The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on
guitars, Horace Panter on bass, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy outfits (pork pie hats, tonic and mohair suits and loafers)". Their music combines the danceable rhythms of ska and rocksteady with the energy and attitude of punk. Lyrically, their work (often written by primary songwriter Dammers) presented overt political and social commentary.
If you were 12 in 1979, the Specials were easy peasy lemon squeezy the greatest band on the planet. The sort of band you can't quite imagine not existing before. Of course, style over substance is any easy sell in the pop charts, and you have to assume that the vast majority of the millions of catalogue rude
boy clones who cat walked the shithole of Britain’s high streets over the following few years were fashion victims of the lowest order (check Stereotypes or Do Nothing for the bands response). The difference being that, perfectly packaged as they were, the Specials were substance wrapped in checkerboard. Who else could mention the Irish Republican Army and the Ulster Defence Association in a dance track? It turns out I, and millions of others, nailed our colours to the right mast at the time, and try as I might I still can't find a single chink in the armour of The Specials legacy.
They looked fucking great. If you weren't there, Britain was transformed into a mail order version of
The Wailin Wailers album cover almost overnight, though it probably didn't know it at the time. Before the birth of the woeful sports casual, the working class dressed up for the weekend and the easily attainable and striking evocation of mid 60's Jamaica was too irresistible for those who founds punks sartorial alienation just that bit too alienating.
In an age where teenage girls called Kate or Katie clog up the airwaves with songs about boyfriend trouble, (and that age is always), a number one about birth control seems highly unlikely. And it did
then. Add to that, a first tour supporting the Clash, their own label which proportionally was more about others than them, launching Madness, launching The Selector before they even existed, that Two Tone episode of Top Of The Pops, the tour that introduced the non ska wonders of Dexys Midnight Runners to a generation, a faultless and thoughtful back catalogue, opening barely formed minds to racial tolerance, their constant defiance of the ever present National Front.
With their expected (but heartbreaking) immaculate timing, the Specials couldn't have picked a more perfect time to split if they'd had a team of strategic scriptwriters to work out the elegance of a perfect
Hollywood ending. Their final release was not only the most prescient 45 ever, but also their most musically avant garde. They were no longer merely the greatest ska band around, Imagine Ghost Town being allowed anywhere near the charts today. Not only near the charts but No1. Not only No1, but a chart topper during the punch in the face that was the hideous experience of a Royal Wedding. Ghost Town hit the charts the week before the Toxteth Riots, somehow still journalistically given the tag of Race Riots, as if anyone riots because of their race. Let's face facts, a mixed race riot is a class riot.
The anti-apartheid anthem "Free Nelson Mandela" became a Top Ten hit in England, but the album
stiffed, peaking at a tepid 34 on the U.K. album charts. The band's final single, "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend," failed to break the British Top 40, and Dammers dissolved the unit and pursued political causes such as Artists Against Apartheid.
Shortly after the official breakup, various members of the band joined up with other ska revivalists (English Beat, etc.) to form a touring unit named Special Beat. By the mid-'90s, in response to the third-wave ska revival, a Dammers-less version of the Specials (featuring Roddy Byers, Lynval Golding,
Horace Panter, and Neville Staple) reappeared with a series of mediocre cash-in albums: Today's Specials (1996), Guilty Til Proved Innocent! (1998), and Conquering Ruler (2002). The Specials reunited again in 2008 with the full original lineup, except for Dammers, and toured in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States to great commercial success and positive reviews. The reunited band continued touring on and off until 2015, when drummer John Bradbury, the backbone of the 2-Tone sound, passed away in December at the age of 62. Trombonist Rico Rodriguez had died three months earlier, on September 4. He was 80 years old.
Death of Terry Hall
On 19 December 2022, the Specials announced on social media that Hall had died at age 63 after a brief
illness which was later revealed to be pancreatic cancer. They had planned to record a new album in the United States before Hall's health deteriorated.
THE SPECIALS ORIGINAL LINE - UP
Terry Hall – lead vocals (1977–1981, 2008–2022; his death)
Lynval Golding – rhythm and lead guitar, vocals (1977–1981, 1993, 1994–1998, 2008–present)
Horace Panter – bass guitar (1977–1981, 1982, 1993, 1994–1998, 2000–2001, 2008–present)
Jerry Dammers – keyboards, principal songwriter, vocals (1977–1981)
Roddy Radiation – lead guitar, vocals (1978–1981, 1993, 1996–2001, 2008–2014)
Neville Staple – toasting, vocals, percussion (1978–1981, 1993, 1996–2001, 2008–2012)
John Bradbury – drums (1979–1984, 2008–2015; his death)
Dick Cuthell – flugelhorn, trumpet (1979–1984)
Rico Rodriguez – trombone (1979–1981, 1982; died 2015)
