The Specials AKA

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Anji
Basket Case
Anji
Age: 34
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April 26th, 2007 at 09:15am
I searched and searched for this topic and I can't believe no one's ever made one. So here it is!

The Specials:
Shortly after being formed by Dammers, Golding, and Panter, the band performed minor gigs under the name 'The Coventry Automatics'. Terry Hall and Roddy Radiation joined the band the following year, and the band changed its name to 'The Coventry Specials', and then to 'The Special AKA'.

Joe Strummer of The Clash had attended one of their gigs, and invited The Special AKA to open for his band in their On Parole UK Tour. This performance gave The Special AKA a new level of national exposure, and they briefly shared the Clash's management. In 1979, Dammers decided to form his own record label, and 2 Tone Records was born. On this label, the band released 'Gangsters', which became a Top Ten hit in 1979.

The band had begun wearing two-tone mod/rude boy/skinhead-style tonic suits, along with other elements of late 1960s teen fashions. Their debut LP was Specials, produced by Elvis Costello. 'Too Much Too Young' was a number one hit in the UK singles chart, despite controversy due to the song's lyrics, which promote contraception.

Their second album, More Specials was not as commercially successful as previous recordings. The band had seemingly abandoned the ska genre, despite having been largely responsible for its revival in the United Kingdom. The album included a more experimental approach to music, including influences from pop, new wave, and even muzak. The band also experimented with what could be described as a dark, almost psychedelic reggae.

'Ghost Town' hit number one in 1981, but 2 Tone was in trouble. Staples, Golding and Hall left the band, and Dammers added Stan Campbell, to begin working again under the group's previous name Special A.K.A.. The resulting album, In the Studio, was not very successful, although the songs 'Racist Friend' and 'Nelson Mandela' were hits. The latter contributed to making Mandela a cause célèbre in Britain, and became popular with anti-apartheid activists in South Africa. Dammers then dissolved the band and pursued activism.

Over the years various members of the band have reformed several times to tour and record in Specials and non-Specials related projects. But until present there has never been a complete reunion of the original lineup.

Terry Hall continued in the music industry with his 1980s pop band Fun Boy Three, with fellow ex-Specials Neville Staples and Lynval Golding. They enjoyed commercial success with a small collection of hits, including 'Tunnel of Love', 'Our Lips Are Sealed' and 'The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)'. From 1984 until 1987, Hall fronted The Colourfield, with some commercial success. After they disbanded, Hall went on to pursue a solo career working mostly in the New Wave genre). He also did some vocal work on a Dub Pistols' album.

In the early 1990s members of The Beat, from nearby Birmingham, who had collaborated with The Specials on tracks such as Nelson Mandela, teamed up with members of The Specials to form the band Special Beat. The band performed a live set that was a mixture of The Specials and The Beat songs. They released a few concert albums.

In 1998, at the height of ska's mainstream popularity on American radio and MTV, most members of The Specials reunited to record the new studio album, Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent. Notably absent from the record were Terry Hall and Jerry Dammers. The record also featured guest vocals by Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen of Rancid.

The song 'Little Bitch' appeared in John Hughes' popular movie
Sixteen Candles[/i], starring Molly Ringwald. Songs by The Specials and Special A.K.A. have appeared in the Dance Dance Revolution video game, the TV series Father Ted, and in the soundtracks for the movies SLC Punk, Snatch, Shaun of the Dead, Grosse Pointe Blank and 'An Extremely Goofy Movie.

In 2001 Pork Pie Records released Spare Shells: A Tribute to the Specials. The record featured recent ska bands performing versions of songs written or popularized by The Specials. Bands such as The Busters, The Porkers, Citizen Fish, Rude Bones and Voodoo Glow Skulls were featured.

In 2007, The Specials' music will be featured in a film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's book[/i] Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.

For those who do not know, Irvine Wlesh was the same author who wrote the book version and I think the stage adaption of the cult movie Trainspotting starring Ewan McGregor as Mark Renton, a herion addict. Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance is expected to gain as much popularity as Trainspotting did.

Talk about the Specials...now.
wfougoafoihqfe
Falling In Love With The Board
wfougoafoihqfe
Age: 31
Gender: Female
Posts: 9656
April 26th, 2007 at 11:06am
The Specials are ace.
Cool
Nuff said.
Jax.
Was Here Two Weeks Ago
Jax.
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 42834
April 26th, 2007 at 01:12pm
I'm in total agreement with Ellie. Cool
Dom
Jackass
Dom
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 1691
April 26th, 2007 at 01:14pm
Is this a thread for the specials? or special aka? or are they the same band. I love the specials, but all i know by 'special aka' is that free nelson mandela chooon.
Anji
Basket Case
Anji
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 15914

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April 28th, 2007 at 11:43am
Yeppers, same band. Read the bio, all there.
steady riot
Idiot
steady riot
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 842
April 28th, 2007 at 03:07pm
Love love love The Specials.
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