The beat that got a generation dancing and brought ska back into the public eye. Produced by Elvis Costello, then still a boy wonder himself, the album built on the sound of the Specials’ first two singles, and gave the world its first extended look at Two Tone. Inspired writing and arranging (much of it down to founder Jerry Dammers) with Terry Hall as the laconic front man made for a perfect combination, the riddim of ska and the speed of punk. As a testament to its (more…)
This stunning collection of Doctor Who specials–The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars and The End of Time, Part One & Two–is a must own for all Doctor Who fans. The four imaginative, action-packed specials are the farewell to star David Tennant, and Russell T Davies, the mastermind behind the rebirth of the modern Doctor Who. The specials culminate in the dramatic regeneration of the Doctor, giving fans their first glimpse of the eleventh Doctor, played by Ma (more…)
Frantic touring and sudden stardom took their toll on the Specials. On their first album they’d sung “Too Much Too Young” and now they were living it. More Specials had its moments (“Man at C&A,” in particular, was a standout), but for the most part it was the sound of a band running vainly after inspiration. The elements were still there, but somehow they couldn’t fit them together in the same magical way. A year after their debut, and the end was already in sight (al (more…)
“How do you get to be a Special? You go to a special school.” The jibes one endures when a part of the “sixth or seventh best superhero team in the world.” The Strobe (Thomas Haden Church) has become vain and self-absorbed, his frustrated wife Ms. Indestructible (Paget Brewster) has gone looking for love in the arms of the Weevil (Rob Lowe), and sex-mad, blue-faced punk Amok (Jamie Kennedy) is getting bored with being a good guy and longs for his supervillain days, whe (more…)
Grade 8 Up–This final installment in the series is a warning of the dangers of overconsumption and conformity. Set some time in the future, after a human-made bacteria destroyed the modern world, the trilogy tells of new cities established and tightly controlled through brainwashing and a series of operations leading to a compliant society. Tally Youngblood, the 16-year-old protagonist, learns in the first two books that free will and truth are more (more…)
The Specials began ska revival in Britain, putting ska and rocksteady beats together with a level of energy and attitude taken from the punk movement. They also formed a more focused and informed political and social stance than their predecessors and peers. The band was originally formed in Coventry, in 1977, as the Coventry Automatics and later the Special A.K.A. by Jerry Dammers (songwriter/keyboardist), with Terry Hall (vocals), Lynval Golding (guitar, vocals), Neville S (more…)
The beat that got a generation dancing and brought ska back into the public eye. Produced by Elvis Costello, then still a boy wonder himself, the album built on the sound of the Specials’ first two singles, and gave the world its first extended look at Two Tone. Inspired writing and arranging (much of it down to founder Jerry Dammers) with Terry Hall as the laconic front man made for a perfect combination, the riddim of ska and the speed of punk. As a testament to its (more…)
![The Specials [Vinyl]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HItaX8lHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
