In the past year and a half, there has been a remarkable popular music explosion that has seen the originators of a new music become household names. Dance Craze is a film that captures the music of the 1980s, and which is sure to prove enormously popular with young people all over the country.
The bands in Dance Craze have an impressive record of sales. The Specials have two hit albums to their credit, with five Top 10 singles, including the number one “Too Much Too Young.” Madness have also had two hit albums, with five hit singles including their latest, “Baggy Trousers.” The Beat have had a hit album and four hit singles, and are filmed in action on their American tour. The Selecter have had a hit album and five hit singles.
And the list goes on, with Bad Manners and the all-girl The Bodysnatchers.
That totals up to record sales in excess of five million in England alone for the bands featured in Dance Craze; and those five million sales represent potential customers for the film in your cinema.
In an entertainment market beset with difficulties and falling sales, Dance Craze represents the only significant popular music movement of the past two years.
It has proved its sales potential with sold-out tours all over the country, and the film allows audiences the chance to see it all again, plus giving the bands' younger fans their first opportunity of experiencing Dance Craze first hand.
Dance Craze captures on film the excitement of live concert performances by a number of today's most important bands: The Beat, Bad Manners, Madness, The Selecter and The Specials. The bands were filmed during concerts around the UK and in America last year and feature the bands performing many of the songs which featured on the British charts during 1980.
The common link between the bands featured in Dance Craze is the Coventry-based independent record label 2 Tone (so named because of the multiracial lineup of many of the bands). The label was masterminded by The Specials and The Selecter as an alternative outlet for new talent.
Special filming techniques capture the excitement of live performance. The film was shot on Super 35mm, which uses the entire area of the 35mm frame, and will be released in 70mm with six-track stereo, as well as in the normal manner.
Dance Craze opens on 19 February at The Dominion Tottenham Court Road and for a national release throughout February and March with Odeon Theatres