Celebrating a Decade of Ska – Hong Kong Act The Red Stripes Announce Anniversary Show

Formed 10 years ago, Hong Kong 10-piece ska act The Red Stripes LIVE are a force to be reckoned with. Even if you’re not a fan of ska (are you even into music???), from the moment this high-octane tribe of stellar musicians gets on stage every part of your being will begin to want to move. Your “cool” guy persona will immediately be thrown out the window as your body begins to wriggle and jive to the tunes the band belts out from killer originals to their own versions of ska staples. The band, simply put, rips it live.

In their 10 years of trying to bring ska to a large audience here in Hong Kong, the band has traveled all over Asia and has dropped 2 full lengths – 2018’s ‘The Red Stripes in the Ska East’:

and 2020’s ‘Made in Hong Kong’:

and then a special remix album entitled ‘Soundclash’ in 2021:

The band has just announced a special 10-year anniversary show here in Hong Kong featuring Taiwanese ska band Skaraoke in tow. One of the founding members of the band, Paul Thompson, was kind enough to send us some more info:

“Over the past 10 years, we have been performing classic and original Ska music to audiences not only in Hong Kong but in other parts of Asia. After releasing 2 original albums ‘In The Ska East’ and ‘Made In Hong Kong’ plus a remix album ‘Soundclash’ and a live album we are about to celebrate our journey with Taiwanese Ska legends Skaraoke at Grappa’s Cellar on Saturday 3rd June.”

“It will not only be a celebration of the band but the genre itself, which historically does not have a huge community or following in the city. When the band performed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan, we were struck by how large the Ska and Reggae scenes are. The audience would be dressed in classic Ska music attire, would know every word of every song, and would often number in their thousands at large events such as the Semarang Ska Festival and Kuala Lumpur Ska Festival. The scene has grown in Hong Kong and close links to the Punk scene (Ska and Reggae were often played between Punk sets in the scene’s burgeoning days in the UK) have helped to build an audience over the past 10 years.”

“Bringing Skaraoke to celebrate with us was an easy decision, like Hong Kong, Taiwan has a small scene and we have often played together at festivals and shows in both cities. At the end of the event they always join us for some extra songs to finish off the evening with the classic early Ska big band sound.”

Tickets for the show are still on sale – grab them HERE.

Photo Credit Gaz Jones