The Australian ska scene has existed since the mid-1980s, when it started enjoying the same sort of interest as it did in the United Kingdom, following the success of UK 2 Tone bands such as The Specials, The Beat and Madness.
Using band members's recollections, a Premier Artists running sheet, newspaper gig guide advertising, it can be stated with confidence that No Nonsense's first gig was supporting Melbourne band Alice and the Alligators at the Turf Club Hotel, Ararat on Saturday 17 October 1981.
More recent notable bands include Mad Not Madness, Area 7, the Bedlam Beggars, Backy Skank, Los Capitanes, General Pants and the Privates, Sounds Like Chicken, The Seen, Loin Groin, Yeah Yeah, Just Kidding, Skamen, Trojan Horns, Blowhard, Dr. Raju, Addiction 64, Suspect 7, The Lyrical Madmen, Steel City Allstars, Bagster, The Mad Dash, Foghorn Leghorn, The Resignators, Rubix Cuba, Dr. Octopus, Son of Dad, CatchCry, Rad Rockets Are GO!, The Prophets of Impending Doom, The Accelerators, NR&D (Nuts, Racoons & Dragons), The My Tys and The Mouldy Lovers.
A pivotal figure in the Melbourne ska scene was 'Aunty' Carol Baxter who, in the early days, managed both Strange Tenants and No Nonsense and booked and promoted all the bands at the Aberdeen Hotel.
Ska had always attracted skinheads but by the mid-1990s an element of this subculture's propensity to violence resulted in fights and injuries, causing crowd numbers to drop.
Many venues refused to book ska bands, including the Royal Artillery in North Melbourne and the Albert Park Hotel.
New bands started appearing, such as Oiska,[10][11] Addiction 64,[12] Shelflife, Ringleader, Cheese Excursion and Commissioner Gordon.
The late 1990s also saw the creation of the Australian Ska Orchestra, an idea by Loin Groin's trumpeter Julian Millie.
The momentum continued with additional bands springing up, like Hectic, Skazz, 99% Fat, Trojan Horns, Redsand Shuffle, Mr Coffee, User Friendly and The Incredible Dead Goons.
Venues where ska gigs were commonly held were The Arthouse, The Tote, The Punters Club, The Corner Hotel, 9th Ward and The Evelyn.
Ska bands from interstate made appearances at local shows, including The Porkers (Newcastle), The Seen (Adelaide), The Lyrical Madmen (Sydney) and Wiseacre (Brisbane).
In May 2003, the Melbourne Ska Orchestra played its inaugural concert at The Esplanade Hotel's Gershwin Room (St Kilda).
In 2016 they won the ARIA award for Best World Music Album for their second full-length release Sierra-Kilo-Alpha which also included 3D artwork (with glasses supplied).
This led to the discovery that Melbourne musicians Dennis Sindrey and Peter Stoddart, along with Lowell were part of the in-house band at Studio One playing as the Caribs where the first ska recordings were made.
The Allniters were a ska band, starting off playing in inner city pubs in 1980, with their first gig at the Sussex Hotel, at the time, the centre of the 1980s Mod revival.
The Allniters went on to have mainstream success with a number of singles getting on to the Australian top 40, including Montego Bay, Hold On and Love and Affection.
These bands played gigs, largely at inner city venues, supported by rude boys, skinheads and ska fans.
By the 1990s the Ska subculture, Skinhead and mod scenes were starting to diminish, with the gradual rise of electronic dance music.