With only three original members, The Specials pulled off a surprising feat earlier this year with their first new album featuring Terry Hall in almost 40 years becoming the band’s first number one long player. They’ve lost a key player with the acrimonious departure of Neville Staple but as they entered a stage strewn with political signs and slogans the crowd’s anticipation was palpable.
The ever-dour Terry Hall came on sucking on a vape which he’d regularly return to throughout the show. Lynval Golding kicked things off with the “warning, warning nuclear attack” intro to ‘Man At C and A’, the first of three songs from their second album ‘More Specials’. Lynval has stepped into Neville’s shoes as chief audience whipper upper, working the crowd on ‘Rat Race’ until we were all singing along to ‘Do Nothing’.
There is a noticeable gap without Neville but proving they’re not trading on their past the next song is ‘Vote For Me’ from the new album, a natural progression whose simple dubby ska rhythm sits well amongst their much-loved back catalogue. Terry Hall wrote ‘Friday Night Saturday Morning’ and was perfect for his deadpan delivery that tells of a dire night out which ends in nice pies and piss-stained shoes.
He introduced ‘Blank Expression’ with “good things come to those who wait” then carefully eyed Lynval’s guitar solo as he gripped the mic stand with both hands. ‘Doesn’t Make It Alright’ became the biggest singalong with “it’s the worst excuse in the world” ringing around the building in this plea for racial harmony. A bizarre swipe at Dianne Abbott shows that Terry may be more interested in football results than Labour winning the next election but this was soon forgotten with a double bill of ska classics old and new followed by ‘Stereotypes’ which showcased the new line up’s talents.
Saffiyah Khan joined them for her excellent rewrite of Prince Buster’s ’10 Commandments’, a passionate performance delivered with great confidence that saw her jump into the photo pit screeching as Terry played keyboards. There followed a bevy of perennial crowd-pleasers from the first album that pleased the well-behaved skankers down the front and you could see the balcony bouncing along to ‘Gangsters’.
Many have said that this line up isn’t The Specials but it boils down to the singers, the songs, the camaraderie between the band and their fans and the memories of those that were there first-time round. They ended with ‘Little Bitch’ and Terry’s titular intro to ‘Too Much Too Young’ before being called back for a three-song encore that saw the still haunting, still sadly relevant ‘Ghost Town’ draw the night to a very satisfying close. Given tonight’s performance and its reception it looks like they’ll be around for some time to come.
There was strong support from the self-described ‘Three Tone’ band The Tuts – the guitarist is English/Pakistani, the drummer English/West Indian and the bass player describing herself as “just boring white”. Their power pop punk sound was well-received although suffered a bit with the sound mix. Their tribute to Ranking Roger was a mash up of ‘Stand Down Margaret’ with one of their originals and their song about toxic relationships ‘Dump Your Boyfriend’ went down really well too. Saffiyah Khan had also DJ’d sets of classic ska between the bands.
Photos by Xavier Clarke
Words by Steve Clements
Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Wednesday 17th April 2019
