Ultimate Music Database

	ULTIMATE MUSIC DATABASE
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	Last Update: March 22, 2025 Total of: 368 058 artists

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This web was launched on June 1, 2000.

© Miroslav Jurčeka (1989-2025)

THE SPECIALS
Coventry, GB
* 1979

Line-Up (2022):

Terry Hall - voc
Lynval Golding - g
Horace Panter - bg

Former Members:

Terry Hall (voc, 1977-9/81); Neville Staple (voc, 1979-9/81, 1/95-?)
Roddy Ryers (g, 1979-9/81, 1/95-?)
Jerry Dammers (kb, 1977-9/81); Mark Adams (kb, 1/95-?)
John Bradbury (ds, 1977-9/81); Charlie Buchanan (ds, 1/95-?)

Albums Discography:

#	Title	Release Date	Label	Type	UK	USA
1.	The Specials produced by: Elvis Costello	19.10.1979	2-Tone		4	84
2.	More Specials	9/1980	2-Tone		5	98
3.	Singles: The Best Of The Specials	8/1991	2-Tone		10
4.	Live At The Moonlight Club	4/1992	2-Tone
5.	Too Much, Too Young: The Specials Live	4/1992	Receiver
6.	BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert & The Selecter	1/1993	Windsong
7.	King Of Kings & Desmond Dekker	08.11.1993	Trojan
8.	Today's Specials	4/1996	Kuff
9.	Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent	13.04.1998	MCA
10.	BBC Sessions - Archive Series	26.10.1998	BBC Music
11.	Blue Plate Specials Live	23.02.1999
12.	Ska's Greatest Stars	26.02.2002	Big Eye
13.	In The Studio	21.05.2002	Capitol
14.	Skinhead Girl	21.05.2002	Sanctuary/Trojan
15.	Conquering Ruler	04.06.2002	Sanctuary/Trojan
16.	Ghost Town & Fun Boy Three	07.12.2004	Anagram
17.	Stereo-Typical: A's, B's and Rarities	31.05.2005	EMI
18.	Greatest Hits	27.06.2006	Big Eye
19.	The Best Of The Specials	3/2008	Chrysalis		28
20.	More Or Less: The Specials Live (2CD)	02.08.2012	EMI
21.	Encore	01.02.2019	UMC		1
22.	Protest Songs - 1924-2012	01.10.2021	Island		2

Terry Hall:

#	Title	Release Date	Label	Type	UK	USA
1.	Ultra Modern Nursery Rhymes & Blair Booth & Anouchka Grooce	2/1990	Chrysalis
2.	Terry Hall - The Collection	10/1992	Chrysalis
3.	Home produced by: Ian Broudie featuring: Craig Gannon (g), Les Pattison (bg), Chris Sharrock (ds)	12.09.1994	Anxious
4.	Laugh	9/1997	South Sea Bubble		50
5.	The Hour Of Two Lights & Mushtaq	21.07.2003	Honest Jon's

Neville Staple:

#	Title	Release Date	Label	Type	UK	USA
1.	Ska Crazy!	13.05.2014	Cleopatra
2.	Return of Judge Roughneck	17.02.2017	Cleopatra
3.	From The Specials & Beyond	2021

Singles Discography:

#	SP/EP Title	Release Date	Label	UK	USA
1.	Gangsters / The Selecter & Selecter	18.05.1979	2-Tone	3
2.	A Message To You Rudy / Nite Club	12.10.1979	2-Tone	6
3.	The Special AKA Live EP (Too Much Too Young - Guns Of Navarone / Long Shot Kick De Bucket - Liquidator - Skinhead Moonstomp)	18.01.1980	2-Tone	1
4.	Rat Race / Rude Boys Outa Jail	5/1980	2-Tone	4
5.	Stereotype (part 1) / International Jet Set	05.09.1980	2-Tone	6
6.	Do Nothing / Maggie's Farm	05.12.1980	2-Tone	3
7.	Ghost Town / Why / Friday Night, Saturday Morning	05.06.1981	2-Tone	1
8.	Peel Sessions EP (23.5.79) (Gangsters / Too Much Too Young / Concrete Jungle / Monkey Man)	1/1987	Strange Fruit
9.	Too Much Too Young (live) / Rat Race	2/1987	Old Gold
10.	Ghost Town / Rat Race	2/1987	Old Gold
11.	Free Nelson Mandela (70th Birthday Remake)	6/1988	Chrysalis
12.	Ghost Town / Rat Race (reissue)	3/1990	Old Gold
13.	Ghost Town (Revisited) / Ghost Town (dub version) 12" + Why	10/1991	Chrysalis
14.	Jamaica Ska & Desmond Dekker	25.10.1993	Trojan
15.	Hypocrite (Stoker radio mix) / Hypocrite (Steely & Clevie radio mix) CD + Hypocrite (Manual dub) / Hypocrite (Intelligent jungle mix) / Hypocrite (Early afternoon dubwise) / Hypocrite (Intelligent jungle instrumental)	29.01.1996	Kuff	66
16.	SPECIALS	26.05.2003	white label
17.	Sock It To 'Em JB / Rat Race (dub)	30.04.2014	Parlophone
18.	When A Light Goes Out	22.03.2025

Terry Hall:

