The Akrylykz was a ska band from Kingston upon Hull, that featured Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) originally as a tenor saxophonist, but his role later expanded to frontman and lead singer. The band 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 the 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 the Akrylykz (misspelled Akrylyx) on page 89 of his autobiography Ska'd For Life.
Other members of the group were Steve Pears (vocals, tenor saxophone), Stevie "B" Robottom [Washington] (vocals, alto saxophone, keyboards), Wojciech "Piotr" Swiderski (drums), Michael "Fred" Reynolds (bass), and Nik "Akrylyk" Townend (guitar).
Townend went on to form his own record label, Vital Records, featuring his reggae band Bushfire, and released material by a number of local bands including Nyam Nyam (led by the former Mojo editor and Iggy Pop biographer, Paul Trynka).
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