Tuesday, September 27, 2016

The Specials / Honor Late Drummer John "Brad" Bradbury on Current Tour




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The Specials Honor Late Drummer John "Brad" Bradbury on Current Tour.

By Jon Solomon

27/09/2016

The Specials, the renowned ska band that formed in Coventry, England, nearly four decades ago, finally got together again to record demos last November, after years of gathering material and ideas. According to founding member and guitarist Lynval Golding, it was drummer John “Brad” Bradbury’s idea to do a new tour with new material. But the following month, in December 2015, Bradbury passed away at the age of 62.

Golding says he’s still got the first demos of those songs, some of which were written by Bradbury, that they’d been working on — but he and Bradbury were very close, and the situation is still so emotional that he can't even listen to those songs.

“We did everything together,” Golding says. “He was like my right arm, and I was like his right arm.”

Bradbury, who replaced Silverton Hutchinson early on in the band’s career, first recording on the song "Gangsters," helped create the Specials' sound. “Brad came in, and he changed everything,” Golding says. “He created that rhythm, that beat. If you listen to the way he played, nobody has played like Brad. That’s why we made sure that when we get anyone to stand in we don’t want anyone to copy Brad. It’s impossible.”

Golding says they want Gary Powell, drummer of the Libertines, to be himself while on the current tour through the U.S. and U.K. The lineup also includes original members Terry Hall and Horace Panter, as well as keyboardist Nikolaj Trop Larsen, lead guitarist Steve Cradock (who’s also in Ocean Colour Scene) and a horn section. The lineup has undergone changes over the decades, beginning with co-founding keyboardist Jerry Dammers, who founded 2 Tone Records in 1979 and hasn't worked with the band in nearly two decades. Original lead guitarist Roddy Byers left the Specials in 2014 to concentrate on his band the Skabilly Rebels, and singer Neville Staples left to focus on his solo career.

“This tour is all about Brad,” Golding said before starting the U.S. tour. “We’re going to give 100 percent every night. After the tour finishes, we’ll see where we go from there. The only thing I got in my mind is to play these songs for Brad.”

But before Golding, who’s been living near Seattle in recent years, committed to the tour, he actually considered quitting the band. Then he remembered that Bradbury had wanted the band to do this tour.

“We were going to make new music and do this tour,” Golding says. “We were going to give you new music. I thought, ‘I can’t do it.’ But I waited and I talked to Terry. Terry is wonderful. Horace is a wonderful partner. Those two guys…. Me, Terry, Horace and Brad run this band — the four that did everything. The three of us talked. I said, ‘I don’t know if I can carry on.’ But this is what Brad wanted. He wanted this tour. Let’s do this tour for Brad. Just do it for him. I thought, ‘All right, yes. I will.’”

Although the Specials, whose last record of original material was 1998’s Guilty 'til Proved Innocent, had been working on new songs, actually releasing a new album under the Specials' name is another issue.

“We’re going through a situation where, legally, we’re going through a problem because we can’t release any music under our name, the Specials, without clearing certain issues that we’ve got right now,” Golding said. “I don’t want to go into it. So that is the reason why we have not released any new music. We’re still writing. We’ve still got material that we’re putting together, but we can’t officially release anything as the Specials until all legal issues [are resolved]. And you know what it’s like. This could go on for years. It’s been going on for the last seven years.”

While it might be a while before a new Specials album is released, Golding is releasing his very first solo recording with the Austin-based reggae group Contra Coup on September 28, the same day the Specials perform at the Ogden Theatre. Golding injects a reggae vibe into two different mixes of the Clash’s “Know Your Rights,” a song he says is as important today as when it was originally released on Combat Rock in 1982, and it's a very appropriate song for what's happening these days politically in the United States and England. The record was also a way to pay tribute to Clash frontman Joe Strummer.

“If it wasn’t for Joe Strummer, I probably wouldn’t be here talking to you today,” Golding says. “Joe Strummer was the one who gave the Specials the break.”

Strummer had seen the Specials, who were known as Special AKA at the time, and invited the band on the Clash on Parole Tour in the U.K. in 1978, helping expose the Specials to a wider fan base. And taking the Specials on tour with the Clash made sense, as the Specials were infusing their brand of ska and rocksteady with punk energy. It also brought different cultures together.

“When the band got together, I was the first member of the band with Jerry,” Golding says. “Obviously, there’s a black guy and there’s a white guy who come from totally different backgrounds. I was born in Jamaica and raised in Coventry. Multi-racial — so the two of us put that together. Because if you look at the musical background, where does the influence of the music come from? I was the one who brought that reggae sound into the band. It’s literally like putting two different cultures together.

“Working in a multi-racial band, at times we had to fight through racism," he continues. "Fight through the National Front. Fight through the British movement. It was pretty hard, because there was a divide in England. And we as a band tried to pull people together, and music is a very powerful thing. It did pull people together.”

