FOUR friends from Bradford will once again evoke memories of their youth by organising a second ska and reggae music extravaganza for Yorkshire.

The success of the inaugural event last year - held at the University of Bradford - has prompted David Crawford, Jeff George, Paul Howson and Jack Nanson to set up another one.

And this time, they say it will be even bigger and better - with the headliners named as renowned London-based ska band The Dualers.

Mr Crawford, 49, said: "It was a success - big enough to do it all again.

"We have to go bigger this year. The responses we had from people, and financial reasons, meant we knew we had to get bigger.

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"We had to get some bigger bands. We have The Dualers, from south London, who played Bradford Festival last year. They are a prominent band on the scene, if not the best at the moment. They should add prestige and credibility.

"We also have a band called The Style Selektors from Teesside, The Indecision from Leeds, and Natural Rhythm and Selah Sounds, both of Bradford."

He added: "We want to open it up to Bradford. It is a fun day out, with five live bands, eight hours of music, and four top DJs."

This year, the foursome got other friends on board to help organise the festival - known as the Yorkshire Ska & Reggae All-Dayer.

"It is an amalgamation of ten mates this time," said Mr Crawford. "We are all like-minded people who love the music and love the scene.

"We are trying to be established like the London ska festival. We want to be the northern section of that. We want to represent Bradford as best as we can.

"We have had a lot of support, especially from the university, and lots of help from friends working in the background free of charge. If we do get to number three, I hope to get local businesses involved.

"I particularly want to thank Jonathan McIntosh, Mick and Tina Robb, Paul Haley and Roger Mitchell, and many others, for their help."

Prior to last year's event, which was held in June, Mr Crawford said he and his friends first met when they were 15 and 16 and added: “We would go to the Textile Hall at the top of Westgate and they used to let us have a Friday night where we could have a Ska night.

“That burnt down so we went to Checkpoint to have nights there. There was a group of about 20 of us and some created bands of their own.”

The event is on August 15 in the University of Bradford's Student Central. Advance tickets are £20, and are available from www.facebook.com/1umpromo, www.1umpromotions.co.uk, or by ringing 01274 965305.