The first album by the Specials came out in 1979, when I was two. My love for them sits alongside memories of not being heard in time when I called for the toilet from my cot, and of burying a friend’s silver spoon in the sand and then being unable to find it. So my attachment to the 2 Tone pioneers is in a file with the early feeling that, despite my best intentions, I had no control over outcomes.
After fronting the Specials, Terry Hall went on to lead Fun Boy Three and the Colourfield; he co-wrote Our Lips Are Sealed with Jane Wiedlin, which became a huge hit for both her group, the Go-Gos, and Fun Boy Three. He also joined forces with Ian Broudie to write songs for the Lightning Seeds’ album, Sense. Home, the first album credited to Hall alone, was released in 1994 to critical success and commercial failure.
