Akrylykz (originally Akrylyk(z) Vyktymz) were a British ska band, formed by members of Hull School of Art in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that featured Roland Gift (later of

Fine Young Cannibals Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham, West Midlands, in 1984 by former The Beat band bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox with singer Roland Gift (formerly of the Akrylykz). Their self-titled ...

) originally as a tenor saxophonist, but his role later expanded to

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

and lead singer. Other members of the group were Steve Pears (vocals, tenor saxophone), Stevie "B" Robottom (vocals, alto saxophone, keyboards), Wojciech "Piotr" Swiderski (aka Pete Swiderskip) (drums), Michael "Fred" Reynolds (bass), and Nik "Akrylyk" Townend (guitar).

History

The band was formed in Hull in December 1978 originally as the Akrylyk Vyktymz and played one of its first gigs at the Wellington Club, Hull in June 1979. The following year, the band's name was shortened to Akrylykz and they played one of its first public gigs at Hull Technical College supporting The Mekons. The band enjoyed limited success until the early 1980s releasing a double

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

single, "Spyderman" / "Smart Boy", on the

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

based Red Rhino Records, before being signed to

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. The band released a second single "JD" for Polydor, but were subsequently dropped by the label as the ska revival boom faded. In 1980, Akrylykz (without drummer Swiderski, who had suffered a hand injury) recorded a number of sessions with

Desmond Dekker Desmond Dekker (born Desmond Adolphus Dacres; 16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group the Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Ho ...

for his album, ''Black and Dekker'', on

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London by Dave Robinson (music executive), Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the p ...

, which reprised many of his

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

. In their time, the band toured extensively in their own right as well as supporting The Beat,

The Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were 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, J ...

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

, and other

2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Second-order intercept point#Two-tone analysis, Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone Warning chime, chime, such as the "ding ...

bands. They also opened for

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

on at least one occasion.

Horace Panter Stephen Graham "Horace" Panter, (born 30 August 1953) also known professionally 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 formativ ...

mentioned Akrylykz (misspelled Akrylyx) on page 89 of his autobiography ''Ska'd For Life''.

Aftermath after disbandment

Townend went on to form his own record label, Vital Records, featuring the Hull University-based

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

band Bushfire, headed up by Mark Douglas (bass, vocals and songwriting), in which Townend played guitar and wrote some songs, before leaving Hull and moving to London. The label released material by a number of local bands including Nyam Nyam, led by the former ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' editor and

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

biographer,

Paul Trynka Paul Trynka is a British rock journalist and author. He was the editor of the music magazine ''Mojo'' from 1999 to 2003, and has also worked as editorial director of '' Q'' and editor of ''International Musician''. In 2004, he edited publisher D ...

. The

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''100% British Ska'' (1998) featured the Akrylykz tracks "Spyderman" (Gift/Townend) and "Smart Boy" (Steve B./Townend).

Discography

*"Spyderman" / "Smart Boy" –

Red Rhino Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, Red 2, 1979 (Released on 17 January 1980) *"JD" / "Ska'd for Life" –

, 2059 253, 1980 *''Black and Dekker'' (with

) – Stiff, SEEZ 26, 1980

References

External links

Toneandwave.blogspot.com – debut single notes
{{Authority control English ska musical groups Musical groups from Kingston upon Hull Second-wave ska groups Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 1978 establishments in the United Kingdom