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The Specials

Rock

The Specials Tickets

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About

The Specials are a trend-starting ska-revival and 2 Tone band that came together in 1977 in Coventry, England. The band was responsible for starting the early ‘80s ska scene and released a string of timeless songs including “"A Message to You, Rudy" and “Too Much, Too Young.”

Band members Jerry Dammers, Tim Strickland, Silverton Hutchinson, Horace Panter and Lynval Golding started the band with the intention of creating a musical statement against racism. As with the punk era it followed, the ska scene featured politically minded lyrics. This trend was started by The Specials, and their mixture of reggae dancehall music and modern British political lyrics proved very popular.

Tim Strickland was replaced by Terry Hall shortly after the band's formation and within a year they had added Neville Staple and Roddy Radiation to the group. Another line-up change occurred soon after, as drummer Silverton Hutchinson was replaced by John Bradbury just before the band released their debut single, “Gangsters.” Released on Jerry Dammers own label, 2 Tone Records, the song was a hit and they quickly followed with their self-titled debut album in 1979. They returned to the recording studio for the follow-up, titled More Specials, in 1980, which included backing vocals from the likes of Belinda Carlisle and Chrissie Hynde. They hit No. 1 in the charts again with the huge hit “Ghost Town,” a song that still gets used regularly in movies and TV shows today as an iconic, instantly recognizable song from the era.

At the end of 1981, three key members of the band left to form Fun Boy Three, and new talent was brought in. While the band continued to tour all over, front-man Jerry Dammers was finding a new passion away from music, and in 1984 he dissolved the band to pursue his political activism work on a full-time basis. Various members of the band toured in off-shoot bands and there were various short-lived and one-off attempts at reunions in the ‘90s, but finally in the ‘00s fans got to see a more authentic version ofTthe Specials, as they performed in a number of high-profile gigs with many original members. One such performance came in 2007 alongside Lily Allen and Damon Albarn at Glastonbury. In 2013, The Specials released a new live album titled More... Or Less, and they plan to keep on working together.

Reviews

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 172 reviews
  • Rating: 1 out of 5

    Terrible!!

    by Mason on 6/4/22

    Was at there first day of the tour yesterday at bedford park 03/06/22 and it was absolutely terrible, it was from 5pm till 10pm and we had got there from when it opened, no live music until half 6, the live music was the tribes they seemed like a good band but nobody knew anyof there songs, but they played more than the specials actually did the tribes played about 2 hours of music, then finished around 8:50ish, we was then waiting for the specials bearing in mind the event finishes at 10pm, we waited and waited and the specials did not come on stage till 9:18pm which i feel is an absolute joke leaving 42mins to play songs, it wouldnt have been so bad if they would have played all there all songs for which theyre popular for, nope they played more new songs than old and come on nobody wants to hear your rubbish new music, he came out in a tracksuit, when usually looks dapper, made a comment saying i could of been at home, personally i would rather see a tribute band, dont waste your money.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    AWESOME

    by irishch on 6/23/19The Danforth Music Hall - Toronto

    Worth the 35+ year wait...greats show, played all hits + new!

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    fantastic show! Don’t stop touring...

    by Rob on 6/23/19House of Blues Boston presented by Cricket Wireless - Boston

    The specials, are just that ... played a ton off hits which is what you want to hear . hopefully we come back around again , great evening out

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    Still Skankin' Frantic

    by Judexs on 6/20/19House of Blues Boston presented by Cricket Wireless - Boston

    Great show, new and old, Terry, Horace and Lynval stiil got it! Crowd was realky engaged, especially on Nite Klub. Two Tone Forevahhhh!

  • Rating: 4 out of 5

    Special!

    by L.m.b. on 6/18/19House of Blues Boston presented by Cricket Wireless - Boston

    The Specials were full of energy - loved the front man, and so did the crowd. I did not know how very popular they still are. The opening act however was simply awful. He only had two chords to play on his guitar, and every song sounded the same. He had no energy or enthusiasm and I do not know who chose him, but it was a mistake.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    Great night!

    by C. on 6/18/19House of Blues Boston presented by Cricket Wireless - Boston

    The Specials didn’t disappoint! Really enjoyed the show! Took me back to the 80’s and I couldn’t stop dancing!!

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    Farewell Specials!

    by C on 6/18/19House of Blues Boston presented by Cricket Wireless - Boston

    The staff at HoB are excellent and committed to keeping everyone safe. Impressed with size of Boston crowd to wish farewell to The Specials. I would describe the performance as “chill” instead of “hype”. Fun night. Really enjoyed Lynval singing Embarrassed By You. He’s still got it.

  • Rating: 4 out of 5

    Good Vibes.....Expected More

    by JimK on 6/18/19House of Blues Boston presented by Cricket Wireless - Boston

    Decent crowd, but too many songs left off the set list would have made the show spectacular. Their political stance came through loud and clear and the music suffered a little because of it.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    a fun mix of past and present

    by Oz on 6/16/19Theatre of Living Arts - Philadelphia

    The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 Tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude". Lyrically, they present a "more focused and informed political and social stance". Three of the original line-up, Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, and Horace Panter, so it was quite a show.  Song from the great new album, Encore, as well as classics from my youth such as Rudy and Ghosttown (see setlist below).  Everything sounded great - and quite an impressive crowd for a Tuesday night in Philly.  Lots of pogoing, and even more singing along. Terry and Lynval did a great job at leading the band and getting the crowd pumping.  And the enthusiasm from Horace was just contagious. Kenrick on the drums added some vocals too - always good to see a drummer included in the vocals.  And Jake covered the lead guitar duties fantastically! And the surprise was Saffiyah Khan joined them on stage!! All in all - What a show!! Setlist

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    Great Show

    by A. R. on 6/14/19The Fillmore Silver Spring presented by Cricket Wireless - Silver Spring

    Great show. Good sound. Bartenders were all pleasant. Was my 1st time at Fillmore. It's a really nice club. Did NOT care for all the cops at the front door. Set a bad tone and nobody likes cops. Ever.