The Specials frontman Terry Hall died in 2022
The Specials frontman Terry Hall died in 2022
Achieving seven consecutive top-10 singles between 1979 and 1981, The Specials are arguably one of the most politically significant and influential bands of their era.
Their 1981 hit Ghost Town, widely regarded as a classic, captured the social unrest and economic decline of the time, becoming the soundtrack to riots that swept across England during that summer.
More than four decades on, the band believes their music remains as relevant today as it was then.
Following the death of frontman Terry Hall in 2022, The Specials are preparing to release what will be their final album.
Recorded during four performances at Coventry Cathedral, the album captures live shows that the band said were “more than just concerts”.
“For us, they were some of the most memorable and emotional shows we have ever played, and these recordings serve as a fitting tribute to, and celebration of, our wonderful and brilliant friend Terry,” the band added.
“I didn’t realise how special the recordings were until we listened back and thought ‘oh my god, we were really on fire,'” guitarist Lynval Golding told BBC Radio 2.
The Specials played four nights in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral in 2019
The Specials played four nights in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral in 2019
“The band was kicking, everyone was so tight, every night we nailed it and every night was an absolutely amazing performance,” Golding said.
“It’s a piece of work that needed to be put out there because obviously people know Terry Hall is spiritually with us but no longer physically with us.”
The cathedral provided a fitting backdrop for the band’s homecoming and last album, bassist Horace Panter explained.
They had previously played at a city venue he described as a “big concrete shed”.
“Okay, it could hold 10,000 people but it was soulless and just horrid,” he said.
“So the opportunity to play in the city centre, in the ruins of the cathedral, we were like, ‘wow, this could be really good’.
“So rather than doing one big show, we played four shows.”
Bassist Horace Panter said the cathedral provided a fitting backdrop to the band’s homecoming
Bassist Horace Panter said the cathedral provided a fitting backdrop to the band’s homecoming
For Panter, the atmosphere extended beyond the music itself.
“It was like a reconnection of people in Coventry, but also I think it was like a reconnection of the band back to Coventry as well,” he said.
“They were more than just concerts, they had a real vibe to them.”
Hall, who died aged 63, remains central to the legacy of the band, the musicians explained.
“I’ve been blessed to work with one of the best writers, best lyricists in England, which is Terry Hall,” Golding said.
“He was very shy, he was very reserved,” Panter added.
“But he was a real craftsman and on stage he was so charismatic.
“Even before he joined The Specials, when he was with Squad in Coventry, he had charisma.”
The new album was a “fitting tribute” to Terry Hall, said the band
The new album was a “fitting tribute” to Terry Hall, said the band
The band’s influence was built on a sound that fused genres.
“We were trying to form a new type of music which used influences from reggae and punk rock and funk and whatever,” Panter said.
“Ska music unified that.”
“I was born in Jamaica, so that’s in my blood and my DNA – ska music,” added Golding.
Their reputation as a live band was forged early on.
“We got our live act together through The Clash,” Golding explained.
“We opened for them and they were so powerful.”
Panter said watching the punk band night after night proved invaluable.
“We were able to sit side-stage and watch how they put on a show and it was like, ‘if we’re going to be good, we’re going to have to be at least as good as this’.
“So The Clash set the benchmark.”
The band scored seven consecutive top 10 singles between 1979 and 1981
The band scored seven consecutive top 10 singles between 1979 and 1981
The album’s release has a certain symmetry with the band’s first number one single – Too Much Too Young – also a live recording.
“In 1980 we ruled the world,” Panter said. “It really was fantastic.”
The following year Ghost Town topped the charts.
Written by founding member Jerry Dammers, “it was recorded on eight-track in a tiny little basement in Royal Leamington Spa,” Panter recalled.
“At a time when people were going to Compass Point in Nassau and recording in enormous studios with bongos in stereo and all that kind of rubbish, we did this really cheaply.
“But what a great song.”
The band had their first number one album in 2019 with Encore
The band had their first number one album in 2019 with Encore
The success brought strains, with Golding and Hall leaving to form Fun Boy Three with other band member Neville Staple.
“Looking back now, I think it was time for a break,” Golding said.
“We were a live band and we really did work hard. We put a lot of mileage on.
“When I listen to Fun Boy Three’s albums I think, ‘weren’t we creative?’ That’s Terry, I’ve got to give him his credit, that was his idea.”
The Specials Live from the Cathedral is released on 10 July
The Specials Live from the Cathedral is released on 10 July
The Specials Live from the Cathedral spans 24 songs and, according to Golding, includes “all the hits you know and love, but also a fair smattering from the Encore album as well”.
The 2019 gigs were “history in the making,” he added.
The Encore album, their first new material in 37 years, gave the band its first number one album in 2019.
“I think it was our best album,” explained Golding, “you listen to the songs and Terry’s writing, that guy should have been voted the best songwriter in England from years ago.”
The new live album “to me is the most important record coming out this year,” he explained.
The themes were as important today as 40 years ago, such as weapons of mass destruction, nuclear war, gun violence and disaffected youths, he said.
“How many songs are there about teenage pregnancy now, ” Golding added.
“We talked about it yesterday and we’re here with it today, and I think hasn’t anybody learned anything from what we said?”
Golding and Panter will be doing a series of events in Coventry to mark the release of the album
Golding and Panter will be doing a series of events in Coventry to mark the release of the album
He described the album as being “very, very close and very personal”.
“I didn’t want to listen to it with anyone but me at first,” added Golding, “we didn’t know that we were going to lose Terry.
“But I’m ready to let go of it and give it to the world now, because it’s so, so good.”
On the album Hall can be heard dedicating Friday Night, Saturday Morning to The Parsons Nose, a nod to the popular local chip shop where the band had been photographed early in their career.
“Terry’s humour and banter was just incredible,” Golding added, “it makes me laugh when I hear the man’s voice”.
“He’d never dedicated a song to a fish and chip shop before.”
“When anybody listens to the album they’ll have tears laughing and crying at the same time .”
The Specials Live from the Cathedral is released on 10 July via Island Records.
Coventry Music Museum will be holding an album launch event on the same day.
Lynval Golding and Horace Panter will appear at HMV Empire in Coventry on 9 July to celebrate the release.
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