Akrylykz

Akrylykz
Origin	Kingston upon Hull, England
Genres	Ska
Years active	1978–1981
Labels	Red Rhino, Polydor
Past members	Roland Gift Steve Pears Stevie Robottom Wojciech Swiderski Fred Reynolds Nik Townend

Akrylykz (originally Akrylyk(z) Vyktymz) was a British ska band, formed by members of Hull School of Art in Kingston upon Hull, that featured Roland Gift (later Fine Young Cannibals) originally as a tenor saxophonist, but his role later expanded to frontman and lead singer. Other members of the group were Steve Pears (vocals, tenor saxophone), Stevie "B" Robottom (vocals, alto saxophone, keyboards), Wojciech "Piotr" Swiderski (drums), Michael "Fred" Reynolds (bass), and Nik "Akrylyk" Townend (guitar).

Akrylykz existed in the late 1970s to the early 1980s where they had limited success, releasing a double A-side single, "Spyderman" / "Smart Boy", on the York based Red Rhino Records, before being signed to Polydor. The band released a second single "JD" for Polydor, but were subsequently dropped by the label as the ska revival boom faded.

In 1980, Akrylykz (without drummer Swiderski, who had suffered a hand injury) recorded a number of sessions with Desmond Dekker for his album, Black and Dekker, on Stiff Records, which reprised many of his hits.

In their time, the band toured extensively in their own right as well as supporting The Beat, The Specials, Madness, and other 2 Tone bands. They also opened for The Clash on at least one occasion.Horace Panter mentioned Akrylykz (misspelled Akrylyx) on page 89 of his autobiography Ska'd For Life.

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