What a terrible bit of news. 

 

Oh no. Awful.

A man with a lot of talent and more than a few demons.

Weird thing was hearing their popularity boost in the twilight years of their career. One of the few ska bands I could listen to, if they are pigeon holed as that? Unsure as they were generational and and just a bit before my gig days, just remember a student mate I roomed with, never stopped playing their ruddy music and confess it was catchy.

R.I.P 

I heard about this earlier this afternoon from someone claiming to be ITK but was hoping it was one of those internet hoaxes ?

So many great songs with The Specials, Fun Boy 3, The Colourfield and then solo - not many people can keep changing and still hit the spot repeatedly

RIP Terry

Sad news. Shocked at the news, only 63. RIP Terry Hall. Special man.

This comes as a real shock. An iconic singer with an iconic band who made music that will last forever. RIP Terry.

I'm so glad I got to see the Specials in Leeds Millenium Square,  it was the final day of the football season Newcastle had been relegated much the delight and of the Leeds fans Terry says “I’m going to do a new song I’ve written this afternoon it’s called let’s all laugh at Shearer” the crowd loved that but he followed it up saying ”and then there’s another song I’ve written Thank you very much for Cantona”, some of the Leeds fans took the hump and started coining him, the stopped when he threatened to walk off stage.

RIP

Gutted. I'm not old enough to have been around when Terry Hall was performing the first time around, but he was still fantastic in 2009 when I saw them at V Festival.

Some very special songs that really seem to capture the mood of the nation at the time. For Ghost Town to still be relevant, now more so than ever, is testament to Terry and The Specials.

True legend.

Another part of my youth gone.

RIP Terry

Sad news, always remember going to a local Chinese restaurant a few years ago and the cook always had The Specials on rotation every visit. 

RIP Terry Hall. 

Met him at a chippy in Blackpool, of all places just after The Specials broke out in 1979. 

Lovely bloke, he was more interested in what me and my student entourage were up to than playing the pop star. 

So sad ? 

Was trying to think this morning of more important "voices" in my life. Joe Strummer, Johnny Rotten, Brian Clough, Bob Marley, maybe John Lennon and David Bowie but he has to be on any top ten list for me.

If you haven't listened to their later stuff do try Encore, it is a very good album.

Iconic voice and style. So many good songs.

Tragic start to life which probably helped shape his career but would always have haunted him I’m sure.

A real loss.

so sad. Met him loads of times in the early 90s. He was a regular at gigs, and saw him backstage at many. Very polite but hard to have conversations with (mainly as I was a teenager and he was a legend).

Rest in Peace

8 hours ago, i-Ram said:

What a terrible bit of news. 

 

Very Sad news. So much good stuff , and yes this is too much too young. 

For a short while I wanted to be Terry Hall. He struck me as being supercool, at a time when punk was dying away. His death makes me, and no doubt others of our age, reflect on mortality. He was right to sing

Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think  
Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink  
The years go by, as quickly as you wink  
Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think

 

Glad I got to see him and the Specials one last time at the O2 Academy last year. He seemed on good form as did the rest of the band. 
RIP Terry 

I am, and never have been, a "music buff".

Usually when seeing a thread of this ilk, I have to blindly click on the thread, and then maybe, at a push, think "Ah right... That's who they are on about!"

When I saw this title, not only did I immediately recognise the name, I could even picture the face, reel off a few song titles, and name his bands (Well, only The Specials and Fun Boy Three, to be fair).

For me to be capable of that pretty much sums up his standing in the wider echelons of the music world, I'd say... certainly from "Our era".

 

Sad news indeed... but forever tinged with some wonderful memories, so thanks a million, Mr Hall. 

May you rest in eternal peace, sir.
xxx

Very sad to hear this.

I went to see The Specials with Madness and The Selector on the 2Tone tour at Sheffield Top Rank in 1979.

The Specials came on late and I only got to see a couple of songs before I had to duck off to catch a bus back to Matlock!

Weirdly, we went to see Gary Delaney at the Quad in Plymouth on Sunday. His support act who was about my age was wearing a 2Tone t-shirt with the original label on it. I thought at the time 'that's cool' and now it feels spooky unless he knew somehow.

Their first track was never bettered in my opinion

n 1

One of a kind, taken far to early ?