The Specials

2 Tone

The Specials formed in Coventry in 1977 under earlier names including the Automatics and the Special A.K.A. Jerry Dammers founded them with Tim Strickland, Lynval Golding, Silverton Hutchinson and Horace Panter; Terry Hall replaced Strickland soon after, Roddy Radiation joined in March 1978 and John Bradbury replaced Hutchinson in 1979. Neville Staple became a full member after touring with the Clash. Dammers founded 2 Tone Records in 1979, and the debut single "Gangsters" reached the UK top ten that summer. The Specials (October 19, 1979, produced by Elvis Costello at TW Studios in Fulham) reached four in the UK. In its first reviews Vivien Goldman wrote in Melody Maker that Costello seemed incapable of producing a rhythm; AllMusic later gave it 5 of 5 and Pitchfork 9.3. The Too Much Too Young EP reached number one in 1980.

More Specials (September 19, 1980) was built through overdubs, with Dammers dominating production and drawing on easy listening and Muzak heard on the American tour; it reached five in the UK, and "Do Nothing" reached four. "Ghost Town" was recorded in April 1981 and released on June 12, 1981; it stayed at number one for three weeks and was named single of the year by Melody Maker, NME and Sounds. Hall, Staple and Golding then left to form Fun Boy Three. Dammers carried on as the Special A.K.A. until 1984, including "Free Nelson Mandela" (number nine). Reformed versions made albums from 1996 to 2001, and the original members reunited in 2008, without Dammers, for a 2009 anniversary tour.

Encore

Encore (Island, February 1, 2019) reached number one in the UK, the first chart-topping album since 1980, and Protest Songs 1924-2012 followed on August 23, 2021. John Bradbury died on December 28, 2015, aged 62. Four sold-out shows at the ruins of Coventry Cathedral on July 9 to 12, 2019, about 8,000 tickets, were filmed for Sky Arts and are due as the album Live From the Cathedral on July 10, 2026, described as the band's final release. Terry Hall died on December 18, 2022, aged 63; the band announced it the next day, and Horace Panter said in 2023 it would be ludicrous to tour without Terry. The Quietus's Neil Kulkarni wrote that in his death we have lost our greatest ever poet.