The Specials review – veteran fighters strike a chord with young recruits
O2 Academy, BournemouthThe highly influential band bring their 40-year campaign against injustice to a new generation of music fansIt just so happened that the “three most talented and attractive”...
View ArticleThe 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 2, The Specials – Ghost Town
The remarkable, dark power of this song, with its harrowing wail of a chorus, plunges you straight back into the anger, violence and despair of the early 80sOur list of the 100 greatest UK No 1sIn...
View ArticleThe 100 greatest UK No 1s: 100-1
Look back on our complete countdown of the greatest UK No 1s, from the Beatles to Baby D, and So Solid Crew to Suzi QuatroWhat did we miss? Share your thoughtsAs the coronavirus lockdown continues, the...
View ArticleCoventry to host Turner prize in city of culture year in 2021
City’s bid is ‘glimmer of hope’ for UK arts sector amid Covid crisis, says creative directorCoventry will host the Turner prize, a south Asian film festival and a music festival curated by the...
View ArticleThe Guardian view on two-tone nostalgia: the pride of Coventry | Editorial
Britain’s city of culture for 2021 is rightly celebrating a musical movement that still carries a potent messageInterviewed a couple of years ago, the lead singer of the Specials, Terry Hall, was asked...
View ArticleOn the road with the trailblazing record label 2 Tone
Chalkie Davies’s 1979 shot of musicians from Madness, the Specials and the Selecter captures the cultural power of the emerging ska sceneIt was October 1979 and the first three bands signed to 2 Tone,...
View ArticlePork pie hats and politics: Coventry pays tribute to 2 Tone legacy
Major exhibition charts rise of record label that spawned musical and cultural movement in late 1970sScrawled on the back of an Embassy cigarette packet are Jerry Dammers’ first attempts to define the...
View ArticleThe Specials: Protest Songs 1924-2012 review – genre-hopping calls to action
This selection of covers running the gamut from Bob Marley to Frank Zappa proves a satisfying stop gap for the perennial activistsWaylaid by writers’ block and Covid, the Specials have been unable to...
View ArticleLil Nas X, Lindsey Buckingham and Low: October’s best album reviews
Discover all our four- and five-star album reviews from the last month, from pop to jazz and classicalContinue reading...
View ArticleThe Lathums review – all hail Wigan’s conquering heroes
O2 Victoria Warehouse, ManchesterThis one-time wedding band have ditched the floor-filling covers, but their show retains a joyous jukebox feelEverything about the Lathums’ biggest ever live show feels...
View Article‘If there are death threats, don’t tell me’ – how Rock Against Racism fought...
In the 1970s, the National Front were on the march. So Britain’s music fans and artists united. As a new show celebrates RAR’s achievements, weexamine its impact, its legacy – and its thrilling,...
View ArticleTerry Hall: lead singer of the Specials dies aged 63
Having survived a tough childhood in Coventry, Hall became one of pop’s defining voices at the turn of the 80s, chronicling British decline and disfranchised youth with the 2 Tone band• Alexis...
View ArticleTerry Hall was the self-assured eye of the Specials storm
As the pioneering 2 Tone band’s lead singer, Hall’s impassive style made him a star – and helped him weather the vicissitudes of fame, the changing charts and British decline• Terry Hall: lead singer...
View ArticleThe Specials’ Terry Hall – a life in pictures
The Specials and Fun Boy Three singer has died aged 63. We look back on the life of 2 Tone’s finestAlexis Petridis: ‘Terry Hall was the self-assured eye of the Specials storm’• This article was amended...
View ArticleTerry Hall obituary
Singer with the Specials whose chart-topping Ghost Town evoked the sense of social collapse gripping Britain at the turn of the 80sFamously deadpan, dour and slightly menacing, Terry Hall, who has died...
View ArticleTerry Hall: his 10 greatest recordings with the Specials and beyond
The singer’s musical free spirit scored him hits with everyone from the Specials and Fun Boy Three to collaborations with the Go-Go’s and Bananarama• Terry Hall was the self-assured eye of the Specials...
View ArticleTerry Hall united black and white just as Stormzy does now. Music needs their...
Terry seemed so cool when my band toured with the Specials. We are still fighting the same fight for equality he championed back thenTerry Hall was always the epitome of cool. That’s really how I...
View ArticleTerry Hall: Specials frontman died of pancreatic cancer, says bandmate
Specials bassist Horace Panter recounted Hall’s diagnosis and final months – and their plans to record a new album• Terry Hall was the self-assured eye of the Specials storm• Terry Hall: lead singer of...
View ArticleHow 2 Tone music empowered us as teenagers during apartheid | Letter
In South Africa, through music like The Specials, my friend and I discovered that our black and white friendship was normal, says Cornelia KöhlerPauline Black’s article about Terry Hall and the 2 Tone...
View ArticleDance Craze review – thrilling documentary captures the explosive energy of 2...
Joe Massot’s vivid 1981 film about the British ska scene brims with life, sweat and the faces of ecstatic fansUS director Joe Massot, known for the psychedelic 60s curiosity Wonderwall and Led Zeppelin...
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