The Specials

BIG BLASTS FROM THE PAST – 5 Astounding Singles Turning 40 In 2021

Posted on by JL

1. CEREMONY by NEW ORDER

Released: January 1981
Album: Movement

2. THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN by THE CLASH

Released: 10 April 1981
Album: Sandinista!

3. (WE DON’T NEED THIS) FASCIST GROOVE THANG by HEAVEN 17

Released: 6 March 1981
Album: Penthouse And Pavement

4. PAPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW PIG BAG by PIGBAG

Released: May 1981
Stand-alone single.

5. JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH by DEPECHE MODE

Released: 7 September 1981
Album: Speak And Spell

Going Back In Time – Five Big Longplayers By Five Legendary Bands…

Posted on by JL

4 October 2020

Band: The Specials
Album: More Specials – second LP
Released: 4 October 1980 – 40 years ago

Jerry Dammers on the American tour to promote the LP:
“Vibraphone music in elevators. Obviously this was classed as
rubbish. I don’t know if it was my state of mind, because I was
so zonked, but it struck me as a really weird, psychedelic music,
which is now called lounge or exotica. It’s been rehabilitated, but
at the time, to say you actually liked that music was mad. It
completely freaked out some of the band.”

THE SPECIALS: All Albums
.

Band: Pink Floyd
Album: Atom Heart Mother – fifth LP
Released: 2 October 1970 – 50 years ago

David Gilmour: “A load of rubbish. We were at a real down point.
I think we were scraping the barrel a bit at that period. ‘Atom Heart
Mother’ sounds like we didn’t have any idea between us, but we
became much more prolific after it.”

PINK FLOYD: All Albums
.

Band: The Who
Album: The Who By Numbers – seventh LP
Released: 3 October 1975 – 45 years ago

John Entwistle. “The band’s late great bassist): “The first
cover I designed. I never got paid for. We were taking it in turns
to do the covers. It was Pete’s turn before me and we did the
Quadrophenia cover, which cost about the same as a small
house back then, about £16,000. My cover cost £32.”

THE WHO: All Albums
.

Band: The Police
Album: Zenyatta Mondatta – third LP
Released: 3 October 1980 – 40 years ago

Stewart Copeland (drummer) about the LP’s title artwork:
“It’s the same explanation that applies to the last two. It doesn’t
have a specific meaning like ‘Police Brutality’ or ‘Police Arrest’,
or anything predictable like that. Being vague it says a lot more.
Miles (Stewart Copeland’s brother and group manager) came up
with “Trimondo Blondomina”. Very subtle. Like three blondes
and the world. Then somebody thought of “Caprido Von Renislam”.
That rolls off the tongue. It was the address of the studio.

THE POLICE: All Albums
.

Band: Killing Joke
Album: Killing Joke – debut LP
Released: 5 October – 40 years ago

Jaz Coleman: “The first wave of punk was
manufactured. It was manufactured as boys
band but what came out of it was very interesting.”

KILLING JOKE: All Albums

Ska Legends THE SPECIALS Released Self-Titled Stellar Debut LP 40 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

Classics from the past…

18 October 2019

40 years ago, on 19 October 1979, Coventry legends THE SPECIALS reworked 60s Jamaican ska music with their gloriously stimulating, self-titled, Elvis Costello produced debut album on Jerry Dammers‘s Two Tone Records label. Led by charismatic frontman Terry Hall the band injected the original genre with a high dose of punk vitality, politically and socially charged outspokenness and a series of amazeballs top tunes, including some covers of older Jamaican songs such as ‘Monkey Man‘ (by Toost And The Maytals), ‘Too
Hot‘ (by Prince Buster) and hit single ‘A Message To You Rudy’ (by Dandy Livingstone).
The longplayer hit the UK albums top 5 and remained for 45 weeks on the charts.

NME wrote at the time: “Although the predominant musical influence is black (ska, bluebeat, reggae and soul), it’s wrapped in ferocious rock’n’roll: the kind of hybrid that so many other British bands have tried to contrive but, in comparison, failed to make convincing … This LP embraces two decades of black and white music, gives it perspective and then goes on to
reflect the modern rock’n’roll culture … It’s the kind of album that’s musically fathomless and
it will probably establish The Specials as true hopes for the ’80s. At the very least this debut is essential for anybody who wants to know what’s going on in rock’n’roll today”

Three of the many highlights…

– GANGSTERS –

– A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDY –

– TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG –
(live version)

Album in full…

.
THE SPECIALS: Facebook


Back sleeve

THE SPECIALS Released Classic Debut ‘GANGSTERS’ 40 Years Ago Today…

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Knockouts from the past…

4 May 2019

Coventry‘s Ska legends THE SPECIALS scored their first Top Ten hit in the UK
with their stand-alone debut single ‘GANGSTERS’. The stellar track came out
40 years ago today, on 4 May 1979 and reached #6 on the singles chart.

The song was actually issued already once, two months before as a part of
a limited double A-side single – which was pressed on 5000 copies – along with
an instrumental track by 2 Tone label mates The Selecter. Here’s the artwork
of that special issue…

And now, folks, time to jump forth and back…

THE SPECIALS: Facebook

Happy 60 To TERRY HALL

Posted on by JL

19 March 2019

Terence Edward Hall better known as TERRY HALL was born in Coventry, England on
19 March 1959. Happy 60! He is most famous for being the frontman of ska legends
THE SPECIALS (who released new LP Encore last month) but he was also involved in several side-projects such as Fun Boy Three (1981-1983), The Colourfield (1984-1987),
he recorded two solo albums and collaborated with a series of musicians. Here are 3 big tracks to celebrate this special artist’s 60th birthday…

– GHOST TOWN –
(with The Specials – 1981)

– IT AIN’T WHAT YOU DO IT’S THE WAY THAT YOU DO IT –
(with Fun Boy Three featuring Banarama – 1982)

– THINKING OF YOU –
(with The Colourfield – 1985)

TERRY HALL: Fanpage Facebook / THE SPECIALS: Facebook