Jerry Dammers / Ivor Novello inspiration award (22/05/14)

Legendary keyboard player picks up one of music industry's most prized awards - and dedicates it to his mum

Legendary Specials songwriter Jerry Dammers has been named a music industry inspiration at a major awards ceremony.

The founding member of the Coventry 2-Tone group picked up the inspiration award at the 59th Ivor Novello Awards in London.

It came three decades after his song, Nelson Mandela, stormed the charts calling for the release of the anti-apartheid campaigner.

Dammers scored a top 10 hit with the track performed by Special AKA.

The song became an anti-apartheid anthem and Mr Mandela, who died in December, was eventually released in 1990.

The annual awards, known as The Ivors, are presented by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and are highly prized because they are voted for by songwriters and composers.

Dammers was presented with his award by former Clash guitarist Mick Jones, who described him as “the Tsar of Ska”.

Dammers - who no longer performs with the reformed Specials - revealed that he had almost missed the ceremony because his mother is ill, and dedicated his win to her.

Speaking backstage, the Ghost Town songwriter said he thought the idea of protest music was still thriving.

“I don’t think protest music necessarily has to have lyrics even,” he said. “You can have instrumental protest music, you know - jungle, dub-step, all of those are kind of abstract but still protest music like jazz was before.”

Terry Hall / Sorrow "Live" (Fred Perry) 08/01/14

Terry Hall and Friends - Sorrow from Fred Perry on Vimeo.

The Specials / Sock It To 'Em J.B. & Rat Race (Dub)

We’re pleased to announce The Specials 7” single ‘Sock It To ‘Em, JB/Rat Race’. This limited edition 7″ single will be released on the Two Tone Records label exclusively for Record Store Day on April 19th. It features two previously unreleased dub mixes created at the time of the ‘More Specials’ mixing sessions by John ‘Brad’ Bradbury (Sock It To ‘Em, JB) and Jerry Dammers (Rat Race). The single will be sold via participating independent retailers in the following countries; Australia, Canada, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Nordics, Benelux, UK & US



A Side
Sock It To 'Em J.B. (Dub)
(Dunn)
Produced and mixed by: John Bradbury

B Side
Rat Race (Dub)
(R. Radiation)
produced by: Dave Jordan
Mixed by: Jerry Dammers

2 Tone Records

CHS TT 32

P & C Chrysalis Records Ltd.

Released 19/04/2014

http://www.45cat.com/record/tt32

Terry Hall / Sunday Service (BBC Radio 6 Music) 02/02/14

Specials frontman Terry Hall takes over the Sunday afternoon slot for the whole of February armed with a box of records carefully selected from his personal collection.

As frontman of The Specials Terry Hall represented a kind of detached, dry kind of cool totally at odds with other pop stars of the time.

After leaving the band at the height of their fame in 1981 Terry went on to from Fun Boy Three and The Colourfield - before embarking on a multifarious career that's seen him work with Damon Albarn, Lily Allen, Sinead O'Connor and leap from style to style in way few artists do (or can). All while maintaining this deadpan sense of humour and his own unique vocal style.



Terry Hall - The Carrier Bag Collection (02/02/14)

The Fall - New Big Prinz
Dave & Ansel Collins - Double Barrel
Janet Kay - Silly Games
Laura Mvula - Green Garden
Sly & The Family Stone - If You Want Me To Stay
Sly & Robbie - Boops (Here To Go)
Talking Heads - The Good Thing
Aztec Camera - We Could Send Letters
Donnie Elbert - Where Did Our Love Go?
Stevie Wonder - Living For The City
David Bowie - Golden Years
Junior Murvin - Police And Thieves
The Beach Boys - Heroes And Villains
The High Llamas - Nomads
Toots & The Maytals - 54 46 That's My Number
XTC - Making Plans For Nigel
Marc Ribot - No Me Llores Mas
Tom Waits - Telephone Call From Istanbul
The Statler - Brothers Flowers On The Wall
Bob & Marcia - Young Gifted & Black
Buzzcocks - What Do I Get?
Salad Drink - The Elixir
Jonathan Richman and Modern Lovers - Egyptian Reggae
Steel Pulse - Ku Klux Klan
Grant Lee Buffalo - Fuzzy
Chris Montez - Sunny
Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking

