Everything about The Specials totally explained
The Specials (sometimes called
The Special AKA) are an
English 2 Tone ska revival
band formed in 1977 in
Coventry. They have had
hits in the
United Kingdom, and their
music is featured in
film and
television soundtracks. After seven consecutive UK hit singles between 1979 and 1981, the group broke up. On
April 7 2008 it was announced that the band are officially reforming.
Career
After being formed in 1977 by Jerry Dammers, Lynval Golding, and Horace Panter, the band was first called The Automatics, and then The Coventry Automatics. Terry Hall and Roddy Radiation joined the band the following year, and the band changed its name to The Special AKA The Coventry Automatics, and then to The Special AKA.
Joe Strummer of
The Clash had attended one of their concerts, 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 their 7" debut, "Gangsters", which became a
Top Ten hit in 1979.
The band had begun wearing
mod/
rude boy/
skinhead-style two-tone tonic suits, along with other elements of late
1960s teen
fashions. Changing their name to The Specials, they recorded their debut
LP Specials in 1979,
produced by
Elvis Costello. In a nod to classic Ska, the album lead off with
Dandy Livingstone's "A Message To You, Rudy" and also had covers of
Prince Buster and
Toots and the Maytals songs from the late-1960s. In 1980, the EP "Too Much Too Young" (credited to The Special AKA) was a
number one hit in the
UK Singles Chart, despite controversy over the song's
lyrics, which reference teen pregnancy and promote condom use.
Reverting once again to the moniker The Specials, the band's second album,
More Specials wasn't as commercially successful or plainly
ska-influenced as previous recordings. The album featured a more experimental approach; including influences from
pop music,
new wave, and
muzak. Their 'lounge music' style would later be an influence on bands such as
Air. The band also experimented with what could be described as dark, almost
psychedelic reggae. Notable female backing singers on the Specials first two studio albums included:
Chrissie Hynde, Rhoda Dakar (Then of
The Bodysnatchers and later of The Special AKA),
Belinda Carlisle,
Jane Wiedlin and
Charlotte Caffey (of
The Go-Gos). "
Ghost Town", a non-LP Specials single, hit number one in 1981, However, shortly afterwards, Staple, Golding and Hall left the band to form
Fun Boy Three.
Dammers then drastically revised the line-up of the band, adding vocalists Stan Campbell and Rhoda Dakar, and began working again under the group name The Special AKA. The resulting album from the new line-up,
In the Studio, wasn't very commercially successful, although the songs "Racist Friend" and "
Nelson Mandela" were hits. The latter contributed to making Mandela a
cause célèbre in the
United Kingdom, and became popular with anti-
Apartheid activists in South Africa. Dammers then dissolved the band and pursued political
activism.
Later developments
Since the breakup of the original line-up, various members of the band have performed in other bands and have reformed several times to tour and record in Specials-related projects. However, there has never been a complete reunion of the original line-up. In the 1980s, Hall, Staple and Golding founded the
pop band
Fun Boy Three and enjoyed commercial success from 1981 to 1983 with hits such as "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 pursued a solo career, working mostly in the
New Wave genre. He co-wrote a number of early
Lightning Seeds releases. He also performed some vocals for a
Dub Pistols' album.
In the early 1990s, members of
The Beat teamed up with members of The Specials to form
Special Beat. The band toured and released some
live albums. In 1996, with ska enjoying a resurgence in mainstream popularity on
North American radio and
MTV, several members of The Specials reunited to record
Today's Specials, a studio album mostly of reggae and ska covers. This was followed in 1998 with an album of originals,
Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent, featuring guest vocals by
Tim Armstrong and
Lars Frederiksen of
Rancid. The band toured heavily in support of both releases. Notably absent from these records and tours were Hall and Dammers. In 1992, ex-Specials bassist Steve Panter (aka Sir Horace Gentleman) quit music to train as a primary school teacher at the University of Central England in Birmingham. He later resumed his musical career.
In 2007, Hall teamed up with Golding for the first time in 24 years, to play Specials songs at two
music festivals. At
Glastonbury Festival they appeared on the Pyramid Stage with
Lily Allen to perform "Gangsters". Later the same day they played on The Park Stage, with
Damon Albarn of
Blur on
piano and with a
beatboxer providing
rhythm, to perform "A Message To You, Rudy". At
GuilFest, Golding joined the Dub Pistols to again perform "Gangsters". In 2007, Golding had been regularly performing concerts and recording with Pama International, a collective of musicians steered by Sean Flowerdew and Finny, who were members of
Special Beat.
On
30 March,
2008 Terry Hall stated that The Specials would be reforming for tour dates in Autumn 2008, and possibly for some recording. This was officially confirmed on
7 April,
2008.
Original Specials line-up
Discography
The Specials on Video
"The Special AKA on Film" (198x VHS & Laserdisc)
"Dance Craze - The Best of British Ska... Live!" (VHS)
"The Specials: Too Much, Too Young" (2008 DVD)
Films
Sixteen Candles - song - "Little Bitch"
SLC Punk! - songs - "Too Hot" and "Gangsters"
Snatch - song - "Ghost Town"
Shaun of the Dead - song - "Ghost Town"
Garage Days - song - "Ghost Town"
An Extremely Goofy Movie - song - "Pressure Drop"
A Room for Romeo Brass - song - "A Message to You, Rudy"
Grosse Pointe Blank - songs - "Pressure Drop", "A Message to You, Rudy" and "You're Wondering Now"
This Is England - songs - "Do the Dog"
Mystery Men - song - "Gangsters" Covered by Citizen King
200 Cigarettes - song - "A Message to You, Rudy"
Multiplicity - song - "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"
Natural Born Killers - song - "Ghost Town" (not included on the soundtrack album)
We Own The Night - song - "A Message to You, Rudy"
Television
Father Ted - Episode - Good Luck, Father Ted - song - "Ghost Town"
Commercials
Commercial for SFR, directed by Bruno Aveillan, with world champion football player, Marcel Desailly
The song 'Blank Expression' was featured in a Ford Fiesta television commercial in 2004
Video Games
Dance Dance Revolution - song - "Little Bitch" (remix)
MLB 2K7 - Song - "A Message To You, Rudy"
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'The Specials'.
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