While the Specials have endured a number of lineup changes and splits over the past four decades, the band is still pulling people together with its music, delving into hits like “Ghost Town,” “Gangsters” and their version of Dandy Livingstone’s “A Message to You, Rudy,” and deeper cuts while honoring Bradbury's life.

“We’re always going to be emotional on the stage when we don’t see Brad there,” Golding says. “I just hope that I’m strong enough. But he’s giving me strength. His memory. I look at him every day. I got his photograph, and every day I look at him. And I see him and think, ‘Why did he have to go?’ ...Very painful. Everything has got to be absolutely right, because we’re celebrating Brad’s creation, what he created for this band. An amazing drummer, he was.”

http://www.westword.com/music/the-specials-honor-late-drummer-john-brad-bradbury-on-current-tour-8340471

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

The Specials / list of live Bootlegs (2016-2017)


There are a few songs missing from The Fillmore live set, good quality and Good stage banter from Terry :)

Lynval Golding also pays tribute to the late Prince Buster during Gangsters :)

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The Fillmore, Silver Spring (20/09/16)

http://www120.zippyshare.com/v/DU6vP4PM/file.html

The Warfield, San Francisco (23/09/16)

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http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/A2WcTLRs/file.html


Rivermead Centre, Reading (08/11/16)
Troxy, London (16/11/16)
Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood (18/06/2017)
Rototom Sunsplash (14/08/2017)




Saturday, March 5, 2016

The Specials / live Bootlegs (2012 - 2015)


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2012

Hyde Park, London (12/08/12)
Pinkpop Festival (28/05/12)
Festival Cruïlla, de Barcelona (07/07/12)
Argeles sur Mer les Déferlantes (08/07/12)
Lokerse Feesten (09/08/12)
Garorock (??/??/12)
BBC Studio (12/12/12)


On Film: 2012


Pinkpop Festival (28/05/12)

Official Releases: 2012

The Specials E.P. Live! (7" Vinyl)

More...Or Less. The Specials Live (Vinyl, CD, Download)


2013

Hype Hotel, SXSW (14/03/13)
House of Vans, SXSW (15/03/13)
Club Nokia, LA (18/03/13)
Showbox, Seattle (27/03/13)
Vogue Theatre, Vancouver (30/03/13)
Friars, Aylesbury (03/05/13)
Guildhall, Portsmouth (26/05/13)
The Fillmore, Silver Spring (12/07/13)


On Film: 2013

Hype Hotel, SXSW (14/03/13)
House of Vans, SXSW (15/03/13)


2014

UEA, Norwich (30/10/14)
Troxy, London (21/11/14)
Le Bataclan, Paris (30/11/14)


On Film: 2014

Le Bataclan, Paris (30/11/14)

Official Releases: 2014

(2 Disc Set, Download)

UEA, Norwich (30/10/14)


2015

Vive Latino, Mexico (13/03/15)
Lollapalooza, Chile (15/03/15)


On Film: 2015

Vive Latino, Mexico (13/03/15)
Lollapalooza, Chile (15/03/15)


Youtube: Paris, France (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUGxo8BqDIg

The Specials / list of live Bootlegs (2010-2011)


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2010

Royal Albert Hall, Incomplete (29/04/10)
Club Nokia, Los Angeles (?) (15/04/10)
Terminal 5, New York (20/04/10)
Terminal 5, New York (21/04/10)
Rock Werchter, Incomplete (02/07/10)
Benicàssim, Spain (17/07/10)
Paredes de Coura, Portugal (31/07/10)
Lowlands Festival (20/08/10)
Sound Academy, Toronto (??/08/10)


2011

Official CD Releases

Belsonic, Belfast (27/08/11)
Paradiso, Amsterdam (14/09/11)
Paradiso, Amsterdam (15/09/11)
Cirkus Arena, Sweden (??/09/11)
Berlin (20/09/11)
Hamburg (25/09/11)
L'Olympia, Paris (27/09/11)
Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (28/09/11)
Civic Hall, Wolverhampton (11/10/11)
O2 Apollo, Manchester (14/10/11)
SECC, Glasgow (18/10/11)
Cheltenham Racecourse (24/10/11)
The Brighton Centre (25/10/11)
Ricoh Arena, Coventry (29/10/11)
O2 Academy, Brixton (31/10/11)
Alexandra Palace (03/11/11)


On Film


Benicàssim, Spain Incomplete (17/07/10)
Lowlands Festival (20/08/10)


Info

Abbey Road Live Here Now Releases

29 2 Disc Sets, Downloads

Belsonic, Belfast 27/08/11 - Alexandra Palace, London (03/11/11)


Some of the live shows listed above may be Incomplete "Highlights" or I may not even have them.