Terry Hall - The Carrier Bag Collection (09/02/14)

Big Audio Dynamite - E=Mc2
Big Youth - Hit The Road Jack
Massive Attack - Karmacoma
David Byrne and St. Vincent - Who
Iggy Pop - Nightclubbing
The Doors - Moonlight Drive
EELS - The Look You Give That Guy
Buzzcocks - Noise Annoys
Be Bop Deluxe - Ships In The Night
Ben Folds Five - Philosophy
Andy Williams - Moon River
Daniel Johnston - True Love Will Find You In The End
The Lightning Seeds - Pure
New Order - Age Of Consent
Paul Williams - So You Want To Be a Boxer
Tricky - Hell Is Round The Corner
Linton Kwesi Johnson - Come Wi Goh Dung Deh
Max Romeo - War Inna Babylon
John Barry - The Persuaders Theme
Yonderboi - Ohne Chanteuse
Cher - Gypsies Tramps & Thieves
Echo & The Bunnymen - A Promise
Doves Here It Comes
Jimi Hendrix - Angel (Acoustic version)
Caetano Veloso - Cucurrucucu Paloma
The Roches - Mr Sellack
Jack Johnson - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Richard Hell & The Voidoids - The Plan
Desmond Dekker - 007 (Shanty Town)

Terry Hall - The Carrier Bag Collection (16/02/14)

The Clash - Clash City Rockers
The Breeders - Cannonball
Suicide - Ghost Rider
Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart
Jackson 5 - ABC
Stereolab - French Disco
Susan Cadogan - Hurt So Good
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come
Roxy Music - Virginia Plain
David Essex - Lamplight
Willy Mason - Oxygen
Dolly Parton - Jolene
Al Brown - Here I Am Baby
Finley Quaye - Sunday Shining
Max Romeo and The Upsetters - Chase The Devil
Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood
Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
Hamilton Bohannon - Disco Stomp
Taraf de Haïdouks - A Gypsy Had A House
Patti Smith - Kimberly
Cocteau Twins - Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires
Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven
R. Dean Taylor - There's A Ghost In My House
The High Llamas - Literature Is Fluff
Linda Lewis - Rock A Doodle Doo
Violent Femmes - Country Death Song
David Bowie - Heroes
Carpenters - Goodbye To Love


Terry Hall - The Carrier Bag Collection (23/02/14

Lloyd Cole and Commotions - Perfect Skin
Dawn Penn - You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)
Kraftwerk - Showroom Dummies
The Fall - Hit The North
Steve Miller Band - Abracadabra
Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry - 7 Seconds
Orange Juice - Rip It Up
Richard Hell and Voidoids - Blank Generation
Veruca Salt - Seether
Ian Hunter - Once Bitten Twice Shy
Les Négresses Vertes - Zobi La Mouche
Blancmange - Living On The Ceiling
The Lightning Seeds - Telling Tales
Bobbie Gentry - Ode To Billy Joe
Le Volume Courbe - Le Petit Chevalier
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
The Beach Boys - Sail On Sailor
Blondie - Heart Of Glass
Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London
The Roches - Nurds
Tom Waits - More Than Rain
Harry J. All Stars - Liquidator
Freda Payne - Band Of Gold
Aztec Camera - Orchid Girl
Ray Stevens - Misty
Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us
Dr. Alimantado - Poison Flour
War - Low Rider
Dave & Ansel Collins - Monkey Spanner
Peggy Lee - Is That All There Is

Listen Again:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03w6mfl#programme-broadcasts

Terry Hall: Interview

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01r574t

The Spatial AKA Orchestra / Nelson Mandela (Channel 4 News)

The Specials founding member Jerry Dammers has paid tribute to Nelson Mandela with a unique instrumental performance of his 1984 track, Free Nelson Mandela. The song, originally performed by The Special AKA, became a rallying call for the global movement demanding Mandela's release from prison, which was granted in 1990 amid civil unrest in his native South Africa.

