The Selecter (GB)
From Coventry
Popularity
The Selecter has one upcoming show in the Netherlands: on December 17, 2026 at TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht.
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About
Also known as: Selecter, Selector, The, The Selector
Few bands can claim to have helped launch an entire genre, but The Selecter literally started 2 Tone ska: their name came from a track on the flip side of the Specials' debut single in 1979, and the whole movement grew from there. Based in Coventry, the original lineup was deliberately mixed in both race and gender, with Pauline Black and Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson sharing lead vocal duties over a punchy, organ driven sound. Hits like 'On My Radio', 'Three Minute Hero' and 'Missing Words' landed them in the UK top forty, and their debut album Too Much Pressure remains a landmark of the era. The original band only held together for about a year before splitting in 1981, but Pauline Black has kept the Selecter going through various reformations ever since, winning the legal right to the trademark in 2011. The band has stayed prolific, releasing their 16th studio album Human Algebra in 2022.
