[01
NOV 00] COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE PROMOTIONS NEWS
Ska Legends Return For New Year's Eve
The
sound of 2 Tone is coming back to the streets of Coventry on New
Year’s Eve as stars from the halcyon days of ska take to the
stage once more.
 Pauline
Black from The Selecter, Roddy Radiation (left) and Neville
Staple (right) from The Specials and The Beat's Ranking Roger
will be fronting an 11-piece band for The World's Greatest Ska
Show.
 The
event, part of a 14-hour live music extravaganza, has been
organised to follow the success of last year’s tightrope walk
by Ramon Kelvink, which attracted 35,000 people into the city
centre.
The
ska favourites, many of which were aired at the recent Belgrade
musical three Minute Heroes, will include Gangsters, On My Radio
and Mirror In The Bathroom.
 Coventry-based
show producer Roger Lomas (right), one of 2 Tone's original
producers, said:
"The
collective has come together to perform all over the world,
but it is very important to us to be playing here in Coventry
on this night.
“This
is where 2 Tone came from and it will feel like coming
home."
The
show kicks off at 9pm on the Priory Stage between Coventry
Cathedral and Coventry University, one of five locations around
the city centre that will be staging live entertainment from
late morning until 1am.
Other
party fare includes family variety shows, aerial performances,
music from around the world, a lantern procession featuring 200
city schoolchildren and a specially commissioned artwork to be
created on the day.
This
year event organisers Coventry and Warwickshire Promotions have
secured a £90,000 grant from the Millennium Commission for the
2000 festivities.
The
City Centre Company and Coventry University are also involved,
as are Coventry City Council, private sector sponsors and the
Millennium Commission.
Rae
Hoole, head of events for CWP, said:
"Last
year's spectacular with Ramon Kelvink was a one-off. What we
are doing this year is to lay the groundwork for a sustainable
event that can make Coventry one of those cities where
something happens every New Year's Eve."
Liz
Millett, chief executive of the City Centre Company, added:
"After
the success of last year's family-based celebrations, we hope
that New Year's Eve can become a regular part of the programme
of live entertainment in the city centre."
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