Event celebrates region's role in origin of 2 Tone

The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr will headline the event

An event is set to celebrate how the Midlands gifted the famous 2 Tone sound to the world.

BBC Radio WM Celebrates 2 Tone will be held at Birmingham's O2 Institute.

Broadcaster Adrian Goldberg will host the evening of music and conversation, headlined by The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr, alongside a conversation with Horace Panter of The Specials.

The event, on 2 May, will mark the broadcast of Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight’s new BBC drama This Town.

Panter will be joined by Pauline Black of The Selecter, with the pair set to share experiences and memories of 2 Tone.

Mark Almond, who worked as a costume designer on This Town, will talk about his work on the programme, which first aired over the Easter weekend.

This Town first aired over the Easter weekend

The drama tells the story of an extended family and a group of young people who are drawn into an "explosive and thrilling music scene".

2 Tone famously emerged from the multicultural grassroots of Coventry and Birmingham in the late 70s and early 80s.

Bands including The Specials and The Selecter borrowed from the dancefloor-friendly ska and reggae music of Jamaica before the sound was combined with punk rock influences.

Tickets for the event will be allocated via a ballot through BBC Shows and Tours, with performances and conversations broadcast at a later date.

Click here to read the BBC's visual story of 2 Tone: The soundtrack for a generation living through turbulent times in 1970s Great Britain

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