Moon Ska World, formerly known as Moon Ska Europe, was a

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

record label based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1998 as the European sister label of the defunct American label

Moon Ska Records Moon Ska Records was one of the most influential ska record labels of the 1980s and 1990s. The label operated from 1983 until 2000, and during those seventeen years, only released ska and ska-influenced music. Originally named ''Moon Records'', a ...

, which was owned by Robert "Bucket" Hingley of

The Toasters The Toasters are one of the original American Third wave ska, third wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records. History Englishman Robert Hingley relocated ...

. Moon Ska World is a licensed affiliate run by Laurie "Lol" Pryor, former manager of The Business and Dojo Records and Link Records head. Due to illnesses in both Pryor and the other principal owner, Sonia "Red" Bailey, as well as deaths in their families, the label was put on hold until 2006, when Pryor changed its name to Moon Ska World and began running the label on his own. Unlike its American counterpart, Moon Ska Europe released bands from genres outside of ska, but in 2006, the label shifted its focus exclusively towards ska and old

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 ...

. In addition to releasing more than thirty albums licensed from Moon Ska Records, as well as early albums by

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky ...

and

Buck-O-Nine Buck-O-Nine is an American ska punk band which was formed in San Diego in 1991. The band has toured internationally and released several albums and EPs, as well as appearing on compilations and film soundtracks. During the mid-to-late 1990s, t ...

, Moon Ska Europe released albums by

Spunge Spunge (often typeset as punge'') is a ska punk band from Tewkesbury, England. Through many years of touring, Spunge have toured with or played alongside a number of UK bands; and several American bands such as Green Day, Dropkick Murphys ...

(who later signed with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

), Whitmore, King Prawn (re-releases of their first two albums) and

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone) and Matt Yonker ...

(their debut European release). In 2006, Moon Ska World signed UK underground ska act The Big, European reggae act The Upsessions, Hawaii ska/soul act

Go Jimmy Go Go Jimmy Go was an American ska, rocksteady, reggae and Soul music, soul influenced band from Honolulu, Hawaii. Although chronologically, the band belongs to the Third-wave of ska, third-wave, their mellow, slower tempo sound is reminiscent of t ...

and former Bodysnatchers and Special AKA vocalist

Rhoda Dakar Rhoda Dakar (born 1959) is an English singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label. She also worked with The Specials/Special AKA, and also other 2-Tone artists. Career Daka ...

. They also released albums by The Toasters,

The Riffs The Riffs are a rock and roll and punk band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They have released three full-length albums, all on indie labels, namely Pelado Records, Vendetta Records, and TKO Records. Influences The Riffs are heavily inf ...

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 ...

supergroup Skaville UK, and skinhead reggae act

Symarip Symarip (also known at various stages of their career as The Bees, The Pyramids, Seven Letters and Zubaba) were a British ska and reggae band, originating in the late 1960s, when Frank Pitter and Michael Thomas founded the band as The Bees. Th ...

. The label's final release was the ''Peace Love Faith Hope Respect Co-Exist'' album by the Dub City Rockers in 2011. Pryor died in May 2022.

Label Roster

* The Articles (USA) *

Big D and the Kids Table Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts, when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records a ...

(USA) * Dub City Rockers (Jamaica/UK) * Dumpster Pop * Fandangle (UK) *

Farse Farse may refer to: * Farsa (plural ), a genre of opera * Farse (band), a five-piece ska-punk band from Birmingham in the West Midlands of England See also * Farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that ...

(UK) *

(USA) * Graveltrap (UK) *

(USA) * Lubby Nugget (UK) * The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (USA) * Mixtwitch (Ireland) * Chris Murray (USA) *

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 pr ...

* The Rudimentals (South Africa) *

* Sadie's Doll *

The Selecter The Selecter is 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 ...

(UK) *

Shootin' Goon Shootin' Goon were a Welsh ska punk outfit of the late 1990s and early 2000s who were signed to the label Moon Ska Europe and later Good Clean Fun Records. Shootin' Goon released their debut album ''Splottside Rocksteady'' in 2000, with the ...

(UK) * Skaville UK * Solabeat Alliance (UK) *

Sonic Boom Six Sonic Boom Six (often shortened to SB6) are an English five-piece band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by ''Kerrang!'' as "taking ska, pop, grime, du ...

(UK) *

(USA) * Uncle Brian * The Upsessions (NL) The Upsessions discographyat Allmusic * Whitmore (UK) * Zen Baseballbat (UK)

Label Roster

Notes

See also