Specials
Album
Amy Winehouse...set was plagued by a late arrival and problems with her voice, the crowd warmed to her. In addition to her own material she performed two Specials covers. Winehouse performed at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Party concert at London's Hyde... In this article: Amy Jade Winehouse, Back to Black, Rehab, Grammy Award, London, Mark Ronson, United Kingdom, and Frank Sinatra |
-
HitFix | October 26, 2009
Amy Winehouse brings the bad to the Q Awards
...reggae singer Don Letts, handed out the award solo. Winehouse then burst on stage interrupting the Specials during their acceptance speech, according to U.K. newspaper the Daily Mail. But she wasn't done yet. As Robert Plant accepted the...
In this article: Amy Winehouse, Q Awards, Robert Plant, The Specials, Don Letts, London, and U.K.
-
Telegraph.co.uk - All news | October 26, 2009
Amy Winehouse misses her cue at Q awards
...then the band. As the reunited Specials - whose track Hey Little Rich Girl has become a live fixture for Winehouse - left the stage, she took the spotlight to declare them ''the most inspirational band of all time''. Terry Hall,...
In this article: Amy Winehouse, Q Awards, Edwyn Collins, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Rock, The Specials, and Robert Plant
-
Sunday Mirror | August 23, 2009
Amy Winehouse makes her live comeback with The Specials - watch the video here
...to introduce our good friend Amy who's going to sing of this one." Amy took the stage to huge cheers, shouting: "Alright V? Hey, what a day, eh? Sun's out, Specials are here - count yourself lucky!" Watch Amy's comeback by clicking below:
In this article: Amy Winehouse, The Specials, Terry Hall, and Chelmsford
-
Yahoo! News | June 27, 2008
Mandela marks 90th birthday with London concert
...parents to AIDS. Queen and Paul Rodgers were set to rock the audience later before a finale of "Free Nelson Mandela" featuring Winehouse and the song's writer, Specials keyboard player Jerry Dammers, plus all the artists. Mandela, who urns...
In this article: Nelson Mandela, London, AIDS, Lewis Hamilton, HIV, Amy Winehouse, Simple Minds, South Africa, and Annie Lennox
-
eFluxMedia | June 27, 2008
Amy Winehouse Performs At Nelson Mandela Birthday Concert
...act, the Soweto Gospel Choir. Amy Winehouse has come back out at the final act of the concert to join Jerry Dammers in singing the Specials' song Free Nelson Mandela, together with the rockers from Queen. The singer is also scheduled to...
In this article: Amy Winehouse, Nelson Mandela, Rehab, Free Nelson Mandela, Valerie, Jerry Dammers, Soweto Gospel Choir, and London Clinic
-
CNN | June 28, 2008
London rocks for Nelson Mandela
...sale. The finale of the concert saw Queen, Amy Winehouse and Jerry Dammers performing "Free Nelson Mandela," a 1980s hit from the Specials that quickly became an anti-apartheid anthem, with pretty much every act joining them on stage. Watch...
In this article: Nelson Mandela, London, Will Smith, AIDS, Amy Winehouse, HIV, Jerry Dammers, Poverty, Formula One, and Hyde Park
-
BBC News | June 27, 2008
Reporter's log
...TIME (2145 GMT) It's the last song of the night. Amy Winehouse has come back out to join Jerry Dammers in singing the Specials' song Free Nelson Mandela - Dammers wrote the song. Everyone who has performed throughout the show is also...
In this article: Nelson Mandela, Leona Lewis, Happy Birthday, Free Nelson Mandela, Jerry Dammers, and Dolce and Gabanna
Trends
Loading...
More on Specials
Description from Wikipedia:
Specials is the debut album by British ska revival band The Specials.
Released in 1979 on Jerry Dammers' 2Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene. Produced by Elvis Costello, the album captures the disaffection and anger felt by the youth of the UK's "concrete jungle" - a phrase borrowed from Bob Marley's 1972 album Catch A Fire but equally apposite used here to describe the grim, violent inner cities of 1970s Britain.
Musically, the album encapsulates the wave of British ska, greatly reworking the original sound of 1960s Jamaican ska. The music shares the infectious energy and humour of the original sound, but injects new-found anger and punk sensibility. The resulting sound is considerably less laid-back and "Caribbean" sounding than original ska, and dispensed with much of the percussion and the larger horn sections used in the older variety. The Specials also brought guitar to the front of the mix; it had often been a secondary instrument in Jamaican ska. The album features a mixture of original material and several covers of classic Jamaican ska tracks, a debt which went uncredited on the 1979 vinyl release.
Many songs on The Specials' debut album were covers of older ska songs. "Monkey Man" had been a hit for Toots & the Maytals in 1969, "Too Hot" was a Prince Buster original from 1966, and the opening track, "A Message to You, Rudy" was a Dandy Livingstone single in 1967. "You're Wondering Now" was originally performed by The Skatalites; a vocal version was recorded by duo Andy and Joey in 1964. Other tracks are reworkings of Jamaican originals; "Too Much Too Young" was based on Lloyd Charmers' "Birth Control", "Stupid Marriage" draws heavily on the Prince Buster hit "Judge Dread".
In 2000 Q magazine placed Specials at number 38 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
- Name:
- Specials
- Type:
- Album
- Genre:
-
- Ska
- 2 Tone
- Release Date:
- November 01, 1979
- Produced by:
- Elvis Costello and The Specials
- Recorded By:
- The Specials
- Length:
- 45:11
- Record Label:
- 2Tone Records
- Recording Dates:
- Summer 1979 at TW Studios, London, Fulham
- Manufacturer:
- Capitol
Explore everything named Specials...
