The Specials

Though the original lineup only lasted for two albums, The Specials made history as the band at the epicenter of the 2 Tone/ska-revival scene in late-'70s/early-'80s England. Forming in Coventry in 1977, they started out as The Automatics and then became The Special AKA. By the time they put out their first, self-titled album in 1979, they were The Specials. Led by keyboardist and songwriter Jerry Dammers, the lineup included Terry Hall and Neville Staple (vocals), Roddy "Radiation" Byers and Lynval Golding (guitars), Horace Gentleman (bass), and John Bradbury (drums). They mixed '60s ska influences with punk's edgy attack and political lyrics. The integrated band was a major part of the Rock Against Racism movement in England, playing benefit concerts for the cause. All the band's records were released on their own label, 2 Tone; founded by Dammers, it also introduced the world to a host of other second-wave ska bands, including The Bodysnatchers, Madness, and The Selecter. The Specials found success from the start in England, with their debut LP hitting No. 4 and one of its singles, "Too Much Too Young" going all the way to No. 1. The follow-up album, 1980's More Specials, was similarly received. But shortly after their milestone non-LP single "Ghost Town" in 1982, internal strife led to a schism. Hall, Staple, and Golding quit The Specials to start the Fun Boy Three. In 1984 Dammers gathered a mostly new crew as The Special AKA and released In the Studio. The album fared poorly, but its politically charged single "Free Nelson Mandela" became an anti-Apartheid anthem. In 1996 Staple, Golding, Byers, and Panter put together a new version of The Specials, recording a trio of ska covers albums over the next few years. In 2008 all the original members except Dammers (who subsequently engaged his ex-bandmates in a war of words over his exclusion) reunited, playing a number of tours over the next several years. Lead singer Terry Hall died from pancreatic cancer on December 18, 2022, at the age of 63.