Status: 12/20/2022 11:43 a.m
“Ghost Town or “Gangsters”: The British band The Specials rose to prominence in the late 1970s and celebrated a series of chart successes. Now they have announced the death of their frontman Terry Hall. He died at the age of 63.
The British singer and frontman of the British ska band The Specials, Terry Hall, is dead. He died at the age of 63, as the band announced on Tuesday night on Twitter. She recognized Hall as one of the “most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced”.
The Specials rose to prominence during the mod movement in the late ’70s and had seven top ten hits in the UK charts, including “Too Much Too Young”, “Ghost Town” and “Gangsters”.
Known for biting social criticism
The composition of the specials founded in Coventry from black and white band members and their socially critical orientation were considered revolutionary. Among other things, the group discussed racial discrimination in Great Britain and the decay of cities and social structures in the 1970s and 1980s. “Ghost Town” lamented the depressive mood that prevailed in England around 1980. “Too Much Too Young” openly addressed teenage pregnancy in the underclass.
Collaboration with Gorillaz and Tricky
In 1981, Hall left the Specials and formed the new wave band Fun Boy Three with two other former members. He returned to the specials, though: most of the original band members reunited in 2008, held a 30th anniversary tour in 2009, and released an album of new material in 2019.
Over the course of his long career, Hall has worked with many well-known musicians, including Tricky, the Gorillaz, Bananarama and Lily Allen.