Made in Britain

Made in Britain is the twelfth studio album by English ska and 2 Tone band The Selecter, released in 2011 on Vocaphone Records, their first album for the label. After reforming in 2010, Made in Britain was conceived after a PR company requested lead vocalist Pauline Black record a new album with the Selecter to coincide with her autobiography Black by Design. Black took the idea to record new material with the band seriously. The album was written and recorded quickly with production from several of the band members, with the experience pleasing band members. The album, which uses a traditional ska and 2 Tone sound, found the band exploring their own and the public's relationship with the genre's equality, multiracial message. Mostly written by Black, the album's lyrics address numerous related social and political issues in 2010s multiracial Britain. The album was promoted with the singles "Big in the Body, Small in the Mind" and "Back to Black", and was released to positive reviews from critics, who saw the album's lyrics as relevant in the political climate of the day. The band toured in promotion of the album in 2011 and 2012, leading to the live album Made in Britain. Background and recording After the release of The Selecter's acoustic studio album, Requiem for a Black Soul (2004), the band's vocalist and songwriter Pauline Black disbanded The Selecter, who had worked on and off since for fifteen years, in 2006, in order to concentrate on writing her autobiography Black by Design from 2007. However, "I started dipping my toe back in the water with music," Black later explained, "and decided to put the Selecter back together in 2010." With an extended line-up of original members Black and fellow vocalist Arthur "Gaps" Hendrickson, alongside drummer Winston Marche, keyboardist Greg Coutson, guitarist Anthony Harty, bassist The Emperor Mingus, and saxophonists and multi-instrumentalists Neil Pyzer and Grande La Rose, the band prepared to re-launch The Selecter onto the ska scene in 2011, and felt it was important to record new music. The genesis for Made in Britain came about when the band's London tour manager introduced Black to a PR company that were aiming to do PR on Black's autobiography Black by Design.