As nostalgic fans of 2 Tone music head to the Folkestone Skabour Festival, Pauline Black of The Selecter believes ska music has never been more relevant. Chris Price caught up with her.

As court action rolls on following the riots and looting last month, Pauline Black is watching her career come full circle.

It was at the time of the Brixton riots that her band The Selecter and the 2 Tone movement had come to the fore.

Songs like On My Radio and Three Minute Hero recorded the social unrest which sparked off the riots in April 1981. Fast forward 30 years and The Selecter are once again on the verge of releasing a new album documenting the ills of a society in turmoil.

“We live in reactionary times, the same as when 2 Tone was at its high point 30 years ago,” said Pauline, 57, who will kick off the Folkestone Skabour Festival with The Selecter on Friday, September 2.

“This year’s riots have happened for a different reason to the Brixton riots but the underlying problems are still there. There are still lots of unemployed young people – 20% are out of work. They feel that they have no voice.

“They need to feel valued and if they don’t then they will not feel protective of other people’s property. There has never been a more timely period to have that debate.”

The Selecter’s new record Made In Britain, has suffered more than its fair share of setbacks.

The whole album - which features Pauline’s fellow original vocalist Arthur 'Gaps’ Hendrickson – is built around two singles: Big In The Body, Small In The Mind and a cover of Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black. Pauline has been performing Winehouse’s song at live shows for a couple of years as a salute to the R&B singer’s performance with fellow ska outfit The Specials at V Festival in 2009. The single was released on Saturday, July 23, the very day the singer died.

“We had to pull the single,” said Pauline. “It didn’t feel right to release it.

“The reason I chose it was because Amy had done 2 Tone pieces over the years and been very much into the ska catalogue of songs.

“It seemed a no-brainer to return her the favour with such an extraordinary song. She was the most talented person on the planet. I said person, not woman.”

The release also coincided with the deaths of 69 people on a youth camp in Norway at the hands of gunman Anders Behring Breivik. This strangely mirrored the release of The Selecter’s second album Celebrate the Bullet in February 1981, which came out after John Lennon was shot.

“1981 was a very strange time,” mused Pauline, who lives in Coventry and believes the multi-culturalism ska music stands for can help overcome the fractures in British society.

“The main theme of the album is multi-culturalism and what it means. It sparked off a whole debate when politicians said multi-culturalism is dead. We beg to differ.

“We live in areas and streets where multi-culturalism is alive and kicking and this is what 2 Tone is all about. We are putting out an album which is heading back to our roots.”

The Selecter co-headline the opening night of the Folkestone Skabour Festival with The Beat at Folkestone’s Leas Cliff Hall on Friday, September 2. The festival runs from Friday, until Sunday, September 4. Details atwww.folkestoneskabourfestival.co.uk.