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another part of my youth gone 🙁
a friend had one of the first pressings of Gangsters IIRC around 200 plain white label, it was rereleased about 4 months later to great success !
Sad news!
Spent a couple of years living in Leamington Spa and then Coventry, he was obviously quite the local hero...
Met his ex-wife on a night out once, spent ages chatting to her funnily enough cos my mate was cracking on to her mate! Only realised at the end of the night who she was, and we'd spent plenty of time chatting about music too ironically...
Just turned on 6 music as I knew they'd be having a tribute. RIP Terry
Ah shit, that’s terrible news. Only 63
An absolute legend of our lifetimes ☹️
RIP Terry Hall
so so sad. one of my absolute faves in my youth. RIP Terry.
seems most appropriate song
Just seen that on BBC, only 63 way way too young ☹️
Actually much too young..
I was just thinking about The Specials and The Special AKA just a bit earlier today, and what a contribution they made to music in the early 80s. Having been at the Lanchester Poly from 79 to 83, they were very much the local band (with The Selecter) at the time. And only 63 FFS, just 3 years older than me. RIP Terry Hall 😟
So long Terry
So many classic songs
always loved the stuff he did with Tricky too
Wow. That's hard to fathom, proper legend.
It's later than we think.
Shit!
Really sad news,a lovely human. RIP
" Forever J " will always be one of our songs.
Very sad. As mentioned above, a bit of a legend locally coming from the same area.
I vaguely remember seeing Fun Boy Three hanging about outside a Leamington recording studio Bitd.
A unique voice.
Groundbreaking music.
Terry's voice was the soundtrack to my formative teenage years, I've since gone on to become the man in grey, the man from C&A, but with a secret stash of metal tipped loafers.
Sad and shocking ☹️
Too much too young.
I grew up on rock and punk but loved The Specials, TH was a cool talented musician. RIP
Never realised he was same age as I am...saw The Specials around 1979 so he would have only been 20
Long obituary in Guardian covering life after two-tone
Rip
That's pissed me off now ! Remember hearing the opening of Gangsters on TOTP sounding like Prince Buster's Al Capone then seeing them dressed like we were back in 69/70 👍 The Two Tone movement introduced the skinhead music to a whole new generation.
Got the chance to see them in Glastonbury Abbey of all places a few years back still gave a lively show ! 😎
Also seen Neville Staples in a pokey little room that was an even livelier show 👍👍👍👍
I absolutely love the specials...real sad to hear about Terry passing, as above another legend of my youth gone
The only two vinyl records I have kept since new and still have are The Specials and More Specials and Gangsters was the first proper single I bought. He was still posting on Instagram until recently with his same droll humour/take on things.
Just swore at the radio in shock, very sad
Very sad, not many bands create a genres that pin points a time and a place so accurately.
Such a distinctive voice and that melancholy delivery is like nothing else.
I loved his music, his voice, his attitude. Part of my youth.
He's left a fabulous timeless library of music that will be played for many decades to come.
Ahhh man. Just watched The Colourfield video with tears in my eyes.
Terry Hall, the Two Tone movement was a big part of my early music listening years.
Can't believe he's gone at 63 RIP feel quite odd after hearing on the news this morning.
TH was a cool talented musician. RIP
Two out of three ain't bad, I think he'd even baulk a bit at the last one.
"When I saw the Pistols and The Clash I realised it didn't seem that difficult," he told The Big Issue. "They didn't seem like they could play very well either, so the thing was to form a band then work it out.
"We didn't even know who was going to play what - we passed around all the instruments until we found what we were comfortable with. I wasn't comfortable with any of them so I became the singer."
[meant tongue in cheek, his songwriting and lyrics and onstage presence and delivery of course makes him a great musician too]
[edit, why can't you even paste a block of simple text without having to do a mass reformatting!]
Bollox that's sad news.
Being 50 I was slightly too young to really experience the Specials when they started, but during my teenage years my small group of friends were heavily into scooters, Ska and 60's music. The Specials and the Two tone bands have and will continue to be a big part of the soundtrack of my life.
The Specials sang about important issues all too relevant today, but as they incorporated Ska elements they also created music that makes people smile and want to move their feet. Terry was the perfect straight faced, droll, intelligent front man to deliver those messages against the frantic infectious energy of the rest of the band.
RIP
NSFW
Nice interview with Terry on 6Music now
Ah, only a short snippet.
Like many above, the two tone movement was hugely important to growing up. I’m also 10 years too young to have seen the specials first time around but have seen them a few times in recent years. Such an important band.
my kids got me ghost town on 12” as a Father’s Day present last year or the year before. Takes me right back to being 11 years old
The Specials and the Two Tone movement had a massive part in my early teenage years.
My most coveted piece of vinyl is the Specials first album I bought when it was released.
Bless you Terry. You will be missed.
I'm old enough to have been around when they came out, and the music was fitting for the time, though having read his obituary in The Guardian I can see why he was like he was - his folks did him no 'favours'...
"Hall was born in Coventry on 19 March 1959 to a family who predominantly worked in the car industry. He was an academically gifted child and also a noted footballer who was invited to try out for West Bromwich Albion – an opportunity his parents declined based on the inconvenience of travelling across the Midlands. After he sailed through the 11-plus exam, his parents also declined his place at a nearby grammar school."
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/19/terry-hall-lead-singer-of-the-specials-dies-aged-63
They made a few songs with unfortunately apt titles, as well as "too much too young" mentioned above there is...
leading to...
Even as an 11 year old kid, ghost town really brought home the abandonment of working class communities by the thatcher regime and while my parents bought into the right wing rhetoric, I saw the riots that happened to fight back were just a reaction. It caused the birth of my political beliefs and Independence.
Nice mix on 6 now. RIP TH.
Aw goosebumps "It Doesn't Make it Alright" Incredible.
5 minute walk from where I live.
😥
63.... Bloody hell. Not much of an innings.
Make use of your time, folks!
Got to see them in Munich back in 2019. Was impressed at the energy they had.
Very sad been dancing to The Specials for 40 odd years now.
I still remember the first time I heard The Specials then Fun Boy Three in Borneo when my friends (two of them and both are called Paul) introduced their albums to me. We kind of have similar music taste but I didn't have anyone link to UK at that time so it was refreshing to listen to different type of music. Think I understood their songs but not thoroughly.
Spent nearly two years in Coventry and the girls I knew at that time kept telling me of Terry Hall. They were very proud that I listened to his songs. Good memories.
RIP Terry Hall.
Sad - was fully immersed in the music, message and fashion of 2-Tone late 70's. RIP.
The Specials were the first band I really got into when I was about 10yrs old. My friend from down the road had an older brother who had loads of music from the time, new wave/punk/ska stuff. I remember buying the single Gangsters whilst in France, it was a picture cover and on the Chrysalis label, without a middle!
Had both the albums and played them to death at the time. It still gets played today, a lot of the music still holds true.
Five Live have just played a full interview he did with Nihal 3 years ago.
Worth getting on iplayer
I know its subjective but Ghost Town remains the greatest pop record ever made IMHO.
A brilliantly crafted piece of music with the most apposite lyrics ever written.
A song for my place and time in the world.
' A person only dies when the last person that loved them dies' Through love of his music, immortal.
Cool as f*ck for 40+ years. Just goes to show not all boomers are like Clarkson. Too Much Too Young is my favourite.