#	SP/EP Title	Release Date	Label	UK	USA
1.	Missing / Happy Families 12",CD + Beautiful People & Blair Booth & Anouchka Grooce	10/1989	Chrysalis	75
2.	Ultra Modern Nursery Rhymes / Hush Hush Balloo 12",CD + Love Will Keep Us Together & Blair Booth & Anouchka Grooce	1/1990	Chrysalis
3.	Forever J / Forever J (Pulp mix) / Suburban Cemetry / Guess It's Not A Great Day To Be Me produced by: Ian Broudie	15.08.1994	Anxious	67
4.	Sense / God Only Knows 12",CD + This Guy's In Love With You	24.10.1994	Anxious	54
5.	Rainbows EP CD1 Chasing A Rainbow / Ghost Town (live) / Thinking Of You (live) / Our Lips Are Sealed (live) CD2 Chasing A Rainbow / Ghost Town (live) / Mistakes / See No Evil (live)	02.10.1995	Anxious	62
6.	Ballad Of A Landlord	6/1997		50
7.	911 & Gorillaz	03.12.2001	Parlophone
8.	Things & Lautrec	07.10.2002	Bustin' Loose
9.	Problem Is (Jon Carter remix) & Dub Pistols	06.10.2003	Distinctive	66
10.	Things & Lautrec	16.02.2004	Bustin' Loose
11.	Rapture / You'll Never Find & Dub Pistols	16.04.2007	Sunday Best
12.	Peaches & Dub Pistols	10.09.2007	Sunday Best

Videos:

1. 30th Anniversary Tour - 1.3.2010, live

Movies:

1. Dance Craze (1981)

Awards:

1981 Melody Maker Single Of The Year ("Ghost Town")
1981 Melody Maker Readers' Poll - Best Single ("Ghost Town")
2000 Q Awards - Merit Award
2010 Shockwaves NME Awards - Outstanding Contribution To Music

Various:

cca 1978 The Coventry Automatics
do 1979 The Special AKA
disbanded 9/1981
1982-84 The Special AKA
reunited 1/1995
reunited 4/2008 (Terry Hall And Friends)
reunited 12/2008 (tour 5/2009)

Compilation Appearances:

"Ghost Town" on OST "Snatch" (9.1.01, TVT)
"Too Much Too Young" on compilation "Teenage Kicks" (4.4.05)

Jerry Dammers:

produced by SP:

Rico: Jungle Music (26.2.82, 2-Tone)
The Apollonaires: The Feeling's Gone (2.7.82, 2-Tone)

1986 organized Artists United Against Apartheid
1988 organized Tribute To Nelson Mandela (Wembley)

Terry Hall:

appeared on the LP:

The Lightning Seeds: Jollification (5.9.94, Epic)
Tricky: Nearly God (22.4.96, Durban Poison)
Lightning Seeds: Dizzy Heights (11.11.96, Epic)
Toots And The Maytals: True Love (6.4.04, V2)

Compilation Appearances:

"Dream A Little Dream" on Bosnian War Child charity CD "Help" (9.9.95, Go! Discs, & Salad)
"911" on OST "Bad Company" (4.6.02, Hollywood, & Gorillaz & D12)

on the EP "Rainbows" (10/95) appeared:

Damon Albarn, Tricky, Ian Broudie

Lynval Golding:

appeared on the LP:

Rancid: Life Won't Wait (23.6.98, Epitaph)

appeared on the SP:

The Special AKA: Nelson Mandela (9.3.84, 2-Tone)

Neville Staple:

appeared on the LP:

Rancid: Life Won't Wait (23.6.98, Epitaph)

Press References:

Melody Maker
Year	Issue	Date	Page	Column	Type
1979	19	19.05.1979	9	After Dark	profile
1979	25	07.07.1979	35	Caught In The Act	gig review
1979	28	28.07.1979	23	Caught In The Act	gig review
1979	38	06.10.1979	4	News
1979	39	13.10.1979	30	Singles	single review
1979	40	20.10.1979	25	Albums	album review
1979	41	27.10.1979	32		profile
1979	45	01.12.1979	3	News
1979	45	01.12.1979	34	Caught In The Act	gig review
1980	5	02.02.1980	31	Caught In The Act	gig review
1980	17	14.06.1980	4	News
1980	18	21.06.1980	13		interview
1980	32	20.09.1980	9		album review, gig review
1980	33	27.09.1980	21		interview
1980	36	11.10.1980	4	News
1980	36	18.10.1980	46	Caught In The Act	gig review
1980	39	08.11.1980	40	Caught In The Act	gig review
1980	42	29.11.1980	5	News
1980	43	06.12.1980	15	Singles	single review
1981	4	24.01.1981	29	Caught In The Act	gig review
1981	12	21.03.1981	23		interview
1981	19	09.05.1981	31	Caught In The Act	album review
1981	24	13.06.1981	20	Singles	single review
1981	29	17.07.1981	13		profile
1981	40	03.10.1981	4	Fast Forward
1981	41	10.10.1981	3	Fast Forward
1981	51	19.12.1981	29	MM Records Of The Ye
1982	3	16.01.1982	3	Fast Forward
1992	5	30.01.1993	34	Albums - Retroactive	album review
1993	30	24.07.1993	46	Info Freako
1994	19	14.05.1994	35	Info Freako
1995	6	11.02.1995	6	News
1996	5	03.02.1996	40	Singles	single review
1996	17	27.04.1996	55		single review
1996	17	27.04.1996	71	Albums	album review
Populár
Year	Issue	Date	Page	Column	Type
1991	4		19		album review
Rock & Pop
Year	Issue	Date	Page	Column	Type
1994	6	29.03.1994	43	Recommandé	album review
1995	22	07.11.1995	6	Galerie
1996	7		91	Recenze	album review
2002	5		35		profile