The new line-up (still known as the Special A.K.A.) finally issued a new full-length album, In the Studio , in 1984. Officially, the band was now a sextet: Dakar, Campbell, Bradbury, Dammers, Shipley and new bassist Gary McManus. Cuthell, Newton, Panter and Radiation all appeared on the album as guests;…
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Reverting once again to the name of the Specials, the band’s second album, More Specials , was not as commercially successful and was recorded at a time when, according to Hall, conflicts had developed in the band. Female backing vocalists on the Specials’ first two studio albums included Chrissie Hynde…
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The Specials led off with Dandy Livingstone ‘s ” Rudy, A Message to You ” (slightly altering the title to “A Message to You, Rudy”) and also had covers of Prince Buster and Toots & the Maytals songs from the late 1960s. In 1980, the EP Too Much Too Young…
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In 1979, shortly after drummer Hutchinson left the band to be replaced by John Bradbury , Dammers formed the 2 Tone Records label and released the band’s debut single, ” Gangsters “, a reworking of Prince Buster ‘s ” Al Capone “. “The Selecter” by The Selecter appeared on the…
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The band had begun wearing mod/rude boy/ skinhead -style two-tone tonic suits, along with other elements of late 1960s teen fashions. Changing their name to the Specials, they recorded their eponymous debut album in 1979, produced by Elvis Costello . Horn players Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez were featured on…
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The Specials began at the same time as Rock Against Racism , which was first organised in 1978. According to Dammers, anti-racism was intrinsic to the formation of the Specials, in that the band was formed with the goal of integrating black and white people. Many years later Dammers stated…
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The group was formed in 1977 by songwriter and keyboardist Dammers, vocalist Tim Strickland, guitarist/vocalist Lynval Golding , drummer Silverton Hutchinson and bassist Horace Panter (Sir Horace Gentleman). Strickland was replaced by Terry Hall shortly after the band’s formation. The band was first called the Automatics, then the Coventry Automatics.…
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