The Specials

Biography

The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. The first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. Their music combined the danceable rhythms of ska and rocksteady with the energy of punk. The lyrics of their songs included political and social commentary. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy outfits ".

Channel description

The Specials are back with ten songs on a brand new album. Influential, important and exhilarating live, they are a band embedded in this country's DNA. It is impossible to envisage the musical landscape without them, from the startling, angular Gangsters in 1979 to their swan song, the epoch-making Ghost Town in 1981. They infused ska with punk, homegrown political anxiety with wider issues. The Specials' ascendancy was swift. Two years, seven hit singles including two number ones, two hit albums, sell-out tours – the mass stage-invasions and audience energy only adding to the myth. They were everywhere; on Top of the Pops, Radio One, nightclubs and school discos.

The brand new album 'Encore' is avaliable to order now - https://TheSpecials.lnk.to/EncoreYD

Latest videos Channel ↗

• 01 11.6K The Specials - Gangsters (Live from the Cathedral / Visualiser) May 22, 2026
• 02 96.9K Rico, The Specials - Jungle Music [Official HD Remastered Video] May 24, 2023
• 03 231.9K The Specials - Concrete Jungle (Live at Rotters Club, Liverpool 14/10/80) Mar 17, 2023
• 04 325.8K The Specials - Nelson Mandela (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster] Oct 5, 2022
• 05 2.2M The Specials - Do Nothing (Live at BBC's Top Of The Pops 1980) [HD Remaster] Jul 13, 2022