Youtube: Lowlands (2010)

http://www.vpro.nl/buitenland/speel.WO_VPRO_033117.html


The Specials / list of live Bootlegs (2009)


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2009


Carling Academy, Newcastle (22/04/09)
Academy, Birmingham (25/04/09)
O2 Academy, Glasgow (28/04/09)
Apollo, Manchester (04/05/09)
Academy, Brixton (07/05/09)
Oxegen Festival (12/07/09)
Splendour, Australia (26/07/09)
Palace Theatre, Melbourne (30/07/09
Enmore, Australia (??/07/09)
V Festival (22/08/09)
Empress Ballroom, Blackpool (04/11/09)
Civic Hall, Wolverhampton (10/11/09)
Brighton Center (19/11/09)


On Film

Jools Holland, BBC Two (04/09)
Glastonbury, Festival (26/06/09)
T in the park, Festival (11/07/09)
Summer Sonic, Japan (08/08/09)
Civic Hall, Wolverhampton (??/11/09
)

Offical Releases

Academy, Brixton (Sunday Times CD)
Academy, Brixton (iTunes Download)
Civic Hall, Wolverhampton (DVD)


Youtube: Wolverhampton (2009)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC0J9bgz0BA

Friday, March 4, 2016

The Specials / List of live Bootlegs (1979-1981)



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1979

Aston University, Birmingham (27/04/79)
The Moonlight Club, London (02/05/79)
The Mayfair, Newcastle (09/11/80)
The Lyceum, London (02/12/79)
Paris Theater, London (15/12/79)
Concerts For Kampuchea, Various Artists (??/12/79)

1980

Markthalle, Hamburg (16/01/80)
Paradiso, Amsterdam (21/01/80)
Hurrah's, New York (25/01/80)
New Orleans, Warehouse (26/01/80)
Rainbow Theater, Denver (30/01/80)
The Showbox, Seattle (01/02/80)
The Whisky, C.A. (11/02/80)
U.C. Davis (14/02/80)
The Catalyst, Santa Cruz (16/02/80)
Speaks, Long Island (02/03/80)
Pavillon Baltard, Paris (14/03/80)
Pinkpop Festival, Holland (26/05/80)
Carnival House, Tokyo (02/07/80)
Montreux Jazz Festival (11/07/80)
Jaap Edenhal, Amsterdam (18/10/80)

1981

Pier 84, New York (13/08/81)
Paramount Theater, Staten Island (21/08/81)
Liberty Bell Racetrack, Philadelphia (22/08/81)
The Grove Oakville, Canada (23/08/81)


On Film

Colchester Institute, Essex (21/01/1980)
Carnival House, Tokyo (02/07/80)
Pinkpop Festival, Various Artists(26/05/80)
Montreux Jazz Festival (11/07/80)
Jaap Edenhal, Amsterdam (18/10/80)
Dance Craze Various Artists (1981)

Official Releases

Aston University, Birmingham (27/04/79)
The Moonlight Club, London (02/05/79)
Paris Theater, London (15/12/79)


Unofficial, CD & LP Releases

Aston University, Birmingham (27/04/79)
The Moonlight Club, London (02/05/79)
The Lyceum, London (02/12/79)
Markthalle, Hamburg (16/01/80)
Paradiso, Amsterdam (21/01/80)
Hurrah's, New York (25/01/80)
Paradise Rock Club, Boston (30/01/80)
Carnival House, Tokyo (02/07/80)


Other Releases

The Coventry Automatics - Dawning of a New Era (1993)
The Specials & The Special AKA - BBC Sessions (1998)


Demo Recordings (1981)


01 96 Tears
02 Why (Dub)
03 Why (Part II)


Youtube: Rock Goes To College (1979)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWRGcCwqVu0

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

The Specials / Rare Unseen Photos, Rehearsals & Live (1978 - 1979)


I think it was some time in early 1978 that Mike Horseman asked me to go with him to Coventry one evening to photograph The Specials AKA rehearsing at the home of Jerry Dammers.

I started to photograph as the other members of the band arrived and brought in their equipment. Previously known as The Coventry Automatics, The Specials consisted, at the time, of Jerry Dammers (keyboards and songwriter), Terry Hall (vocals), Lynval Golding (guitar and vocals), Neville Staple (vocals), Horace Panter (bass), Roddy Byers (lead guitar), and Silverton Hutchison (drums)

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It was 1978, I think, and a short while after I photographed the rehearsal in Coventry that I photographed the Specials again. This time at Barbarella’s—the well known Birmingham nightclub. By now, Silverton Hutchison had left the group and had been replaced by John Bradbury on drums.

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All Photos by: Bernard G Mills

Barbarella’s Gig - 21/05/1979)

http://www.bernardgmills.net/Specials_Barbs_Thumbs.html

http://www.bernardgmills.net/Specials_Thumbs.html

http://www.bernardgmills.net/home.html

Saturday, January 9, 2016