The Specials’ Terry Hall has died, aged 63, following a short illness.
In a statement, the band tweeted: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing, following a brief illness, of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced”.
“Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls. His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… the joy, the pain, the humour, the fight for justice, but mostly the love”, they continued.
“He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him and leaves behind the gift of his remarkable music and profound humanity. Terry often left the stage at the end of The Specials’ life-affirming shows with three words… ‘love love love’”.
Co-frontman of The Specials, Neville Staple, added: “We knew Terry had been unwell but didn’t realise how serious until recently. We had only just confirmed some 2023 joint music agreements together. This has hit me”.
Born in 1959 in Coventry, Hall was abducted by a paedophile gang age twelve, which triggered a lifelong struggle with depression. He dropped out of school aged fourteen, having become addicted to valium. He told The Spectator on 2019: “I didn’t go to school, I didn’t do anything. I just sat on my bed rocking for eight months”.
In the late 70s, he discovered the burgeoning punk scene in Coventry, and joined his first band, Squad, who released one single, ‘Red Alert’. He then joined a band called The Automatics, who became Special AKA, and then The Specials, who mixed ska and punk. Already known as an impressive live band, they released their debut single ‘Gangsters’ in 1979, gaining support from John Peel.
Signed to keyboard player Jerry Dammers’ 2 Tone label, they released their Elvis Costello-produced eponymous debut album later the same year. Many of its tracks were covers of Jamaican songs from the 1960s – such as the single ‘A Message To You, Rudy’. Though songs like ‘Too Much Too Young’ also showed off the power of the band’s own songwriting.
Hall left the band in 1981 after the release of the single ‘Ghost Town’, which spent three weeks at number one in the UK, forming Fun Boy Three with Specials bandmates Lynval Golding and Neville Staple. The band had hits with ‘The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum)’ and ‘It Ain’t What You Do (It’s The Way That You Do It)’ – a collaboration with Bananarama – and released two albums before splitting in 1983.
He remained a prolific musician, forming various other acts and guesting with a variety of other collaborators – including Gorillaz, D12, Tricky, The Lightning Seeds, Dub Pistols, Shakespears Sister and more. He also released two solo albums.
In 2008, Hall reunited The Specials and the band continued to perform – with a line-up also featuring original members Lynval Golding and Horace Panter – up to the present day. They also released two new studio albums in recent years – ‘Encore’ in 2019 and ‘Protest Songs 1924-2012’ last year.