The Specials, the debut and the 2 Tone ska-revival

The Specials - Live 1979 (theguardian.com)

The Specials – Live 1979

Introduction

October 19, 1979, is a special date. On that day important albums were released, ones that would play a pivotal role in my musical trajectory: Prince’s second album (Prince), Madness’ debut album (One Step Beyond…) and the debut album by The Specials, The Specials, this article’s subject.

The Special A.K.A.

In 1977 composer and keyboard player Jerry Dammers founded the band The Automatics. Guitarist and singer Lynval Golding and bass player Horace Panter (aka Sir Horace Gentleman) were also part of the band. It wasn’t before long that singer Terry Hall joined the band, which was renamed to The Coventry Automatics. Following the addition of singer Neville Staple and guitarist Roddy Byers (aka Roddy Radiation) the band was renamed to The Special A.K.A. The Clash’s Joe Strummer invited the band to be the support act for The Clash on their next tour.

During the first half of 1979, after the addition of drummer John Bradbury completed the classic line-up, Dammers founded the famous 2 Tone Records, which released The Special A.K.A.’s debut single, the sublime Gangsters. The B-side was a Bradbury song he had written and recorded with Neol Davies in 1977, the instrumental The Kingston Affair. The song was complemented with ska rhythm guitar and renamed to The Selecter.

The Special A.K.A. - Gangsters (discogs.com)

The Special A.K.A. – Gangsters

Gangsters

Gangsters was recorded in January 1979. The song is about the troubles the band had when they were in France to perform. The Specials were held responsible for damages to a hotel made by another (English) band (probably The Damned). The band’s guitars were held back as collateral. The costs were paid by the band, after the hotel owner had called the police. The adventures ended up in the lyrics of Gangsters.

The Special A.K.A. - Gangsters - Jerry Dammers handwritten lyrics (bbc.com)

The Special A.K.A. – Gangsters – Jerry Dammers handwritten lyrics

Musically, the song is a reworking of Prince Buster’s Al Capone, a 1964 ska song. On May 4, 1979, the day Thatcher and her Conservative Party was officially declared as the winner of the elections held a day before, the single was released in a limited amount of 5,000 copies by the recently founded 2 Tone Records label. The single was an unexpected success. Two months later the single was re-released after the band had struck a distribution deal with Rough Trade.

The Selecter

As a result of the success of the Gangsters single, The Selecter was founded as a separate band and released a number of singles in 1979, in February 1980 followed by the release of debut album Too Much Pressure, through the 2 Tone Records label of course.

2 Tone Records - Logo (pixel.com)

2 Tone Records – Logo

Message

The band’s mastermind, Jerry Dammers, had a very distinct idea of what he wanted with the band, the clothing, the music, the political conviction and social stances. The clothes harked back to the end of the 1960s, two-tone suits (black/white/grey) and a mod/rude boy/skinhead image. From the start anti-racism was a defining factor for the band, which was consciously assembled to present a black and white line-up. This idea was equally important to 2 Tone Records and its releases.

I was aiming for a revolution, of racial harmony, of peace and unity. I wanted to overthrow the government, and have a lot of fun at the same time!

Jerry Dammers

Following the success of Gangsters record companies lined up to sign the band. Even Mick Jagger and Rolling Stones Records were one of the interested parties. The upcoming deal was influenced by ideals as well. The idea was to use the record company for distribution and funding, and at the same time ensuring that 2 Tone Records could function as a full independent sublabel, able to release singles, even from bands without a contract. Chrysalis agreed to all the terms.

The Specials - The Specials (spotify.com)

The Specials – The Specials

The Specials

On October 19, 1979, the debut album by The Specials, The Specials, was released. Just before recording sessions for the album started the band renamed itself to The Specials, followed by a stint in the studio with Elvis Costello, who was a fan (he was instrumental in getting Gangsters played on the radio) and produced the debut album.

Costello’s credo was to record the band in a natural live setting as much as humanly possible in order to get the music’s energy and dynamics onto tape without any interference. Overdubs were minimal, the recording sessions lasted a mere 10 days.

