Another 48 Hours In The 2 Tone City

Rudi, Neville & Ramona

2 Tone Village, Coventry

August 2013

As I mentioned in an earlier post, an 80th birthday party in Tamworth took us back to Coventry as a base for a couple of nights. We were staying in the recently opened Premier Inn in what was once The Butts Technical College. This took Gunta on something of a nostalgia trip as she studied here for a while back in the early '80s.

The Butts Technical College

(now a Premier Inn!)

The old parts of the college are stunning, I took this photo of one of the leaded windows bearing the date '1935' and some of the stained glass motifs representing the various faculties that the Butts was built to serve.

Given that the Butts is on a junction with Albany Road, whilst the rest of the family were getting their act together on the Saturday morning, I went off Albany Road way to get a photo of 2 Tone HQ (better known as 51 Albany Road to the postman).

I got a couple of funny looks, but I am sure that the neighbours have seen it all before and realise that this is not in fact the most cased property in Coventry!

Pete Chambers and Lynval unveiling the 2 Tone Trail plaque at 51 Albany Road

On the way out to Tamworth on Saturday lunchtime we called into the new location of The 2 Tone Village on Walsgrave Road.

Whilst not finished yet, we were kindly given a tour of the work in progress and it is very impressive. With an great intimate venue downstairs, the upstairs is given over to the museum, focused on 2 Tone, but encompassing all of Coventry's post war contribution to popular music from Vince Hill to King and The Enemy.

Stopping at the Cafe, a familiar figure was finishing breakfast before journeying south to a festival in Swanage.

That family and friends of those most intimately involved with the 2 Tone movement are working extremely hard to get this gem of a place fully functioning, surely even in these austere times in which we find ourselves, this project deserves some central funding from the municipal authorities that run the city. Looking at the Coventry City Council website, The Larkin Trail is featured, but where is the 2 Tone Trail? The Specials get the briefest of mentions.......

So here's a plug from me.