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The Specials

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This article is about the English ska band. See Specials (disambiguation) for other uses of the name.
The Specials <tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:Thespecials.jpg
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Background information

<tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg Coventry, England</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">2 tone, Ska, New Wave</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">1977–1981
1994–1999</td></tr><tr><td style="padding-right: 1em;">Label(s)</td><td colspan="2">2 Tone, Chrysalis</td></tr><tr><th style="background: #b0c4de;" colspan="3">Members</th></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;" colspan="3">Jerry Dammers
Terry Hall
Neville Staples
Sir Horace Gentleman
Roddy Radiation
Lynval Golding
John Bradbury</td></tr>

The Specials were an English 2 Tone band formed in 1977 in Coventry.

They started out playing ska and punk rock songs, later fusing the styles together, creating a new sound that became known as 2 Tone. They were best known for singles such as A Message To You Rudy, Ghost Town, Too Much Too Young and their debut, Gangsters. The original band members were Jerry Dammers, Terry Hall, Roddy Radiation, John Bradbury, Sir Horace Gentleman (also known as Horace Panter), Lynval Golding and Neville Staples.

Contents

[edit] History

Shortly after being formed by Dammers, Golding, and Panter, the band performed minor gigs under the name "The Coventry Automatics". Terry Hall and Roddy Radiation joined the band the following year, and the band changed its name to The Coventry Specials, and then to The Special AKA.

Joe Strummer of The Clash had attended one of their gigs, and invited The Special AKA to open for his band in their On Parole UK Tour. This performance gave The Special AKA a new level of national exposure, and they briefly shared the Clash's management. In 1979, Dammers decided to form his own record label, and 2 Tone Records was born. On this label, the band released "Gangsters," which became a Top Ten hit in 1979.

The band had begun wearing two-tone mod/rude boy/skinhead-style tonic suits, along with other elements of late 1960s teen fashions. Their debut LP was Specials, produced by Elvis Costello. "Too Much Too Young" was a number one hit in the UK singles chart, despite controversy due to the song's lyrics, which promoted contraception.

Their second album, More Specials was not as commercially successful as previous recordings. The band had seemingly abandoned the ska genre, despite having been largely responsible for its revival in the United Kingdom. The album included a more experimental approach to music, inlcuding influences from pop, new wave, and even muzak. The band also experimented with what could be described as a dark, almost psychedelic reggae.

"Ghost Town" hit number one in 1981, but 2 Tone was in trouble. Staples, Golding and Hall left the band, and Dammers added Stan Campbell, to begin working again under the group's previous name Special A.K.A.. The resulting album, In the Studio, was not very successful, although the songs "Racist Friend" and "Nelson Mandela" were hits. The latter contributed to making Mandela a cause célèbre in Britain, and became popular with anti-apartheid activists in South Africa. Dammers then dissolved the band and pursued activism.

[edit] Later developments

The Beat, from nearby Birmingham, who had collaborated on tracks such as Nelson Mandela, teamed up with members of The Specials in the early 1990s to form the band Special Beat.

Terry Hall continued in the music industry with his 1980s pop band Fun Boy Three, with fellow ex-Specials Neville Staples and Lynval Golding. They enjoyed commercial success with a small collection of hits, including "Tunnel of Love", "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)". From 1984 until 1987, Hall fronted The Colourfield, with some commercial success. After they disbanded, Hall went on to pursue a solo career, mostly in the New Wave genre), and he has done vocal work on a Dub Pistols' album.

The song "Little Bitch" appeared in John Hughes' popular movie Sixteen Candles, starring Molly Ringwald. Songs by The Specials and Special A.K.A. have appeared in the Dance Dance Revolution video game, the TV series Father Ted, and in the soundtracks for the movies Snatch, Shaun of the Dead, Grosse Pointe Blank and 'An Extremely Goofy Movie..

Various members of the band have reformed several times to tour and record, although the original lineup never have completely.

[edit] Lineup

[edit] Trivia

The Ted Leo and the Pharmacists song "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?" is a tribute to The Specials. Ted Leo references some of the members' names in the song's chorus.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Specials (1979)
  • More Specials (1980)
  • In the Studio (as Special A.K.A.) (1984)
  • Today's Specials (1996)
  • Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent! (1998)
  • Skinhead Girl (2000)
  • Conquering Ruler (2001)

[edit] Live albums

  • Live at The Moonlight Club (1997)
  • Peel Sessions (1987)
  • Blue Plate Specials (1999)
  • Ghost Town: Live at Montreaux Jazz Festival 1995 (1999)

[edit] Compilations

  • The Singles Collection (1991)
  • Coventry Automatics Aka the Specials: Dawning of a New Era (1994)
  • Too Much Too Young: The Gold Collection (1996)
  • Concrete Jungle (1998)
  • Best of The Specials (1999)
  • Very Best of the Specials and Fun Boy Three (2000)
  • Ghost Town (2004)
  • Stereo-Typical: A's, B's and Rarities (2005)
  • Greatest Hits (2006)

[edit] Singles

  • "Gangsters" (1979) UK #6 - billed as Specials A.K.A. - other side by The Selecter
  • "A Message To You Rudy"/"Nite Klub" (1979) UK #10
  • "The Special A.K.A. Live!" - ("Too Much Too Young"/"Guns Of Navarone"/"Long Shot Kick De Bucket"/"Liquidator"/"Skinhead Moonstomp") (1980) UK #1 - EP
  • "Rat Race"/"Rude Boys Outa Jail" (1980) UK #5
  • "Stereotype"/"International Jet Set" (1980) UK #6
  • "Do Nothing"/"Maggie's Farm" (1980) UK #4
  • "Ghost Town" (1981) UK #1
  • "The Boiler" (1982) UK #35
  • "War Crimes (The Crime Remains The Same)" (1983) UK #84
  • "Racist Friend" (1983) UK #60
  • "Nelson Mandela" (1984) UK #9 - (Free Nelson Mandela)
  • "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend" (1984) UK #51

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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