I wanted to produce them the way they sounded best. We used a basic 24-track studio to get the right sound.

Elvis Costello

The album was received very well and, bar a few exceptions, The Specials was generally viewed as an instant classic. The band’s energy and fire was captured very well, even though the band themselves weren’t completely happy with everything.

The Specials - A Message To You Rudy - Ad (NME) (2-tone.info)

The Specials – A Message To You Rudy – Ad (NME)

The album contains 14 songs, including 5 covers. The first song is a cover, which by now is universally viewed as a true Specials original: A Message To You Rudy, the first and only (!) single (released on October 12, 1979) taken from the album, which was a hit in both the UK and Europe. A classic Specials songs that introduces the band rather calmly. The original stems from 1967. It’s funny to note that Rico Rodriguez plays trombone on that particular version and reprised that role 12 years later on the version on the The Specials album.

After a second cover (Do The Dog) the first Specials original follows: It’s Up Tou You, a reggae song with great lyrics:

Looks like a case of the blind leading the deaf to me
You must be bored out of your pants
Take it or leave it we’ll carry on regardless
If you don’t like it you don’t have to dance

It’s up to you, up to you, black
It’s up to you, up to you, white
It’s up to you, up to you, unite
It’s up to you, up to you, or fight

© The Specials – It’s Up To You

The Specials - Nite Klub - Jerry Dammers handwritten lyrics (bonhams.com)

The Specials – Nite Klub – Jerry Dammers handwritten lyrics

Nite Klub is an all-time favorite and opens with sounds from a Coventry bar. After the intro the song changes direction and turned into an up-tempo rock/ska song, and the bar seems less special than was hoped for: “all the girls are slags and the beer tastes just like piss”. And straight on to It Doesn’t Make It Alright, the first openly anti-racist song on the album, accompanied by great relaxed reggae rhythm:

Just because you’re a black boy
Just because you’re a white
It doesn’t mean you’ve got to hate him
It doesn’t mean you’ve got to fight

It doesn’t make it alright

© The Specials – It Doesn’t Make It Alright

Concrete Jungle is sung by Roddy Radiation, a song about living in a city which lost its glory. This also addresses the all present racism:

I have to carry a knife
Because there’s people threatening my life
I can’t dress just the way I want
I’m being chased by the National Front

© The Specials – Concrete Jungle

After the two fine covers Too Hot and Monkey Man another original is next, (Dawning Of A) New Era, a song of a rather bleak future. It’s not completely clear what Blank Expression is about. The line “Where did you get that blank expression on your face?” probably addresses drug use and the empty dead stare that many junkies have, especially after shooting up.

The Specials - Live Old Grey Whistle Test - 10/02/1979 (Stupid Marriage) (youtube.com)

The Specials – Live Old Grey Whistle Test – 10/02/1979 (Stupid Marriage)

Stupid Marriage musically ‘borrows’ from the Prince Buster song Judge 400 Years. The song reenacts a court case. ‘Judge Roughneck’ questions a suspect about breaking a window of his ex’s house. The suspect accuses his ex of choosing for unhappiness:

He wanted to be something but she knows he never will
She’s got him where she wanted and forgot to take her pill
And he thinks that she’ll be happy
When she’s hanging out the nappies
If that’s a happy marriage I’d prefer to be unhappy

© The Specials – Stupid Marriage

The Specials - Too Much Too Young - Ad (NME) (2-tone.info)

The Specials – Too Much Too Young – Ad (NME)

As stated before, the band had some critique on the album. Bass player Panter was the one to voice his displeasure with Too Much Too Young (based on Lloyd Charmers’ Birth Control), aiming it at the song’s tempo in particular. The album version is slow, almost funky with lots of reggae. The main message the song conveys is that there are already enough children on the planet, and we’re not able to feed them all. In other words: having children is a selfish choice.

