Terry Hall

2022 - 12 - 19

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Terry Hall: lead singer of the Specials dies aged 63 (The Guardian)

Having survived a tough childhood in Coventry, Hall became one of pop's defining voices at the turn of the 80s, chronicling British decline and ...

“It felt like a vindication of everything the band had set out to do,” Hall said. And a gorgeous, kind, down to earth man.” Badly Drawn Boy called him [“a musical hero”](https://twitter.com/badly_drawn_boy/status/1604973753099816965), while [Sleaford Mods](https://twitter.com/sleafordmods) said Hall was “King of the Suedeheads. [Rowetta](https://twitter.com/Rowetta) remembered him as “one of the greatest frontmen from one of the greatest bands. “The Specials was this big hole which took up four years of my life,” Hall would form another band, the Colourfield, in 1984, which had a hit with Thinking of You. “It felt like the perfect moment to stop the Specials part one,” Hall said. So there’s always been a bit of that kicking around in the back of my mind. “Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls. I always admired and envied his sweep of the pen”, while It remained at No 1 for three weeks, spending 10 weeks in the Top 40, and is widely considered one of the greatest pop records of all time. They released their debut single, Gangsters (a reworking of Prince Buster’s Al Capone) in 1979, which reached No 6 in the UK singles chart. Hall joined the first incarnation of the Specials – then called the Automatics – shortly after the Coventry band formed in 1977, replacing vocalist Tim Strickland.

Terry Hall of The Specials dies aged 63 (BBC News)

His distinctively dour voice can be heard on hits like Ghost Town, Gangsters and Too Much, Too Young.

I spent the time trying to figure out how not to die." I wasn't comfortable with any of them so I became the singer." "He worked in a stamp shop" the musician told Mojo magazine. "I was abducted, taken to France and sexually abused for four days," he told The Spectator in 2019. "They didn't seem like they could play very well either, so the thing was to form a band then work it out. "When we picked up a gold disc for Ghost Town, I felt really bad about it," he said. "His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… "I spent around three months trying to figure out what was going on. If you have a story suggestion email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). "We fronted The Specials and Fun Boy Three together, making history. I just sat on my bed rocking for eight months." "And then punched in the face and left on the roadside."

Terry Hall, the Specials Lead Singer, Dead at 63 (Rolling Stone)

Terry Hall, the lead singer of ska-punk band the Specials, has died after a "brief illness" at age 63.

“Gutted to hear of the passing of #terryhall. “The Special’s third album — 38 years since the last one, More Specials — is well timed,” the review states. “His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… He formed Fun Boy Three with Neville Staple of the Specials and The Go-Gos’ Jane Wiedlin after their departure from Specials in 1981. “Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls,” the note continued. On Monday, the band released a statement on social media informing fans that the musician had died after a “brief illness,” though more details were not made available.

Terry Hall Dead: Specials Lead Singer Was 63 (Variety)

Terry Hall, the lead singer of the Specials, died at the age of 63 following a brief illness, according to the band's social media posts.

“’Love Love Love’,” the band’s statement concluded. The band’s final record with Hall, “Protest Songs 1924-2012,” was released in 2021. Their other notable songs included the cover “A Message to You, Rudy” and “Doesn’t Make it Alright.”

Terry Hall, of English ska-punk band the Specials, dies (Los Angeles Times)

The band's albums were landmarks of the interracial '2-tone' scene that swept England and beyond in the late '70s and early '80s.

“Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls. His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… Terry Hall, frontman for the English ska-punk band the Specials, has died.

Terry Hall (The Specials, Fun Boy Three), dead at 63 (Brooklyn Vegan)

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 ...

Hall also released a number of solo albums over the years, and collaborated with Tricky, The Lightning Seeds, Gorillaz, Sinead O'Connor and more. Terry often left the stage at the end of The Specials’ life-affirming shows with three words… "Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls," the Specials continued.

Terry Hall death: The Specials lead singer dies, aged 63 (The Independent)

Terry Hall, who was also a former member of Fun Boy Three and the Colourfield, died folllowing a brief illness.

I grew up aligned to a party, the Labour Party, quite strongly. “Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls. In 2009 he reflected on the performance, saying: “Bestival was a trial run. “He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him and leaves behind the gift of his remarkable music and profound humanity. His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… It was perfect.”

Terry Hall, lead vocalist of Ska band The Specials, has died (CNN)

Terry Hall, lead singer of the English 2 tone and ska revival band The Specials, has died.

The band, also known for its staunch opposition of racial injustice, frequently commented on politics and social reform in England and beyond. The Specials are known for tracks including “Gangsters” and “Ghost Town,” the latter of which remained at No. The post called Hall “our beautiful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced,” going on to say that “his music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life…

Terry Hall of ska band The Specials dies at 63. His songs ... (USA TODAY)

Terry Hall, the frontman for English ska-New Wave band the Specials, has died at 63 after 'a brief illness.'