The Specials – The Best Of The Specials
Label: Chrysalis – CHRTV 20082, EMI – 50999 520398 2 9, EMI – 5099952039829
Series: Sight & Sound
Country: Europe
Year: 2008
Genre: Rock, Reggae
Style: Ska, Rocksteady
TRACKS
01. The Special A.K.A. – Gangsters 2:48Producer – The Special A.K.A.
Written-By – J. Dammers
02. The Specials Feat. Rico – A Message To You Rudy 2:53Engineer – Dave Jordan
Producer – Elvis Costello
Written-By – R. Thompson
03. The Specials – Nite Klub (Album Version) 3:23Backing Vocals – Chrissie Hynde
Engineer – Dave Jordan
Producer – Elvis Costello
Written-By – J. Dammers, The Specials
04. The Specials – Concrete Jungle 3:19Engineer – Dave Jordan
Producer – Elvis Costello
Written-By – R. Radiation
05. The Special A.K.A. – Too Much Too Young (Live) 2:06Producer – Dave Jordan, Jerry Dammers
Written-By – J. Dammers
Written-By [Ack. To] – L. Chalmers
06. The Specials – Blank Expression 2:42Engineer – Dave Jordan
Producer – Elvis Costello
Written-By – J. Dammers, The Specials
07. The Specials – Doesn't Make It Alright 3:25Engineer – Dave Jordan
Producer – Elvis Costello
Written-By – D. Goldberg, J. Dammers
Written-By [Uncredited] – Mark Harrison (12)
08. The Specials – Rude Boys Outa Jail 2:39Producer – Dave Jordan
Written-By – L. Golding, N. Staples, H. Gentleman
09. The Specials – Rat Race 3:10Producer – Dave Jordan
Written-By – R. Radiation
10. The Specials – Man At C&A 3:36Engineer – Dave Jordan, Jeremy (The Blade) Allom
Producer – Dave Jordan, Jerry Dammers
Written-By – J. Dammers, T. Hall
11. The Specials Feat. Rico With The Ice Rink String Sounds – Do Nothing (Single Version) 3:41Producer – Dave Jordan
Written-By – L. Golding
12. The Specials – Stereotypes/Stereotypes Pt 2 7:24Engineer – Dave Jordan, Jeremy (The Blade) Allom
Producer – Dave Jordan, Jerry Dammers
Written-By [Stereotypes Pt 2] – N. Staples
Written-By [Stereotypes] – J. Dammers
13. The Specials – International Jet Set (Album Version) 5:37Engineer – Dave Jordan, Jeremy (The Blade) Allom
Producer – Dave Jordan, Jerry Dammers
Written-By – J. Dammers
14. The Specials – Friday Night, Saturday Morning 3:34Engineer – J. Rivers
Producer – John Collins
Written-By – T. Hall
15. The Specials – Why? 2:56Engineer – J. Rivers
Producer – John Collins
Written-By – L. Golding
16. The Specials – Ghost Town (Full Version) 6:01Engineer – J. Rivers
Producer – John Collins
Written-By – J. Dammers
17. The Special AKA – What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend (Album Version) 4:50Mixed By – Jeremy Green
Producer – Dick Cuthell
Written-By – J. Dammers
18. The Special AKA – Racist Friend (Single Version) 4:02Engineer [Executive] – Dick Cuthell
Producer, Arranged By – Jerry Dammers
Written-By – D. Cuthell, J. Dammers, J. Bradbury
19. The Special AKA – War Crimes (The Crime Remains The Same) (Single Version) 4:03Engineer [Executive] – Dick Cuthell
Producer, Arranged By – Jerry Dammers
Written-By – J. Dammers
20. The Special AKA – Nelson Mandela (Album Version) 4:15Producer – Elvis Costello
Written-By – J. Dammers
NOTES
01. Single released 28th July, 1979 on 2 Tone catalogue number CHS TT 1 1979
02. Single released 27th October, 1979 on 2 Tone catalogue number CHS TT 5 Digital remaster 2002
03, 04, 06, 07 Taken from the album Specials Digital remaster 2002
05. Single released on 26th January, 1980 2 Tone catalogue number CHS TT7 1980
08, 09. Single released on 24th May, 1980 2 Tone catalogue number CHS TT 11 1980
10, 12, 13 Taken from the album More Specials Digital remaster 2002
11. Single released on 13th December, 1980 2 Tone catalogue number CHS TT 16. 1980
14. to 16. Single releaed on 20th June, 1981 2 Tone Chatalogue number CHS TT 17 1981
17, 20. Taken from the album In The Studio Digital remaster 2002
18. Single released on 3rd September, 1983 2 Tone catalogue number CHS TT 25. 1983
19. Single released on 22nd November, 1982 2 Tone catalogue number CHS TT 23. 1982
GHOST TOWN LYRICS
This town, is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place, is coming like a ghost town
Bands won't play no more
too much fighting on the dance floor
Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?
We danced and sang, and the music played in a de boomtown
This town, is coming like a ghost town
Why must the youth fight against themselves?
Government leaving the youth on the shelf
This place, is coming like a ghost town
No job to be found in this country
Can't go on no more
The people getting angry
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
MP3 @ 320 Size: 181 MB
Flac Size: 495 MB
THE SPECIALS - BBC SESSIONS 1998
In Session With John Peel 29/5/79
01. Gangsters 3:03
02. Too Much Too Young 2:07
03. Concrete Jungle 3:20
04. Monkey Man 2:41
In Session With John Peel 22/10/79
05. Rude Boys Outa Jail 2:56
06. Rat Race 3:10
07. The Skinhead Symphony In Three Movement (5:48)
Long Shot Kick The Bucket
Liquidator
Skinhead Moonstomp
In Session With John Peel 01/12/80
08. Sea Cruise 3:12
09. Stereotype 6:16
10. Racquel 1:40
In Session With John Peel 12/09/83
11. Alcohol 3:46
12. Lonely Crowd 3:22
13.Bright Lights 4:11
David "Kid" Jensen Session 1980
14. Blank Expression 1:53
15. You're Wondering Now 2:23
16. Friday Night, Saturday Morning 3:14
MP3 @ 320 Size: 123 MB
My EAC Program Doesn't convert it in Flac (After the third track)
