Artist: The Villains, Album: Life Of Crime EP, Song: Urban Skins

The Villains were a ska band that formed in England originally.  They moved to Canada and during their first live performance in Vancouver, they were promptly arrested and sent to a local prison for working without a visa.  They were released on the condition that they voluntarily leave the country or be deported.  Rather than doing either, they found a management company that foresaw profit in the band's recent publicity and helped them fill out the appropriate paperwork to remain in the country.  From there, the band tore up stages coast to coast with their energy and humour.   They formed their own label and in 1980, released their debut EP, Life Of Crime.  It only had 4 tracks and one of them was a cover of Sam The Sham's Wooly Bully.  Urban Skins is a standout from that release that can be purchased on Itunes.  The band would release a followup album with Attic Records in 1983 and changed their sound slightly to appeal to a larger, more pop oriented audience.  The experiment failed and by 1986, the members stopped touring and recording together.  However, there appears to be some life emerging from the Villains camp recently and you can follow them at http://www.myspace.com/thelegendaryvillains.  You can hear the song, Urban Skins, on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug2_Kdhtosg&feature=related).  Thanks for reading and enjoy!