In Memoriam: Terry Hall (1959 – 2022)

Terence Edward Hall (March 19, 1959 – December 18, 2022) was an English musician and the lead singer of the Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, the Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas.

He released two solo studio albums and also collaborated with many artists including David Stewart, Bananarama, The Lightning Seeds, Sinéad O’Connor, Stephen Duffy, Dub Pistols, Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, D12, Tricky, Lily Allen and Shakespears Sister.

Hall had a brief romantic relationship with Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Gos in 1980. They co-wrote the song “Our Lips Are Sealed”. Hall had two sons with his first wife, Jeanette Hall, and another son with his second wife, Lindy Heymann.

Following a suicide attempt in 2004, Hall was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Hall died after a brief illness at the age of 63.

Wednesday 7/13/22 1am ET: Live Track Show

Tonight:

Rod Stewart, Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker, CCR, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Dave Matthews Band, Rockpile, Jethro Tull, Chuck Berry, Neil Young, Who, America, Iron Maiden, Tori Amos, Supertramp, Three Dog Night, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Specials, Air Supply, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Wings, Queen, Cars, Firehouse,

Wednesday 7/6/22 1am ET: Live Track Show

Tonight:

Cheap Trick, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Everything But The Girl, Specials, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Journey, Neil Young, Heart, Korn, Def Leppard, Metallica, Roy Orbison, Radiohead, Who, Harry Chapin, Carole King, Sara Bareilles, Nils Lofgren, Steve Winwood, Eagles, Rolling Stones with Ike and Tina Turner, Doobie Brothers, Queen

Friday 11pm: Feature LP: The Specials – Encore (2019)

AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Specials didn’t end their golden age cleanly and they didn’t reunite smoothly, either. Lynval Golding, Horace Panter and Neville Staple brought the group back in 1996 and that incarnation lasted for five years before being put on ice, but their revival was overshadowed by the 2008 reunion that featured vocalist Terry Hall as well as Roddy Radiation and John Bradbury from the group’s golden days. This reunion stuck around for a decade, gradually losing members until only Hall, Golding and Panter were left, augmented by Ocean Colour Scene/Paul Weller guitarist Steve Cradock. This is the lineup who recorded Encore, a new studio album that arrives roughly ten years after the initial reunion, 18 years after Conquering Ruler, which was the last album released by the Specials, and a whopping 39 years after More Specials, which was the last time Hall made an album with the band. Hall’s return to the fold is to be celebrated, but it’s hard not to notice the absence of Jerry Dammers, the band’s chief songwriter and keyboardist who left behind music for activism upon the dissolution of Special AKA in 1984. Although the Specials push social commentary to the forefront on Encore — there is an ode to Black Lives Matter, a swipe against the second amendment, and the old Fun Boy Three tune “The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)” has been recast as an anthem for the era of Brexit and Trump — they’re not spending much time on constructing songs, or even hooks. Everything on Encore is amiable but not especially defined: they play with the ease of a group who has made their living on the road, but they lack urgency, even when they’re singing about hot-button issues. Despite this lack of fire, Encore is a definite step up from the covers albums the Specials made surrounding Y2K: they feel like a band with a purpose, even if they’re not making an especially big deal about it.

1 Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys 3:17
2 B.L.M 5:05
3 Vote for Me 5:01
4 The Lunatics 3:35
5 Breaking Point 3:55
6 Blam Blam Fever 2:46
7 10 Commandments 3:52
8 Embarrassed by You 3:04
9 The Life and Times (Of a Man Called Depression) 5:27
10 We Sell Hope 4:35