THE SPECIALS

'The Specials' (known at certain points as 'The Special AKA') were an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry.
They had chart-topping hits in the United Kingdom, and their music was featured in soundtracks for the movies ''Sixteen Candles'', ''SLC Punk'', ''Snatch'', ''A Room for Romeo Brass'', ''Shaun of the Dead'', ''Grosse Pointe Blank'', ''An Extremely Goofy Movie'' and ''This is England''. Their music has also appeared in the TV series ''Father Ted'' and the video game ''Dance Dance Revolution''.

Contents

Career

Later developments

Original Specials Line-up

Discography

Albums

Live albums

Compilations

EPs

Singles

Soundtracks

Film

Television

Commercials

Video Games

Footnotes

References

External links

Career

After being formed in 1977 by Dammers, Golding, and Panter, the band was first called The Automatics, and then The Coventry Automatics.^[1] 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'' was not 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. 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'', was not 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 band. In the 1980s, Hall, Staple and Golding founded the pop band Fun Boy Three and enjoyed commercial success with hits such as "Tunnel of Love", "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" from 1981 to 1983. 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 and co-wrote a number of early Lightning Seeds releases. He also did some vocal work on a Dub Pistols' album.
In the early 1990s, members of The Beat teamed up with members of The Specials to form the band Special Beat. The band toured and released some live albums. In 1996, with ska enjoying a surge 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 2007 Hall teamed up with Golding, for the first time in around twenty five years, on two occasions to play Specials songs at festivals. At Glastonbury Festival they appeared on the Pyramid Stage with Lily Allen to perform "Gangsters", and later the same day played on The Park Stage (with a beatboxer providing rhythm, and Damon Albarn of Blur on piano) to perform "A Message To You Rudy". At GuilFest, Golding joined the Dub Pistols featuring Terry Hall to again perform "Gangsters".

Original Specials Line-up

★ Terry Hall - vocals

★ Lynval Golding - vocals, rhythm guitar

★ Neville Staple - vocals, percussion

★ Jerry Dammers - keyboards

★ Roddy Radiation - lead guitar

★ Sir Horace Gentleman - bass guitar

★ John Bradbury - drums

★ Rico Rodriguez - trombone

★ Dick Cuthell - trumpet

Discography

Albums

★ ''Specials'' (1979, 2 Tone, CDL TT 5001) - UK # 4

★ ''More Specials'' (1980, 2 Tone, CHR TT 5003) - UK # 5

★ ''In the Studio'' (1984, 2 Tone, CHR TT 6008)

★ ''Today's Specials'' (1996)

★ ''Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent!'' (1998)

★ ''Skinhead Girl'' (2000)

★ ''Conquering Ruler'' (2001)

Live albums

★ 'CHR TT 5011' ''Live at The Moonlight Club'' (1997)

★ ''Peel Sessions'' (1987)

★ ''Blue Plate Specials'' (1999)

★ ''Ghost Town: Live at Montreaux Jazz Festival 1995'' (1999)

Compilations

★ ''The Singles Collection'' (1991)

★ '' Coventry Automatics Aka the Specials: Dawning of a New Era'' (1994)

★ '' (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)

EPs

★ ''The Specials Live EP'' - 7" 45 rpm EP (1980, 2 Tone, CHS TT7) ("Too Much Too Young" & "Guns Of Navarone" b/w "Longshot Kick the Bucket", "Liquidator" & "Skinhead Moonstomp") UK #1

Singles

★ "Gangsters" (The Special A.K.A.) b/w "The Selecter" (The Selecter) (1979, 2 Tone, TT1/TT2) UK #6

★ "A Message To You Rudy" (1979, 2 Tone, CHS TT5) UK #10

★ "Rat Race" b/w "Rude Buoys Outa Jail" (1980, 2 Tone, CHS TT11) UK #5

★ "Stereotype" (1980, 2 Tone, CHS TT13) UK #6

★ "Do Nothing" (1980, 2 Tone, CHS TT16) UK #4

★ "Ghost Town" (1981, 2 Tone, CHS TT17) UK #1

★ "Hypocrite" (1996) - UK # 66

★ "Pressure Drop" (1996)

Soundtracks

''NOTE: This list may be partial or incomplete.''

Film

★ ''Sixteen Candles'' Song - ''Little Bitch''

★ ''SLC Punk!'' Song - ''Too Hot''

★ ''Snatch'' Song - ''Ghost Town''

★ ''Shaun of the Dead'' Song - ''Ghost Town''

★ ''An Extremely Goofy Movie'' Song - ''Pressure Drop''

★ ''A Room for Romeo Brass'' Song - ''A Message to You, Rudy''

★ ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' Song - ''Pressure Drop''

★ ''Grosse Pointe Blank Volume 2'' Songs - ''A Message to You, Rudy'', ''Your Wondering Now''

★ ''This Is England'' Songs - ''Pressure Drop'', ''Do the Dog''

Television

★ ''Father Ted'' Episode - ''Good Luck, Father Ted'' Song - ''Ghost Town''^[2]

Commercials

★ Commercial for SFR, directed by Bruno Aveillan, with world champion football player, Marcel Desailly

Video Games

★ ''Dance Dance Revolution''. Song - "Little Bitch" (remix)

Footnotes

1. http://www.thespecials.com/history.php
2. Father Ted Useless Information

References

★ Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X

★ Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7

★ Guinness Rockopedia - ISBN 0-85112-072-5

★ The Great Rock Discography - 5th Edition - ISBN 1-84195-017-3

★ The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7

External links

★ The Specials - official website

★ The Specials profile - on unofficial 2 Tone site

★

★ The Specials profile - at Quasimodobell

★ Music videos by The Specials - at Vespa Classics