bodysnatchers as well as material co-written with Nick Welsh, who attended the same comprehensive school as Buster Bloodvessel, and who recorded as King Hammond in the early 1990s. Dakar and Welsh released a

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

album ''Back to the Garage'' on N1 Records in April 2009. In 2009, she was the featured guest vocalist on the song "On the Town" on the Madness album ''

The Liberty of Norton Folgate ''The Liberty of Norton Folgate'' is the ninth studio album by the British band Madness, released on 18 May 2009. The band worked on the album for close to three years and it was their first album of new material since 1999's '' Wonderful''. C ...

''. She performed the track at their Madstock show in Victoria Park, London in July 2009. In 2015, she returned to the studio to re-record The Bodysnatchers tracks for the album ''Rhoda Dakar Sings the Bodysnatchers.'' The line up for the recording included

Lynval Golding Lynval Golding (born 24 July 1951) is a Jamaican-born British musician. His family moved from Jamaica to Gloucester, before moving to Coventry when he was eighteen. He is currently living in Gig Harbor, Washington. He is best known as a rhythm ...

and

Horace Panter Horace Panter (born Stephen Graham Panter, 30 August 1953) also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the British 2 Tone ska band The Specials. Early life Panter was born in Croydon, Surrey and spent most of his formative years in ...

from

, plus members of

Pama International Pama International is an eight-piece reggae band from the United Kingdom. They describe themselves as 'Dub Fuelled Ska Rocksteady & Reggae'. They often play with other ska, dub and reggae artists. The band takes elements from many sources to pro ...

and Intensified. In 2022, Rhoda had a guest appearance on the song "As We Live" on the album "In the Wild" by The Interrupters. Interrrupters "In the Wild" Album back cover

Discography

Singles

The Bodysnatchers

* " Let's Do Rock Steady" UK #22 (March 1980) * "Easy Life" UK #50 (July 1980)

The Special AKA

* "

" UK #35 (January 1982) * "Racist Friend" UK #60 (September 1983) * " Free Nelson Mandela" UK #9 (March 1984) * "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend" UK #51 (September 1984)

Albums

* Various Artists, ''Dance Craze'' #5 (February 1981) * Various Artists, ''This Are Two Tone'' UK #51 (November 1983) * Various Artists, ''The Two Tone Story'' UK #16 (July 1989) * The Special AKA, ''In the Studio'' UK #34 (June 1984) * Rhoda Dakar, ''Cleaning in Another Woman's Kitchen'' (November 2007) * Rhoda Dakar & Nick Welsh, ''Back to the Garage'' (April 2009) * Rhoda Dakar, ''Rhoda Dakar Sings the Bodysnatchers'' (August 2015) * Rhoda Dakar, ''The Lotek Four Vol. I'' (October 2016) * Rhoda Dakar, ''The Lotek Four Vol. II'' (October 2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dakar, Rhoda British ska musicians English rock singers English women singers Women new wave singers People from Hampstead 1959 births Living people 2 Tone Records artists