Terry Hall

jonnyburgo · December 2022

Gutted, just gutted. RIP Terry.

richardhomer · December 2022

Yep - gutted.

RIP

Tone71 · December 2022

Really sad news, gutted. RIP

stonevibe · December 2022

Truly terrible news. Gutted

Kittyfrisk · December 2022

Just saw the news, terrible shock.
Such an original, pugnacious, vital, creative spirit.
RIP rude boy.

roberty · December 2022

richman6100 · December 2022

Such a shock. My wife and I both love The Specials. Too Much Too Young was an anthem to me and my school mates back in the day. First Wilko Johnson and now Terry Hall - it's been a bad few weeks.

Kebabkid · December 2022

V.sad news and too young.

I liked The Specials as they had an edge and were socially and politically savvy. However, it's only in the last few years since my band went from just having played Madness songs to introduce other ska stuff from The Selector, Bad Manners, The Beat and of course, The Specials - that's when I got a real appreciation for their music and lyrics and they became my favourite songs to play.

My wife's a Coventronian with links to the major bands of 'that time'. She said this will hit the city hard

DrCornelius · December 2022

My first ever album was More Specials, I thought TH and Suggs were the coolest and smartest people alive back then, even more impressive knowing now what Terry went through as a young man. RIP

roberty · December 2022

Was lucky enough to see the specials at a few festivals over the years. I was stunned and saddened by how relevant the messages in the songs still were after so many years. Very astute and incisive

This is a good read, about the recording of Ghost Town

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/specials-ghost-town

MikeS · December 2022

The Specials, was my very first gig as a youngster. Them and Buster Bloodvessel.

EricTheWeary · December 2022

Just seen the news flash on my phone. Shocking to me and sad. The Specials were in the process of recording a new album, don't know how far any of it had got so wether we will hear Terry on new material again.
As well as The Specials he had Fun Boy Three, solo projects and The Colourfield (and probably other stuff I've forgotten) so a fair old range of music. I've seen him live twice and he's a very individual but completely engaging front man. I've played a dozen Specials songs in bands so heard his voice and watched him on YouTube a huge amount of times as well as loving the band's albums and singles. Very clever and witty as well as talented and, as mentioned above, went through some difficult times in his youth so nothing was ever handed to him.
A very unique man. Very sad news.

boogieman · December 2022

Only 63.

RIP

tone1 · December 2022

RIP….

https://youtu.be/JdlhLfwCE6c

thermionic · December 2022

Remarkable life story, I had no idea.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/19/terry-hall-lead-singer-of-the-specials-dies-aged-63

I was too young for punk, but The Specials and Two-Tone were very exciting in 1979. Music, clothes, haircuts, politics… 63 is no age.

robinbowes · December 2022

Ghost Town - one of my top 5 of all time.

Terrible shame he's been taken so young.

xxx

GoFish · December 2022

Just shit. Sorry I can't be more positive tonight. Shit. RIP.

Nitefly · December 2022

Oh, man. 63?!

RIP.

Philly_Q · December 2022

I'm quite shocked. I was never a fan as such, it wasn't my kind of music... but I liked The Specials and the Fun Boy Three because they're from the era when I essentially liked everything in the charts.

He always seemed like a cool, smart, funny bloke. And only 63. RIP.

scrumhalf · December 2022

When I first heard Gangsters it was like hearing something from another planet.

RIP.

mudslide73 · December 2022

RIP Terry

EricTheWeary · December 2022

This is the interview referred to in some of the news articles, Terry talking about his background. Need to start about 8 minutes in.

https://youtu.be/JSvxztG1Lv8

And to post something that isn’t The Specials or FB3 this is Terry’s original version of Sense from his jangly 90s period (later a hit for The Lightning Seeds). Lovely song.

https://youtu.be/cAAtVyox7cI

theatreanchor · December 2022

Image: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FkYOdqQX0AAN6-D?format=jpg&name=medium

Sad day.

CharlieShaw · December 2022

Terry Hall had a real punk attitude that set him apart from the rest of the ska scene. The Specials really captured Britain of that time too. A very important band for me and my friends post punk.

roberty · December 2022

stufisher · December 2022

I wasn't into SKA or Two Tone during the early 80s but I didn't dislike it.

What I did like and do appreciate even more now, 40 years on, are the songwriting and attitude.

TH's contribution is timeless and ironically, looking at our current broken socio-economic landscape, I think The Specials would still be right on-point.

I'm sure there will be some documentaries and TV airings shortly which I'll certainly watch. I wanna learn a bit more about him.

Sad loss indeed

Dominic · December 2022

Ghost Town just brilliant .......it always makes me think of places like Clacton on Sea or Walton-on-the- Naze
Vibrant 50's/60s Kiss me Quick Holiday Utopias that have been dead and deserted for 40 years just decay ,boarded-up houses and shopfronts and abandoned Amusement Parks and Piers that were once alive with Fairground Lights , Candy Floss and Arcades.

axisus · December 2022

I was never a fan of Ska or any of those bands at all, but having said that, The Specials had some really iconic singles back in the day, really good stuff. Sad news, it sounds like he was a really good guy, and 63 is no age at all.

Jalapeno · December 2022

RIP Terry

Truly a generational spokesman ! Some absolutely brilliant tunes and ascerbic lyrics (Much Too Young and Ghost Town in particular).

usedtobe · December 2022

Jesus.. that’s a real shocker! What a talent..

Musicman20 · December 2022

I was due to see The Specials around 4 years ago in Manchester with my Dad, but due to a change of life/buying a house and moving, we sold the tickets as we had so much going on.

Now I regret it.

I always wanted to see them live.

At around 12/13 I hit the 90s punk revival with Green Day, Rancid, etc, and that got me into more underground bands (which is still my favourite scene today) and it also opened my eyes to ska.

I'd heard Madness and I'd probably heard The Specials at that point and not known it (maybe 1994 ish?) but as I got more and more into punk I heard more and more ska/reggae/dub elements and it's a genre I really enjoy, especially live. Obviously I got into The Specials eventually. Their recent few albums have been great as well. It's a shame to hear they were in the process of writing/recording more material...I hope they release some of it even as an EP.

Terry was a great frontman and one of the coolest voices in ska, He will be missed. He looked so healthy and happy....such a shame.

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Terry Hall

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