Goldblade frontman, author of the upcoming Oral History of Manchester Music book, TV pundit and vegan straight edge punk rock animal as well as pop professor and Doctor of quiffology, Dr John Robb reports from the frontline of pop culture celebrating its occasional genius and snarling with frustration at the bullshit...the Doctor stalks the Manchester streets and scours the venues seeking redemption before returning to his bolthole to assault his keyboard with fierce polemic in a one-man Mutiny!
By john robb,
04 May 2009
The Specials
Manchester Apollo
May 3rd 2009
Fast forwarding to the past has become part of the modern soundtrack. Reformation has become second nature as The Specials proved at the Apollo.
When a band is so entrenched in the soundtrack of a generation then their comeback comes with an avalanche of excitement and expectation.
And The Specials do not disappoint.
When they left off in 1981 with 'Ghost Town' at number one and the nation collapsing into recession and riots they quit far too soon. ‘Ghost Town’, like most of their songs, defined a time. Listen to it now and its like a documentary- words and music perfectly capturing the UK at the time. Perhaps the timeliest number one of all time, Ghost Town was a brilliant 3D description of the boarded up crappy UK that we grew up in- 28 years later on the band’s return and the country is fast looking the same.
Their songs may reference things like the 'national front ' and 'C and A's' that don't exist ant more but unfortunately both have their modern equivalents that leave the bittersweet lyrics still holding true.
Even without talisman Jerry Dammers the band sound fantastic and their full energy show is a powerfully tight, spotless run though of their classics- it's surprising how many hits they had in their short career- a whole brilliant slew of singles from their early punked up takes on ska to their later dubbed soundscapes. The Specials were always innovators- they took ska, that most infectious of musics and remoulded it for the amphetamined minds of the punk generation, they then added several flavours and came up with a rabid, innovative pop that was frustratingly cut short with their number one hit 'Ghost Town'
Sardonic front man Terry hall seems genuinely moved by the audiences rabid affection for the band and I don't think I’ve seen so many people dancing in the Apollo. The Specials were about dancing and the onstage constant movement is matched in the seething crowd. And if they got your limbs working they also got your mind jumping. Their dark witty lyrics matched the cynicism of the UK and their music, that was one part melancholic and one part euphoric in that classic British balance between laughter and tears has never dated. Maybe because they have become such a huge influence on a whole disparate selection of bands that their music have never become set in time.
They existed in an interesting period when bands like the Specials and The Clash were utilizing the amazing powerhouse of music of Jamaica and criss crossing it with punk and even a very British music hall and creating a whole sub genre of their own. The Specials almost psychedelic shackling of reggae with vaudeville and neo Kinks commentary was like a mini genre of its own that along with the Clash’s epic ‘Bankrobber’ and ‘Armageddon Times’- dubbed out soundscapes were as innovative as anything in post punk but also a music that connected with a mass audience. It’s a music that explodes with possibilities and creates stunning soundscapes in a way that , let’s say, The Police with their mangling of reggae never had the imagination to do the same. It has become a sorely missed adventure and few have dared to step into the dub/ska/punk/psyche zone since then.
Hopefully they will have the nerve to record some new music, they have the talent and the ability to pick up where they left off and make a record that details these times perfectly. The Specials are one of those few bands that do not date and an older even more world weary and sardonic set of recordings from the band would be a welcome addition to the debate in these dark and dangerous times.
