Friday, January 19, 2018

The Specials


I've never been a huge fan of live albums as it's hard to feel the energy and excitement of a gig coming through your speakers at home. This afternoon I bought The Specials Live At The Moonlight Club and have to make an exception in this case. Recorded two months before the release of their debut single Gangsters it captures what I imagine the band's early performances must have sounded like perfectly and transports you back in time to that intimate club in West Hampstead in 1979 before they became on of the hottest musical proprties in the country. I was too young to see them live in the late 70's/early 80's but was fortunate to see them a couple of times a few years back in Glasgow and witness first hand what a formidable live act they are.

I would have been about 10 years old when I first heard The Specials and instantly knew then what would be at the top of my Christmas list that year - Dear Santa, could you please bring me a copy of The Specials album. Thankfully my letter got through to him and for the next few months it was never off the turntable. To this day it would be in my Top 10 albums of all time and still gets played regularly. Looking back it wasn't just the music, it was the clothes and style that went along with it. I loved the look of the band and the image they had. Has there ever been a cooler loking band ? Every member of the band brought something to the table and pretty soon I had all the gear, heading out to under 18's discos with my Harrington jacket, skinny tie, pork pie hat, stapress trousers, Dr Martens and the obligatory crew cut. We were very fortunate in East Kilbride to have a great wee shop called Rig Out where you could buy all the 2 Tone and Mod gear and it soon became my first port of call on a Saturday morning. Fashion and music defined a lot of young people in those days and I was now a fully fledged 10 year old Rude Boy. 2 Tone's mix of ska, rocksteady and punk spoke to something in the young me that no other music at the time did. I was also listening to bands like Blondie, The Undertones and The Jam but there was something about the music of The Beat, Madness and particularly The Specials that connected with me and made me feel like I was part of something new and exciting. I still vividly recall going on seaside holidays with my parents in the late 70's/early 80's, to places like Scarborough and Morecambe, and being totally in awe of all the teenage Rude Boys and wanting to be about 6 years older so I could hang out with them.

Mostly made up of original material with some great covers thrown in The Specials debut album is that rarest of beasts, an album that manged to blend all the anger, disillusionment and bitterness of the day straight into their music. Produced by Elvis Costello who managed to capture their live sound perfectly it is an album I still enjoy as much now as I did back in '79. Perfectly encapsulating Britain in '79 just as we were about to enter eighteen years of Tory rule. Few, if any, other bands have captured a moment in time as well as The Specials did on their debut album. The follow up album, More Specials, is a very different sounding abum but is every bit as good as the debut. Less frenzied than their debut, but certainly more adventurous musically it includes  elements of jazz and soul, with more original songs and more collaborators in the likes of Belinda Carlise and Lee Thompson. The band certainly widened their palette and More Specials shows the direction the band could have been heading in if they had managed to stay together.

One of the best debut albums ever, one of the best live acts ever, one of the coolest looking groups ever, quite simply Terry Hall, Neville Staples, Lynval Golding, Jerry Dammers, Horace Panter, Roddy Radiation and John Bradbury collectively produced something very special indeed.







11 comments:

  1. Yeah, Scott’s Back.

    It is a great album Scott. So many good tracks, my favourite being Doesn’t Make It Alright. I quite liked the Rude Boy look but it wasn’t for me being the rather mixed up punk/metal head at this time.

    The coolest band, now your talking. For me it would have to be early JAMC.

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  2. Hi Drew, feels good to be posting something after all this time. I loved the look,something about it just felt it was right for me at the time. Fast forward 7 years and I had crimped my hair and was listening to The Velvets, Iggy, Mary Chain and heading out to Texas Fever at 46 West George Street.

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  3. Man, do I love the Specials. Have to agree with you about the Moonlight Club album, Scott. It was reissued on vinyl in 2014, and I snatched it right up. What got me was seeing the 2 Tone logo in the new releases section... gave me goosebumps. Quite an historical document, eh? To hear Terry Hall saying, "It's the eve of the election, and its up to you..." on that evening in 1979 might be tough to hear for some in your area of the world, however.

    Nice to have you back! Hope to read more from you. It's been too long.

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    1. I was the same Brian, as soon as I saw the logo I knew I had to buy it. Thanks for the kind words, certainly feels good to have posted something again after a too long hiatus. And yes, if only the nation could have heard and paid heed to Terry's prophetic words.

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  4. Where have you been?, we've had the polis out and everything.
    Superb, as always.

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    1. Cheers mate, got another one lined up for tonight.

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  5. Scott, after moving to your school at the start of P7 you and a few others introduced me to the Rude Boy sounds. That Christmas I got my first Madness album (tape) and bought my first Specials album (a black and white tape) from Impulse. There was a few of us that headed out to the under 18s with our white shirts and black pencil ties on. Those were great days Scott and somehow we've managed to stayed friends ever since. Great blog Scott on a great band.

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    1. Cetainly were good days Colin. Hard to believe it was over 35 years ago and, although we don't get a chance to catch up as often as we'd like, I couldn't be any happier that we are still good friends to this day. Thanks for the kind words about the blog bud.

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  6. Hah, Scott's back, how wonderful!! Great to see a post of yours, mate, hope there are more to come. I've never listened to this record (the live one that is, not the debut album of course). Should change this situation immediately, I suppose ...

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