AltScene

The Specials

The Specials (formed 1977)

The Specials (Also known as The Special AKA) are a 2-Tone / ska band from Coventry, England. They are one of the most influential bands to come from the 2-Tone movement, which was highly synonymous with the punk sound that was also emerging at the time.

The Specials: History

The Specials was formed in 1977 by Lynval Golding, Jerry Dammers and Horace Panter (also known as Sir Horace Gentleman). Originally, the band was named The Automatics, followed by The Coventry Automatics. Terry Hall joined the band, as did Roddy Byers (known as Roddy Radiation) and Neville Staple, at which point they were known as The Special AKA The Coventry Automatics. Then they reverted simply to The Special AKA.

Joe Strummer invited the band to open for The Clash on their On Parole tour of the UK. During this time, the band briefly shared the same management team as The Clash. The tour enabled the band to gain a much wider fan base and more press exposure.

Jerry Dammers formed the 2 Tone Records label in 1979 and they released their debut "7 single, 'Gangsters' which featured Prince Buster's ska song 'Al Capone'. By this point, the band had adopted a 'rude boy' image, mimicking the teen fashions of the late 1960s. They changed their name to The Specials and released their debut album The Specials in 1979. The album was produced by Elvis Costello. The band continued with their references to ska tunes, with 'A Message To You, Rudy', a minor alteration to Dandy Livingstone's 'Rudy, A Message To You'. As well as covering songs by Prince Buster and Toots and the Maytals.

There was some controversy when the band released the 'Too Much Too Young' EP, which referenced teen pregnancy and contraception.

The band's second album was entitled More Specials but was not as commercially successful as its predecessor. They used a number of backing singers on the record, including Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Gos, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and Rhoda Dakar of The Bodysnatchers. The Specials then released a non-LP single, 'Ghost Town', recorded at the Woodbine St recording studio in Leamington Spa in 1981. Following the release of the single, Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding left the band and formed Fun Boy Three.

The line-up of the band was then altered by Jerry Dammers, who added Stan Campbell and Rhoda Dakar on vocals and resumed working under the name The Special AKA. Their track 'Free Nelson Mandela' was a huge success, though the album In the Studio, was not.

Following the break-up of the band, the Fun Boy Three went on to have a number of hits, including 'The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum)' and Terry Hall has also had a successful solo career, as well as fronting The Colourfield, with some commercial success. He has also worked with the Dub Pistols and The Lightning Seeds. Roddy Radiation has worked with members of various bands, including The Selecter, The Stranglers and The Jam. In the 1990s, members of the Specials and The Beat got together to form Special Beat.

The Specials reformed in 1996, resulting in the album Today's Specials, which mostly comprised covers of reggae and ska songs. In 1998, they released an album of original songs, entitled Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent, which featured vocals by Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen of the band Rancid.

In 2007, Hall and Golding performed 'Gangsters' onstage with Lily Allen at the Glastonbury Festival. In 2008, the band reformed and performed at the Bestival festival on the Isle of Wight. However, Jerry Dammers owns the right to the name and did not perform at the festival, so they were billed as very 'Special' guests. Jerry Dammers has claimed that he has been forced out of the band and that the new reformation has been a 'takeover'. In the summer of 2009, the band embarked on a 30th Anniversary Tour.


Read more at http://www.contactmusic.com/the-specials#63Xr3g92i3Rhvy8w.99

PEOPLE WHO LIKE THE SPECIALS

Eliza Day

Greater Manchester
United Kingdom

Jan 20, 2025 23:13

Misfits1313

California
United States

Jan 20, 2025 19:44

veena73

Sussex
United Kingdom

Jan 20, 2025 17:01

HeathenBiker

North Yorkshire
United Kingdom

Jan 20, 2025 16:02

Jan

Belgium
Belgium

Jan 20, 2025 14:35

Holidays in the Sun

Suffolk
United Kingdom

Jan 19, 2025 21:00

Taxationistheft

New Mexico
United States

Jan 19, 2025 18:32

Rainfromheaven.

Yorkshire
United Kingdom

Jan 19, 2025 15:53

Gwen Ever ( JEM )

