The British musician participated in the effervescent 'revival' of ska at the end of the seventies

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Terry Hall, singer of The Specials, died this Monday at the age of 63, as reported by the British group. "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing, after a short illness, of Terry, our wonderful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced (...). His music and their performances synthesized the very essence of life... joy, pain, humor, the struggle for justice, but most of all love,” the group says.


"It's not enough. Love the music, fight racism. You have to fight it." It was one of Terry Hall's slogans. Born in Coventry on March 19, he was one of the protagonists of the English ska scene, anti-racist of sorts and very critical of the conservative policies of Margaret Thatcher's government in the late seventies.


Jerry Dammers, keyboardist for the Specials, founded the label 2 Tone, another fundamental tool in the expansion of that music that started from Jamaican rhythmic patterns adapted with a pop and punk spirit at the same time. Around the Specials, a scene developed with other groups such as The Selekter, Madness, Bad Manners and The Beat, among others, which gathered an interracial audience, until then one of the great pending subjects of rock and punk British The band allocated part of the profits to anti-racist and anti-nuclear organizations and supported the March for the Right to Work in 1978. "Our rulers don't care how people feel. If they knew, they'd resign because they they help no one. The younger ones can't go to the prime minister, tell him that they can't find a job and ask him if he can help them. You can't approach them, the politicians, and so they express themselves by protesting and breaking things," Hall told theNew York Times then.


The band's first album, The Specials (1979) was quite an event due to the fluidity with which own tracks such as Concrete jungle and You're wondering now coexisted with adaptations of Jamaican originals by Dandy Livingstone ( A message to you, Rudy ), Prince Buster ( Too hot ) and Toots & The Maytals ( Monkey man ). The following year they released More Specials , an album that broadened the palette of musical colors, but which did not have the same impact as the first. Yes, the single Ghost town had itwhich they released in 1981, which reached the top of the charts. This song captured the social unrest and disenchantment caused by unemployment and the lack of job prospects, especially among the younger population. In fact, Ghost town became popular with the anti-racial protests that took to the streets of cities such as London and Glasgow in the early 80s. Many of The Specials' songs are in part a chronicle of living conditions in working-class slums British


Fun Three Boys


Despite the success, The Specials disbanded soon after. "It felt like the best time to stop. We had gone from being seven guys in a van to having a gold record, and I was never really comfortable with that," he explained. Along with two other group members, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding, Hall formed Fun Three Boys, short-lived but with an interesting legacy of two albums, one of which ( Waiting ) was produced by David Byrne, and then formed The Colourfield . Terry Hall's later career includes Vegas, an early to mid-nineties project with Dave Stewart (of the Eurythmics duo). Subsequently, he began a solo career with Home(1994), an album in which musicians such as Damon Albarn (Blur), Ian Broudie (The Lightning Seeds) and Andy Partridge (XTC), among others, collaborated. The Specials reunited and celebrated their 30th anniversary with a tour in 2009, which they closed with a big concert in London.



Hall had been struggling with mental issues for years. In 2019, Hall explained that at the age of 12 he was kidnapped by a pedophile ring in France. He discussed this incident in Well fancy that!, a song released in 1983 with Fun Boy Three. He didn't explain it to his parents: “They both worked in factories. They paid them in cash. My father was a heavy drinker. They had their own life, you know?" he said. The incident, however, caused him to be medicated as a teenager and to have depressive problems. At 14, he dropped out of school: "Now I can laugh, but something changed in my head, and it's like I don't have to, and that's when I started not listening to anyone."


Musicians from different generations have expressed their condolences for Terry Hall's death: 2 Tone-era colleagues such as Elvis Costello, accomplices in political engagement such as Billy Bragg and more recent bands such as the Sleaford Mods, among others.