CNN
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Terry Hall, lead singer of British two-tone ska revival band The Specials, has died.
News of Hall’s passing was shared on the band’s verified social media accounts. Facebook He wrote that he died “after a brief illness”.
Hall called “our beautiful friend and brother, one of the greatest singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced” and added, “His music and performances are , encapsulated the very essence of life…joy, pain, humor, fighting for justice, but mostly love.”
Hall was reportedly 63 at the time of his death, and is survived by his wife Lindy Hyman, a filmmaker, and children Leo and Felix Hall.
The Specials formed in Coventry, England in 1977 and had a successful self-titled debut album in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
The original line-up of members included Hall, who replaced vocalist Tim Strickland shortly after the formation of The Specials, along with Jerry Dammers, Roddy “Radiation” Byers, Neville Staple, and John Bradbury. , Dick Cassell and Rico Rodriguez.
The Specials are best known for tracks such as “Gangsters” and “Ghosttown”, the latter of which spent three weeks at number one in the UK in 1981 and ten weeks in the top 40.
Known for their staunch opposition to racial injustice, the band frequently commented on political and social reforms in England and abroad. “Forty years ago, the Specials embodied the state of the nation. Seven voices he was one voice, typically from a confiscated English town.” Band’s official website as an explanation.
Hall also formed Fun Boy Three in 1981 and The Colorfield in 1984, known for their hit “Thinking of You,” before beginning a solo career with two albums in the ’90s. .
Eventually, he regrouped the Specials for a tour and new music in 2008 (although the band reformed once in the ’90s, Hall was not part of that iteration). The line-up for the recent special included Linval Golding, Horace Panter, John Bradbury, Neville Staple, Roddy Byers and Nicolai Torp Larsen.
In 2019, The Specials released their eighth studio album, Encore. It is the first to feature new material with Hall as vocalist since 1981’s “Ghost Town”.
A social media post on Monday commemorating Hall concluded by sharing how the singer left the stage at the end of the show affirming “The Specials’ life, often with three words.