You’ve done too much
Much too young
Now you’re married with a kid
When you could be having fun with me
Oh no, no gimme no more pickni (*)

Ain’t he cute?
No he ain’t
He’s just another burden
On the welfare state

Ain’t you heard of the starving millions
Ain’t you heard of contraception
You really want a program of sterilization?
Take control of the population boom!
It’s in your living room
Keep a generation gap
Try wearing a cap (**)

© The Specials – Too Much Too Young

* pickni = Jamaican/West Indian slang for children
** cap = condom

Early 1980 Too Much Too Young would be released as a single (credited to The Special A.K.A.) in a live version, a short fast version which catapulted the band to the number 1 position of the charts.

The only misfire on The Specials is Little Bitch, a song 15 year old Jerry Dammers wrote about an ex-girlfriend. Lines like “You’re the ugliest creature, under the sun!”, “And you think it’s about time that you died, and I agree” and “I know you know you’re just a little bitch!” are rather childish and really don’t fit the image Dammers wanted to portray. Terry Hall later regretted singing the song: “It felt like a horrible personal attack on someone I didn’t know”.

The closing You’re Wondering Now is beautiful and melancholy. “You’re wondering now what to do, now you know this is the end”

The Specials - Original cover photos (chalkiedavies.com)

The Specials – Original cover photos

Cover

Carol Starr and Chalkie Davies designed the album cover and shot both photos used on the cover. Elvis Costello introduced them to Jerry Dammers. Dammers had already thought out his idea on locations and expressed his fondness for The Who’s My Generation cover, which contained a photo of the band shot from above.

The same concept was used for the The Specials cover. At the same time a photo was shot from above, a side shot was also photographed. The last one turned into the album’s back cover. Dammers requested that the band members were cut from the original front cover photo with scissors and be placed onto a white background. The desired effect was to generate a ‘cheap’ feel, honoring many original 1960s ska releases.

N.B.
The American release of the album used the back cover photo as the front and vice versa.

The Specials - The Specials - Cassette (discogs.com)

The Specials – The Specials – Cassette

Review

Well, is there anything left to say about The Specials? Even though I prefer More Specials, the debut essentially is just as good.

I clearly remember the rise of the 2 Tone revival and I first heard the music of The Specials and Madness. It was like somebody opened the windows to let the fresh air in. Where Madness was happy and positive, The Specials were more serious, fanatical and threatening. The music was a far more clear hybrid of reggae, ska, rock and punk. The music was more aggressive and the lyrics more confrontational.

The Specials reflected the times perfectly. England in 1979 was a period of youthful desperation, racism, unemployment, an extreme right-wing shift and the start of the Thatcher era. The Specials were sincere with their socialist message and were openly anti-racist, exemplified by the deliberate multicultural, multiracial band composition.

Looking back the misogyny in some of the lyrics is questionable, to say the least. At times, Little Bitch and sometimes Stupid Marriage and Too Much Too Young are called degrading to women. To his own personal shame, Dammers has acknowledged it.

Nonetheless, The Specials is a great time capsule and stands as the axis of the upcoming 2 Tone craze that would hold England in its grip for almost 2 years. Madness and The Specials both released their debut album on the very same day and would prove to be a major influence on other bands and were responsible for the swift emergence of the ska-revival and 2 Tone.

The Specials - The Specials - Promo (2-tone.info)

The Specials – The Specials – Promo

Songs

Writers mentioned between brackets.

  • A Message To You Rudy (Dandy Livingstone)
  • Do The Dog (Rufus Thomas, arrangement Jerry Dammers)
  • It’s Up To You (Jerry Dammers, The Specials)
  • Nite Klub (Jerry Dammers, The Specials)
  • Doesn’t Make It Alright (Jerry Dammers, Dave Goldberg, Mark Harrison)
  • Concrete Jungle (Roddy Byers)
  • Too Hot (Cecil Campbell)
  • Monkey Man (Toots Hibbert)
  • (Dawning Of A) New Era (Jerry Dammers
  • Blank Expression (Jerry Dammers, The Specials)
  • Stupid Marriage (Jerry Dammers, Mark Harrison, Neville Staple, Cecil Campbell)
  • Too Much Too Young (Jerry Dammers, met dank aan Lloyd Charmers)
  • Little Bitch (Jerry Dammers)
  • You’re Wondering Now (Clement Seymour)

On the Canadian and (some) American pressings Too Much Too Young is shortened to little over 2 minutes. Some American pressings contain the song Gangsters, which was also part of all Australian and New Zealand releases.

