Terry Hall, Singer of The Specials, Dead at 63

Terry Hall, lead singer of UK ska band The Specials, has died at the age of 63.

The band announced Hall’s death on Monday (December 19th): “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing, following a brief illness, of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced.”

“Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls,” the statement continued. “His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… the joy, the pain, the humour, the fight for justice, but mostly the love.”

Hall joined The Specials shortly after their formation in 1977, replacing original vocalist Tim Strickland. The band initially went by the name Automatics, and then Coventry Automatic, before permanently settling on The Specials in 1978. Their big break came that same year, when Joe Strummer attended one of their concerts and invited them to open for The Clash on their  “On Parole” UK tour.

With a lineup featuring Hall, songwriter/keyboardist Jerry Dammers, guitarist Lynval Golding, guitarist Roddy Radiation, bassist Horace Panter, toaster Neville Staple, and drummer John Bradbury, The Specials were figureheads of the Two Tone genre, which combined traditional Jamaican ska music with elements of punk rock and new wave music. As many of the bands in the scene featured a mix of white and Black members, Two Tone was also notable for its inclusivity at time of racial strife in the UK.

The Specials released their debut single “Gangsters,” a reworking of Prince Buster’s “Al Capone,” in 1979. The song hit the top 10 in the UK that summer. By the fall, The Specials released their self-titled debut album, which was produced by Elvis Costello and featured backing vocals from The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde.

The following year, The Specials earned their first No. 1 record with “Too Much Too Young,” the title track to their EP of the same name. They followed that up in 1981 with a second No. 1 single, “Ghost Town.” However, by the end of 1981 Hall, Staple, and Golding departed The Specials, citing internal strife with the rest of the band.

This is a developing story…