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A Brief History In July of 1979 the music scene in Britain would quickly change when a band from Coventry burst onto the scene with their debut single 'Gangsters'. Formed in 1977 by keyboardist Jerry Dammers along with Horace Panter and Lynval Golding the band first took the name 'The Automatics'. Frontman Terry Hall and Roddy Radiation joined soon after with the band also going under the name of 'The Coventry Automatics'and 'The Special AKA' before settling on 'The Specials'. The band supported The Clash on tour after Joe Strummer saw one of their gigs and was impressed by what he saw thus giving the band access to a wide audience. The final two members of the seven piece band was made up of Neville Staple and John Bradbury and shortly before the first single release Jerry Dammers started the iconic 2 Tone Records label which would become famous for its black and white chequered label along with the 'Walt Jabsco' figurine.
The nationwide phenomenon had begun with bands forming around the country on the back of this black and white craze. The band wore striking tonic suits with a nod to the mod and early skinhead fashions.
During this time The Specials along with Madness and The Selecter boarded a coach together and set off on the highly successful sold out '2 Tone Tour'. Forty venues across the country lapped it up and the 2 Tone craze was well underway.
In June of 1980 new 2 Tone label band The Bodysnatchers joined The Specials on their sold out 'Seaside Tour' taking in coastal venues across the land.
In the Summer of 1981 came their second number 1 single with the haunting 'Ghost Town' which no one would have imagined at the time was the very last single as a seven piece band before Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neviile Staple left to form The Fun Boy Three thus ending two years of success.
After the split from the band by 'The Fun Boy Three' a new single was released in January of 1982.'The Boiler' was released under the bands original name 'The Special AKA' as was every subsequent release thereafter. The single featured Rhoda Dakar on vocals and reached the top 40 but with little airplay. The biggest hit for The Special AKA came in the form of catchy single 'Nelson Mandela' which made the top 10. In August of 1984 the LP was released after a long wait called 'In The Studio'. The album was well received and made number 36 in the album chart. Follow up singles failed to hurt the charts and the band never recovered and faded away.
A European tour followed the following year with festival gigs played throughout. In 2011 another tour was sold out and the band play to a new and old very appreciative audience.
MUSIC/BOOKS/DVD.. The Specials - 30th Anniversary Tour (Limited Edition Double Disc) [DVD] Ska'd for Life: A Personal Journey with The Specials Original Rude Boy: From Borstal to the Specials: A Life of Crime and Music
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'Gangsters' along with 'Selecter' by 'The Selecter' became release number TT1/TT2 as a double a sided single reaching number 6 in the charts.
In October of 1979 The Specials released follow up single 'A Message To You Rudy/Nite Klub' charting at number 10. In the same month the band released their debut LP '
In January 1980 The Specials recorded their first number 1 hit single with 'The Special AKA Live! EP' containing the classic hit 'Too Much Too Young'. Three further singles followed during 1980 with the number 5 hit 'Rat Race/Rude Bouys Outa Jail', 'Stereotype/International Jet Set' hitting number 6 and 'Do Nothing/Maggies Farm' peaking at 4.
During the year another top 10 album came the bands way with '