Dammers gathered his current ensemble, the Spatial AKA Orchestra, to perform a special rendition of the track on Britain's Channel 4 news on Friday night, a day after the political hero passed away at the age of 95.

Writing in the Daily Mirror newspaper following Mandela's death on Thursday night, Dammers stated, "I hope Free Nelson Mandela is still a rallying cry and people can relate to what it stood for, because one of the best ways we could remember Nelson Mandela is to listen to what he actually said.

A lot of politicians are going to pay tribute to him, but if they actually listened to what he said, about freeing people from the prison of poverty, and acted on it, that would be the best tribute of all." The civil rights icon served 27 years in prison after he was convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government following a sabotage campaign calling for an end to apartheid.



Nelson Mandela

1918 - 2013

Stan Campbell / Stan Campbell (Edsel) 02/12/13

Stan Campbell first came to prominence as the lead vocalist on the classic "Free Nelson Mandela" single by The Special AKA in 1984, one of the all-time great protest songs.

Having left the band, he was signed to a solo deal by WEA, and recorded this one album in 1987, a mix of originals and cover versions, with a large array of musicians (including members of The Selecter, The Ruts as well as the likes of Guy Chambers and Hugh Masekela), before he disappeared from public view.

In this edition, expanded to include the six non-album singles A- and B-sides, Alan Robinson's lengthy annotation tells the story.



The Original Album

01 Years Go By
02 Crawfish
03 Seven More Days
04 Save the World
05 Dancing Troupe
06 Little More Faith
07 You'll never Know
08 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
09 Can't Get Enough
10 Strange Fruit

"Bonus Tracks"

11 Crawfish (Extended Version)
12 Till We Meet Again
13 Years Go By (Extended Mix)
14 Inner City Blues
15 Mad Dog Days
16 Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Edsel: EDSA5020

http://www.propermusic.com/product-details/Stan-Campbell-Stan-Campbell-158471

For The First Time / Terry Hall (BBC 6 Music)

Matt Everitt speaks to Terry Hall about the musical moments that have shaped his life and career.



As frontman of The Specials, Terry Hall represented a detached, dry kind of cool, totally at odds with other pop stars of the time. After leaving the band at the height of their fame in 1981 Terry went on to form Fun Boy Three and The Colourfield – before embarking on a multifarious career that's seen him work with Damon Albarn, Lily Allen, Sinead O'Connor and leap from style to style in a way few artists can, while maintaining his deadpan sense of humour and own unique vocal style.

Rarely doing interviews, in this show Terry talks about his early musical loves growing up in Coventry, the early days and huge success of The Specials and the infighting and pressures that led him to quit the band. He also talks about his passions for Patti Smith, Easy Listening, working with Albarn as a member of Gorillaz and his experience suffering a breakdown ("I refused to take my duffel coats off for 18 months").

Plus, he discusses his reasons behind getting The Specials back together for their triumphant gigs in 2008 and exclusively reveals his plans to start writing songs again. :)

Sunday 20 October 2013

12.00-1.00pm

BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC

Songs Played

01 The Specials - Rat Race
02 The Specials - International Jet Set
03 Édith Piaf - La Vie En Rose (I liked Grace Jones version)
04 The Move - Fire Brigade (Always liked this one)
05 David Bowie - Kooks (Interesting)
06 Pink Floyd - Echoes (Terry's first Gig)
07 Richard Hell & Voidoids - Blank Generation (The backing vocals remind me of Fun Boy Three)
08 The Specials - Gangsters
09 The Specials - Ghost Town
10 The Specials - Blank Expression
11 The Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum)
12 Terry Jacks - Seasons In The Sun (Why I Like The Colourfield)
13 Terry Hall & Mushtaq - A Gathering Storm
14 The Specials - Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)
15 Jeff Buckley - Grace (Reminds me of Terry's Home album, released the same year (1994)

Listen Again

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03f0lvc