I remember Lynval rushing into the control room while they were doing it going, 'No, no, no, it sounds wrong! In 2022, it was included in the list "The story of NME in 70 (mostly) seminal songs" at number 19, for "Lacing ska and reggae with the amphetamine edge of new wave". Jo-Ann Greene of Allmusic notes the lyric "only brush[es] on the causes for this apocalyptic vision — the closed down clubs, the numerous fights on the dancefloor, the spiraling unemployment, the anger building to explosive levels. I wanted the drums in mono on one track, the bass in mono on another and the rhythm – that shuffle organ and Lynval's DI'd guitar – on another. It felt the album captured the feeling of "Britain in late 1979, an unhappy island about to explode", and that "The Specials managed to distill all the anger, disenchantment, and bitterness of the day straight into their music".

Using just eight tracks limited Collins' recording possibilities, but as a reggae producer he decided to use the common reggae method of recording everything in mono: "As we were recording eight-track, I did go with a track plan. producer Elvis Costello seems incapable of producing a rhythm—by that I mean pop, as well as reggae". Recorded at Hive Mind Studios in Brooklyn, NY, with the help of producer/arrangers Mike Buckley and Vincent Chiarito (both members of Charles Bradley's Extraordinaires) and crack team of a-list musicians, his upcoming album blends heavy arrangements and introspective lyrics with sophistication, leaving the listener in a blissful wash of wonderment. Personally I feel the two muzak tracks "International Jet Set" and "Stereotypes" are among the best songs the band ever released.On the other hand, Vivien Goldman in Melody Maker was disappointed, observing that "this album's drawbacks are exposed all the more vividly in the light of its missed potential. It's a shame the band wouldn't embrace Dammers' vision of a ska/muzak hybrid going forward, deciding to split instead. Dammers grew up in The Midlands area of The UK during the late 1960s/early 70s and became influenced with the sounds of Jamaican Ska Music that was now being heard in the UK mainly as a direct result of the Government policy at that time which saw big cultural changes in the area as a whole due to the influx of immigration in cities such as Birmingham and Coventry.

Smash Hits was also positive, saying it had "some excellent original touches" and that the lyrics were "very strong". The label started things off with the classic ‘Gangsters’ shortly followed by Madness’ ‘The Prince’ (a tribute to Prince Buster and the Jamaican Ska scene in general) and The Selecters’ ‘On My Radio’ Other classics which followed included ‘Too Much Too Young’ and The most famous 2 Tone release of them all; ‘Ghost Town’. Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez had already gone back to London, and I had to record that flute by actually dropping in.

His full length debut on Daptone Records is equal parts raw feeling and elegance and exudes confidence and charm. The club referred to in the song was the Locarno (run by the Mecca Leisure Group and later renamed Tiffanys), a regular haunt of Neville Staple and Lynval Golding, [3] and which is also named as the club in "Friday Night, Saturday Morning", one of the songs on the B-side.