Kent
United Kingdom

Jan 19, 2025 14:23

Earlofrochester

Lancashire
United Kingdom

Jan 18, 2025 12:16

Chris

Oxfordshire
United Kingdom

Jan 18, 2025 11:52

𝓦𝓮𝓭𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓭𝓪𝔂𝓐𝓭𝓭𝓪𝓶𝓼

Olongapo City
Philippines

Jan 18, 2025 05:31

graveydavey

Shropshire
United Kingdom

Jan 17, 2025 14:54

EastBayRay110

Louisiana
United States

Jan 17, 2025 03:07

Jay Bleed

West Midlands
United Kingdom

Jan 16, 2025 11:32

Doll-Parts

Staffordshire
United Kingdom

Jan 15, 2025 22:09

ste_nic

Lancashire
United Kingdom

Jan 15, 2025 21:44

pushkin

Suffolk
United Kingdom

Jan 15, 2025 00:55

loz bb

London
United Kingdom

Jan 14, 2025 22:02

Sid Smith

Yorkshire
United Kingdom

Jan 14, 2025 10:53

skahead.ally_

California
United States

Jan 14, 2025 09:50

Chrismess13

California
United States

Jan 13, 2025 18:13

Mollybee

Co. Londonderry
Northern Ireland

Jan 13, 2025 06:14

Budda G

Lancashire
United Kingdom

Jan 13, 2025 03:12

Punk_4_life

Hampshire
United Kingdom

Jan 11, 2025 21:21

bristolblue

Somerset
United Kingdom

Jan 9, 2025 21:14

Sibrwd cath

Greater Manchester
United Kingdom

Jan 8, 2025 00:28

LessThanJack

Kent
United Kingdom

Jan 7, 2025 03:20

Beretta

Ohio
United States

Jan 6, 2025 15:42

Music Geek

Cambridgeshire
United Kingdom

Jan 5, 2025 21:54

Allyphant

Midlothian
United Kingdom

Jan 5, 2025 06:08

C.g52

Antrim
United Kingdom

Jan 4, 2025 19:54

StellaByStarLight

California
United States

Dec 31, 2024 17:10

InkedHeart

West Midlands
United Kingdom

Dec 31, 2024 10:41

BraveNewSoldier

East Riding of Yorkshire
United Kingdom

Dec 29, 2024 18:36

The f**kin Reject 1312

California
United States

Dec 29, 2024 05:21

Forgotten

Essex
United Kingdom

Dec 28, 2024 00:20

generator61

London
United Kingdom

Dec 27, 2024 21:46

B.O.D.

Dorset
United Kingdom

Dec 24, 2024 12:13

Krizzle

Surrey
United Kingdom

Dec 24, 2024 08:05

DFL138

New Jersey
United States

Dec 19, 2024 09:42

be a fish

West Midlands
United Kingdom

Dec 17, 2024 13:37

Idolized

London
United Kingdom

Dec 15, 2024 13:38

nlindsay

California
United States

Dec 6, 2024 21:31

xFrankiex

Toronto
Canada

Dec 2, 2024 12:30

Ice-Scream-Queen

QLD
Australia

Dec 2, 2024 02:32

BognorBloke

West Sussex
United Kingdom

Nov 29, 2024 12:01

Story

New Jersey
United States

Nov 23, 2024 22:13

FeZter

Lancashire
United Kingdom

Nov 23, 2024 16:30

Anubiss

Midlothian
Scotland

Nov 10, 2024 16:04

Jonfen

Merseyside
United Kingdom

Oct 30, 2024 15:04

WoollyRam

London
United Kingdom

Oct 29, 2024 23:51

joystick operated

London
United Kingdom

Oct 26, 2024 11:40

WorldOnFire

Somerset
United Kingdom

Oct 25, 2024 03:01

bristolblue

Bristol
United Kingdom

Oct 6, 2024 18:42

karl69

Hampshire
United Kingdom

Sep 29, 2024 16:53

007

London
Antarctica

Sep 26, 2024 17:26

Sue

Oxfordshire
United Kingdom

Sep 22, 2024 23:36

TallulhT

London
United Kingdom

Sep 19, 2024 19:05

Leftalone

Hampshire
United Kingdom

Sep 17, 2024 19:45

RatBastard

Wisconsin
United States

Sep 14, 2024 21:36

RHeldmann

Texas
United States

Sep 2, 2024 01:24

?

California
United States

Aug 31, 2024 09:55

Porkchop

Oregon
United States

Aug 26, 2024 01:20

People-Poker

New York
United States

Aug 18, 2024 23:54

Paperjunk

New York
United States

Aug 17, 2024 06:07

Neo-Luddite

Surrey
United Kingdom

Aug 14, 2024 09:56

orrin

Arizona
United States

Aug 11, 2024 02:31

MacKeand

Surrey
United Kingdom

Aug 5, 2024 01:24

FilmNerd

West Virginia
United States

Jul 26, 2024 22:59

69

Herefordshire
United Kingdom

Jul 4, 2024 11:16

Wayniac

California
United States

Jun 7, 2024 02:36

Lee.S.D. wArpspASm

South Glamorgan
United Kingdom

May 25, 2024 00:32

DeadManWade

Alabama
United States

May 16, 2024 11:10

Jefferson

Connecticut
United States

May 14, 2024 04:15

ApexRed

Wisconsin
United States

Apr 29, 2024 06:46

Gadget

Oklahoma
United States

Apr 28, 2024 23:19

SYNYSTER06661

Bedfordshire
United Kingdom

Apr 14, 2024 20:32

Creepy N Cute

Wyoming
United States

Apr 6, 2024 05:19

Intoxicated_n_filthy

East Sussex
United Kingdom

Apr 2, 2024 12:17