In 2002 a remastered version of The Specials was released, which included videos to Gangsters and Too Much Too Young. In 2015 a Special Edition was released, containing a second cd with lots of bonus live material.

The Specials - The Specials - Back cover (discogs.com)

The Specials – The Specials – Back cover

Musicians

The Specials

  • Horace – bass
  • Terry – vocals
  • Neville – vocals
  • Jerry – orgel
  • Roddy – guitar, vocals on Concrete Jungle
  • Lynval – guitar
  • Brad – drums

Credits above stem from the back cover of the album. Horace is Horace Panter, Terry is Terry Hall, Neville is Neville Staple, Jerry is Jerry Dammers (keyboards), Roddy is Roderick Byers aka Roddy Radiation (guitar, vocals on Concrete Jungle), Lynval is Lynval Golding (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Brad is John Bradbury.

Guest musicians

  • Rico Rodriguez – trombone
  • Dick Cuthell – horns
  • Chrissie Hynde – vocals on Nite Klub, maybe the first 5 songs and the “heavy breathing” on Stupid Marriage, unconfirmed
The Specials - 2 Tone Tour (omegaauctions.co.uk)

The Specials – 2 Tone Tour

After The Specials

it didn’t take long before 2 Tone Records had turned into the major source for the ska-revival that swept across the UK. Just to show the swift impact: on November 8, 1979, the English Top Of The Pops music show, The Specials, Madness and The Selecter all performed.

Immediately following the release of The Specials the band went out on tour. The so-called 2 Tone Tour with Madness (halfway through the tour replaced by Dexy’s Midnight Runners) and The Selecter was hugely popular. The tour was sold out, but aggression of skinheads (National Front and British National Party) in particular, garnered bad publicity in the press. The bands were united in their disgust of racism and prejudice and actively judged the intimidations from the stage.

The Special A.K.A. - Too Much Too Young (discogs.com)

The Special A.K.A. – Too Much Too Young

On January 11, 1980, The Specials (using the ‘old’ moniker The Special A.K.A.) released the live EP Too Much Too Young – The Special A.K.A. Live!. The EP was released as a single and Too Much Too Young raced to the number 1 position of the British charts. Funny detail: the live-version of Too Much Too Young lasted only 2:04 minutes, and was the shortest song to reach the first position of the entire 1980s.

The Specials went on a European tour and left for the US. Some shows were done as the support act for The Police, where the band completely blew the main act off the stage. The American tour was troubled. Dammers forced his political agenda on the rest of the band, essentially banning luxury hotels and limousines. Dammers wasn’t enjoying himself at all and was very blunt about it in the press. When he was asked if he was having a good time he answered he “could have had more fun on a school trip to Russia”. The remark wasn’t welcomed (to say the least) by the American record company. According to Dammers the US tour was a disaster, with huge implications for the band’s future.

It was one of the stupidest things that ever happened to The Specials. On stage we were putting everything in to it. Playing two shows a night was like putting someone in for 2 boxing matches a night – it made no sense at all. I hate to say it, but that really broke the spirit of the band. We were completely exhausted. After that, everybody stopped getting on.

Jerry Dammers

The Specials - Rat Race - Ad (NME) (2-tone.info)

The Specials – Rat Race – Ad (NME)

Following another short tour through Europe the single Rat Race was released on May 16, 1980. And yet another tour, all over the UK, was followed by a legendary performance on the satirical American television show Saturday Night Live, followed by yet another tour, this time of Japan.

Next, the band went to work on a successor to The Specials. That story can be read in the article More Specials, the best album of 1980?. The story of the last album by The Special AKA/The Specials can be read in the article The Special AKA and the 1984 swan song, In The Studio.

In closing

What’s your opinion on The Specials and debut album The Specials? Let me know!

Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: The Specials, the debut and the 2 Tone ska-revival. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.

The Specials - Footer (apoplife.nl)

Compliments/remarks? Yes, please!