{"id":162925,"date":"2022-12-20T05:13:04","date_gmt":"2022-12-20T05:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/the-specials-ska-and-new-wave-pioneer-terry-hall-dead-at-63\/"},"modified":"2022-12-20T05:13:04","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T05:13:04","slug":"the-specials-ska-and-new-wave-pioneer-terry-hall-dead-at-63","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/the-specials-ska-and-new-wave-pioneer-terry-hall-dead-at-63\/","title":{"rendered":"The Specials’ ska and new wave pioneer Terry Hall dead at 63"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Terry Hall of the Specials performing at the Rock Against Racism show, Potternewton Park, Leeds, July 4, 1981. (Photo: David Corio\/Redferns)<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Terry Hall, frontman for one of the most influential British new wave bands of the 1980s, the Specials, has died after a short, undisclosed illness, according to his bandmates. He was 63 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d the Specials tweeted Monday. \u201cTerry 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\u2026 the joy, the pain, the humor, the fight for justice, but mostly the love. 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\u2026 ‘Love Love Love.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Terence Edward Hall was born March 19, 1959, in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. At age 12, he was abducted by a pedophile ring and subjected to sexual abuse, which led to him battling depression and addiction throughout his life. He was diagnosed as manic depressive following a suicide attempt in 2004, but in a 2019 interview for comedian Richard Herring’s \u201cLeicester Square Theater\u201d podcast, he matter-of-factly stated, \u201cIt’s unfortunate it happened to me, but you can’t just let it destroy your life.\u201d Hall quit school at age 15 and soon became a fixture of the late-’70s Coventry music scene, joining the Specials (originally called the Coventry Automatics) when he was 18 years old.<\/p>\n

In 1979, after releasing their Elvis Costello-produced self-titled debut album on their own 2-Tone label and receiving support from the Clash’s Joe Strummer and BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, the Specials found themselves at the forefront of Britain’s ska revival \u2014 along with Madness, the Beat, and the Selecter. The group’s multiracial lineup (which included Neville Staple, Lynval Golding, Roddy Radiation, Horace Panter, Jerry Dammers, and John Bradbury); activism via organizations like Rock Against Racism; and sociopolitical messaging all resonated deeply with disfranchised British youth during the bleak and tension-filled Thatcher era. For instance, \u201cRat Race\u201d was a scathing critique of privileged university students, while \u201cGhost Town,\u201d which was released during the recession and amid race-related unemployment riots in Brixton and Liverpool, became the Specials’ signature song.<\/p>\n