Terry Hall, the lead singer of The Specials, has died aged 63, his bandmates said.
Hall, who was also a former member of Fun Boy Three and the Colourfield, died folllowing a brief illness.
The band tweeted: “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 singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced.
The band were originally called The Automatics, before changing their name to The Coventry Automatics, The Specials AKA The Automatics and finally, in 1978, settling on The Specials.
The band made a name with their ska and rocksteady style, and for providing a musical backdrop to economic recession, urban decay and societal fracture in the early 1980s.
The Specials produced a string of hit records including A Message To You, Rudy, Rat Race and Ghost Town, which reached number one.
The band split in 1981, after which Hall, Golding and Staple went on to form Fun Boy Three, while Dammers and Bradbury released an album under the moniker The Special AKA, which spawned the hit single Free Nelson Mandela in 1984.The band were originally called The Automatics, before changing their name to The Coventry Automatics, The Specials AKA The Automatics and finally, in 1978, settling on The Specials.
The band made a name with their ska and rocksteady style, and for providing a musical backdrop to economic recession, urban decay and societal fracture in the early 1980s.
During their time together, The Specials produced a string of hit records including A Message To You, Rudy, Rat Race and Ghost Town, which reached number one.
The band split in 1981, after which Hall, Golding and Staple went on to form Fun Boy Three, while Dammers and Bradbury released an album under the moniker The Special AKA, which spawned the hit single Free Nelson Mandela in 1984.
In September that year, Hall and five members of the band performed at Bestival music festival under the name Very “Special” Guests.
In 2009 he reflected on the performance, saying: “Bestival was a trial run. We did an unannounced slot so we could just could turn up, nameless. It was perfect.”
The Specials embarked on a 2009 tour to celebrate their 30th anniversary and in 2018 supported The Rolling Stones during a concert at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.
In February 2019, The Specials released Encore, their first album of new material in 37 years.
Upon release, the album went straight to number one on the Official UK Album Chart, marking their first number one album, and the first time they had topped the charts since their classic track Ghost Town in 1981 and since their single Too Much Too Young became a number one in 1980.
