The Selecter will have their complete BBC archival history brought together for the very first time in a comprehensive multi-format box set anthology. Scheduled for release on 28 August 2026, At The BBC: The Complete Recordings 1979–1981 chronicles the vital 2Tone group's meteoric rise and thrilling live performances across a crucial three-year window. The new compilation will be made available as a limited-edition 3LP standard-weight vinyl box set in a rigid slipcase, alongside a deluxe 2CD and Blu-ray package housed in a DVD-sized mediabook.
Fascinatingly, when the group first hit the BBC airwaves, they did not formally exist. In 1979, 2Tone founder Jerry Dammers used a spooky 1977 instrumental track recorded by Neol Davies and John "Brad" Bradbury under the alias The Selecters as the B-side for The Specials' debut single, "Gangsters." Radio 1 legend John Peel famously bestowed the ultimate honor of playing that flipside twice in a single show. The unexpected airplay prompted guitarist Davies to quickly assemble an actual band, recruiting vocalist Pauline Black and Arthur "Gaps" Hendrickson to form one of the few racially and sexually integrated spearheads of the late 1970s ska revival.
Over the next two years, as the 2Tone cultural movement engulfed the country, the band released their classic albums Too Much Pressure and Celebrate The Bullet. During this fertile creative period, they logged multiple BBC sessions and blistering in-concert performances. This definitive 30-track collection gathers those moments together, including two legendary John Peel sessions, a studio session for Mike Read, and an elusive December 1979 BBC In Concert set at London’s Paris Theatre. It also compiles physical video archives from The Old Grey Whistle Test and regional Look! Hear! appearances.
Both physical formats come complete with extensive, brand-new 6,000-word liner notes penned by acclaimed music journalist Simon Price, featuring fresh interviews with surviving band members. The definitive ska retrospectives are currently available for fans to pre-order online ahead of the late summer street date.