[also noted that the Go-Go's](https://twitter.com/belindacarlisle/status/1604993543759503365) are "forever bound in music history" with Hall. Fun Boy Three originally recorded the song, but Wiedlen, who had a fling with Hall, [told songwriter website Songfacts.com](https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/jane-wiedlin-from-the-go-gos) that Fun Boy Three’s was “a lot gloomier than the Go-Go’s version.” and Europe in the 1980s alongside like-minded outfits Madness and the English Beat, with songs including “Gangsters,” “A Message to You, Rudy” and “Ghost Town” among their darkly springy hits. In 1984, the Specials’ “Free Nelson Mandela” reached No. [English singer-songwriter-activist Billy Bragg](https://twitter.com/billybragg/status/1604989343218929664) posted a tribute, writing that the band, “were a celebration of how British culture was envigorated by Caribbean immigration” and Hall’s performances “a reminder that they were in the serious business of challenging our perception of who we were in the late 1970s.” [with guitarist Jane Wiedlin](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/10/26/go-gos-reflect-legacy-rock-and-roll-hall-fame-induction-foo-fighters-jay-z-carole-king-tina-tuner/8544035002/) after the all-girl band supported the Specials on a 1980 tour of England.

Terry Hall Dead: Frontman For Seminal British Ska Band The ... (Deadline)

Terry Hall, the longtime voice of legendary ska group The Specials has died after what the band termed a brief illness. He was 63.

In 2019, the band released a new studio album entitled Encore. In February 1983, Fun Boy Three released their second studio album, Waiting, which contained two Top Ten hits: “The Tunnel of Love” and their version of the aforementioned “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The band’s haunting hit single, “The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum),” was released in 1981 and was followed-up in 1982 with “It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It),” a duet with Bananarama. Hall went on to stints with the Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas before releasing two solo studio albums. They were at the vanguard of the the 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s in Britain, which fused Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies with faster tempos and a harder edge influenced by punk rock. It was named “Single of the Year” by all three of the major UK music magazines.

Terry Hall of ska band The Specials dies at 63. His songs ... (Asheboro Courier Tribune)

Terry Hall, the frontman for English ska-New Wave band the Specials, has died at 63 after 'a brief illness.'

R.I.P. Terry Hall, lead singer of The Specials (The A.V. Club)

Terry Hall, the singer of the influential English ska band The Specials, has died. As confirmed by the band, Hall's death followed a brief illness.

With classics like “Ghost Town” and “Doesn’t Make It Right,” the band captured the “impending doom” that was Britain in the early 80s, and it resonated with angry, disaffected, and marginalized people around the world. Hall dropped out of school at 14 and found himself in the English punk scene, joining a band called the Squad. Though Hall did not partake in the first Specials reunion between 1993 and 1998, he rejoined the group in 2008. The band broke up shortly after the success of “Ghost Town,” and Hall formed Fun Ball Three and, later, The Colourfield. “At 12, I got abducted by a pedophile ring in France, and that was a real eye-opener,” Terry Hall, the singer of the influential English ska band The Specials, has died.

Terry Hall obituary (The Guardian)

Singer with the Specials whose chart-topping Ghost Town evoked the sense of social collapse gripping Britain at the turn of the 80s.

In 2021 they released [Protest Songs 1924-2012](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/26/the-specials-protest-songs-1924-2012-review-genre-hopping-calls-to-action), a collection of cover versions of famous sociopolitical songs down the decades, which reached No 2. [Thinking of You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=178ojX0Q4QA) made much impression on the charts. “A lot of the stuff I’ve done is pretty much a wind-up,” Hall admitted. [Really Saying Something](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_gzzCLSct4), which also reached the Top 20 of the American club chart. He left school at 14 and undertook a string of temporary jobs, including as a bricklayer and a trainee hairdresser, before joining the punk band Squad as lead singer. During the 1990s he used drinking as a crutch and slipped into alcoholism. [The Specials](https://www.theguardian.com/music/the-specials), which reached No 4 on the UK chart. Hall was born in Coventry, where his father worked at the Rolls Royce aeronautics factory and his mother at a Chrysler car plant; he had two elder sisters. He wrote about the episode in the song Well Fancy That, a track he recorded with Fun Boy Three in 1983. Hall and the band’s keyboards player, Jerry Dammers, were both arrested when they waded in to try to break up fighting between fans and security guards at a gig in Cambridge. Hall had brought them on board after seeing them featured in the Face magazine. Famously deadpan, dour and slightly menacing, Terry Hall, who has died aged 63 after a short illness, shot to fame at the end of the 1970s with Coventry’s groundbreaking multi-racial band the Specials.

Terry Hall

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