Formed by three by Paul Cooper, Peter Wilson and Simon Smith, three ska enthusiasts with a history of performance in the style.
Simon's first band was The Gangsters. Moving on he performed with the ex-Allniters in The Lunatics and has also guested with The Allniters on trumpet. Peter performed as trumpet/vocalist with 80's Ska -Punk band Van Goughs Dream. Pete and Simon were the front men of Complete Madness, who enjoyed success both nationally and in New Zealand but decided to quit the tribute band for health reasons, says Pete, we were sick of it. Pommy Paul met Simon and Pete at a Complete Madness gig and the idea for Backy Skank was formed. Originally from North London, he performed in English Madness tribute One Step Behind, and later with The Newmatics which featured ex- English Beat drummer Everett Morton. While in TheNewmatics, Paul supported Jamaican Ska legend and former Specials trombonist Rico Rodriguez, The Selecter, The Nutty Boys and many more.
The Backy Skank are:
Felix Bloxsom (drummer), Willy Wilson (guitar), Bob Spencer (bass), Layne Visser (trombone and backing vocals), Nicholas B Hempton (sax), Ross Judd (trumpet) and Simon Smith (vocals)..
"Introducing:- Backy Skank" is the debut EP.
Their first gig at The Globe in Sydney in July 1998.
Web site : http://jump.to/backyskank