The Specials
A.K.A The Coventry Automatics
Left to Right
• Drums - john Bradbury
• Guitar/backing vocals - Lynval Golding
• Vocals - Terry Hall
• Organ/Piano - Jerry Dammers
• Vocals Percussion - Neville Staples
• Guitar - Roddy Radiation
• Bass - Horace Panter
Including
• Trombone - Rico Rodriguez
• Flugel horn/cornet - Dick Cuthell
The Specials were the main players in the 1979 - 1981 Ska revival movement of 2 Tone, unsurprising considering they were created and masterminded by Jerry Dammers, the founder of the 2 Tone label and ideology.


The Specials
Wish I had lipstick
on my Shirt
Instead of piss stains on my shoes
Terry joined the Specials late in 1977 replacing initial vocalist Tim Strickland and remained the front man until they split in August 1981.
They released only two albums and the Ghost Town EP though the 2 Tone label was responsible for launching the recording careers of many others including Madness, The Selector and the Beat.
In June 1981 they released their final widely acclaimed Ghost Town EP. The EP contained one of the greatest songs ever written and provides a perfect soundtrack and backdrop to social life then and now - Friday Night, Saturday Morning, A Terry Hall masterpiece and work of genius.
Though the band re-emerged as The Special AKA with vocalists Body Snatcher Rhoda Dakar, Stan Campbell, Egidio Newton and Jerry Dammers, and have toured again in recent years Terry has not since fronted them.
A full history of the Specials can be found on their web site. See links page