Today's Specials.More than fifteen years have passed since The Specials soared to number one on the English charts with "Ghost Town ghost town, term for any once flourishing American community that has been abandoned, generally for economic reasons. While most of the towns have little or no population, they often contain old buildings, which may serve as tourist attractions. ." Now the band that sparked the 2-Tone movement has re-formed and released a new album, Today's Specials. Sure, the 2-Tone movement was known for its fashions--Doc Martens, skinny ties, black suits, pork-pie hats--and helped give rise to the Vespa scooter. But the music was also politically charged, taking shots at Margaret Thatcher Noun 1. Margaret Thatcher - British stateswoman; first woman to serve as Prime Minister (born in 1925) Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, Iron Lady, Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Thatcher , conservatives, warmongers, the National Front, and the music industry. The Specials broke up in the early 1980s when three members--Terry Hall, Lynval Golding Lynval Golding (born 24 July 1951, Saint Catherine, Jamaica) is an English musician. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist with the British 2 Tone Records band, The Specials. He went on to co-found the Fun Boy Three with Terry Hall and Neville Staple. , and Neville Staples--left to form Fun Boy Three. The others, led by keyboardist-writer Jerry Dammers Jerry Dammers (born Jeremy Dammers, 22 May 1955, Ootacamund, India) was the founder and keyboard player of the Coventry based ska band, The Specials (changed from The Special A.K.A.). , became Special AKA, which scored big with the anthem "Free Nelson Mandela." Golding, Staples, guitarist Roddy Byers, and bassist Horace Panter form the nucleus of this new incarnation of The Specials. "We're not trying to pretend that we have re-created the old Specials," says Byers. "But we are more than happy that there are plenty of the original ingredients, energy, and ideals in the mix." Today's Specials features a dozen cover versions of songs that inspired the band. Two songs--"Pressure Drop," by Toots toots n. Slang Babe; sweetie. [Perhaps short for tootsie.] and the Maytals, and Desmond Dekker's "Shanty Town 007"--are ska classics. The band also pays tribute to reggae greats Bob Marley ("Simmer Down" and "Hypocrite") and Peter Tosh ("Maga Dog"). |
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