Too Much Pressure

the That's So Raven episode

Too Much Pressure is the debut studio album by English 2 tone ska revival band the Selecter. After the band's official formation in 1979 in Coventry, following the release of a song entitled "The Selecter" by an unofficial incarnation of the band, the band's hit single "On My Radio" prompted their labels 2 Tone and Chrysalis to ask the band to record their debut album. Working with producer Errol Ross, the Selecter recorded the album at Horizon Studios over two months. The album contains original material, mostly composed by band founder and guitarist Neol Davies, as well as numerous ska and reggae cover versions, in a similar fashion to the Specials' debut album. The album was released in February 1980 on 2 Tone records. The record was commercially successful, charting at number 5 in the United Kingdom. The record's singles, "Three Minute Hero" and "Missing Words", made the top 25 of the UK Singles Chart. The album was also critically successful, and has had lasting praise in the ensuing years. Although the band's accompanying 2 On 2 Tour with several other 2 Tone acts was fraught with violence, it also helped achieve, in part, the album's commercial success. The band performed the album live for the first time as part of its 35th anniversary tour in 2014.

Following the release of the album, Black became dubbed the "Queen of British Ska." A poster for the album was known to hang in Chrysalis' head offices for a long time following its release. The Selecter explored similar themes to Too Much Pressure on their twelfth studio album Made in Britain (2012), which contains a re recording of "They Make Me Mad", whose lyrics were said by Helen G to "remain relevant" in 2012. "Too Much Pressure" featured in the film The Abyss (1989). Despite the critical and commercial success of Too Much Pressure, the aftermath of its release was fraught with problems for the band. Their relationship with 2 Tone Records was disintegrating, who were publishing merchandise without the band's consent (Davies once commented: "There is a hell of a lot of money being made, supposedly in our names, but where's it all going? "), and also felt "there were not enough avenues for them to broaden their musical horizons again this was due to the huge success of 2 Tone." However, Black remains happy with the album's themes, reflecting in 2016 that the Selecter's intents never changed in the ensuing years "because no tectonic plates have really moved as far as we’re concerned. Maybe they’ve moved in other areas. But as far as that whole black white thing going on in society, those tectonic plates have moved but there hasn’t been any real seismic kind of alleviation of the pressure. It’s too much pressure then, and it’s still too much pressure now.”

quote box|quote="We thought our 35th anniversary would be the perfect time to revisit our very first album Too Much Pressure and perform it in full for the very first time! We can’t wait to get on the road to bring our message of multiculturalism from across 4 decades to venues up and down the land. "|source=—Pauline Black, speaking prior to the 35th anniversary tour. and Captain Mod has remastered and re released the album on CD twice, on 18 June 2001 and 19 May 2014, both times with three bonus tracks: "The Selecter", "On My Radio" and the single version of "Too Much Pressure." Re issue label Obscure Alternatives have also re released the album on LP in the United States in both 2012 and 2016; the 2012 edition was pressed variantly on black and grey vinyl, whilst the 2016 edition, which was limited to 589 copies, features a white vinyl with black effects and markings.

All tracks composed by Neol Davies except where noted.