349 Hello The Specials* - Gangsters

( * as  The  Special  A.K.A. )

Chart  entered  :  28  July  1979

Chart  peak  : 6

Number  of  hits  :  12  ( in  various  combinations )

I've  got  this  one  and  I'm  surprised  it  still  plays  because  it  was  an  ex-juke  box  purchase  to  begin  with  and  then  my  sister  loved  it  so  much  she  hammered  it  to  death  on  her  old  Dansette. There's  a  lot  of  personal  memories  bound  up  with  this  one  and  a  couple  of  others  on  the  way  so  I'll  try  and  spread  them  out  so  as  not  to  overload  a  single  post.

This  got  a  lot  of  airplay  on  Radio  One  over  the  summer  holidays  in  1979.  Those  six  weeks  stand  out  for  me  partly  because  they  were  quite  eventful,  starting  with  a  school  hostelling  holiday  in  the  Yorkshire  Dales  and  finishing  with  a  re-activated  friendship  and  new  walking  project  started. In  retrospect  though,  they  have  acquired  a  golden  hue  because  just  a  week  after  they  finished  I  fell  out  with  the  lad  next  door ,  not  over  anything earth-shattering,  but  the  breach  became  set  in  stone  and  an  important  chapter  in  my  childhood  received  its  final  full  stop. It's  the  one  big  blot  in  the  golden  year  of  1979  although  I  don't  think, looking  back, that  there  was  much  mileage  left  in  our  relationship  otherwise  we  would  have  found  a  way  to  patch  things  up; after  all  there  was  only  the  wall  of  a  terraced  house  separating  us. Instead  though , we  studiously  ignored  each  other  and  actively  avoided  situations  that  might  throw  us  together.  I  couldn't  even  tell  you  when  he  finally  moved  out  of  the  family  home.

In  his  own  way  he  was  a  music  fan  too  though  his  tastes  were  usually  refracted  through  his  dad's  love  of  fifties  rock  and  roll , hence  an  enthusiasm  for  Showaddywaddy . On  this  one  we  were  completely  divided . He  hated  it,  saying  he  couldn't  tell  a  word  they  were  singing  ; for  me  that  was  something  of  a  plus,  adding  to  the  alluring  mystery  of  a  record  that  sounded  like  nothing  I  had  ever  heard  before.

So  where  did  it  come  from ?  The  Specials  began  to  gestate  in  1976  when  Jerry  Dammers  ( born   India  1955 )  , son  of  the  canon  of  Coventry  Cathedral  and  an  organist  on  the  Midlands  soul  band  circuit  approached  Horace  Panter   ( born  1953 ) to  work  on  some  new  tunes  he  was  composing. Horace  was  also  on  the  circuit, playing  bass  in  a  dire  group  called  Breaker  but  Jerry  knew  him  from  their  days  doing  art  at  Lanchester  Polytechnic. Jerry  also  invited  his  friend  Lynval  Golding ( born  Jamaica  1952 )  who  was  a  tolerable  guitarist  and  reggae  fan  to  become  involved. Their  band  was  at  first  called  The  Hybrids  playing  a  mix  of  funk  and  reggae  tunes  some  of  which  survived  to  go  on  the  first  Specials  album. In  1978  they    poached  the  awkward   young  singer  from  a  punk  band  called  Squad   who  had  been  known  to  do  an  entire  gig  with  his  back  to  the  audience. Terry  Hall   ( born  1959 )  left  school  early  after  being  raped  by  his  teacher  on  a  school  trip  to  France  and  worked  a  few  dead  end  jobs  while  getting  involved   in  the  Coventry  punk  scene. He  was  credited  as  a  composer  on  Squad's  single  "Red  Alert"  though  it  was  recorded  after  he'd  left  them. A  few  weeks  later  the  group  acquired  another  local  punk,  Roddy  "Radiation"  Byers  ( born  1955 ) in  the  same  fashion. Roddy  sang  but  he  was  wanted  more  as  a  lead  guitarist. Once  he  was on  board  they  changed  their  name  to  The  Automatics.

The  band  quickly  gained  a  reputation  in  Coventry  prompting  a  local  DJ  Pete  Waterman ( of  him  much  more  later, unfortunately ), to  pay  for  a cheap  recording  session  which  came  to  nothing. The  band  acknowledge  he  tried  to  help  them  but  reject  his  claims  of  discovery. Jerry later  said "Discovering  The  Specials  in  Coventry was  a  little  like  discovering  an  armchair  in  your  living  room".

In  the  middle  of  1978  they  were  invited  to  support  The  Clash  on  tour and  did  so  as  The  Special  AKA  ( Jerry  later  bowed  to  fan  preference  in  changing  this  to  The  Specials  after  the  first  single )   having  received  a  threatening  legal  letter  from  another  Automatics  who  had  just  signed  to  Island. This  went  well  and  Bernie  Rhodes  loosely  agreed  to  manage  them.  The  only  positive  thing  to  come  of  this  was  his  suggestion  that  their  reggae-loving roadie  Neville  Staple  ( born  Jamaica  1955 )  join  them  on  stage  as  MC / toaster . Neville  was  a  big  ex-borstal  guy  with  a  reputation  for  being  a  bit  handy  but  he  knew  his  way  around  a  sound  system.

 The  arrangement   with  Rhodes   collapsed  after  a  traumatic trip  to  Paris. When  they  returned  Jerry  and  Horace  persuaded  the  band  that  playing  ska  would  knit  the  punk  and  reggae  elements  in  their  music  together. Lynval  eventually  agreed  with  some  grumblings; the  original  drummer  walked . He  was  replaced  by  John  Bradbury  ( born  1953 )  an  art  teacher  and  ardent  fan  of  all  forms  of  black  music . He  completed  the  classic  line  up.

With  the  line  up  settled  the  priority  now  was  to  get  a  record  out. Jerry  wanted  creative  control  so  the  punk  idea  of  setting  up  your  own  label  appealed  to  him. They  borrowed  £1,500  from  a  dodgy  local  "businessman" and  recorded  three  tracks  in  January  1979. The  only  one  they  were  happy  with  was  Jerry's  song   "Gangsters" . Musically  it  was based  on  Prince  Buster's  Al  Capone,  one  of  the  few  tunes  from  the  original  ska  wave  to  make  the  UK  chart. Jerry's  lyric  coruscates  the  seedier  side  of  the  music  business  as  experienced  by  the  band  so  far  with  Rhodes  and  previous  manager  Mike  Horseman  who  had  apparently  offended  someone  in  the  Birmingham  underworld. But  the  song  is  also  suffused  with  foreboding   -"I  dread  - DREAD  !- to  think  what  the  future  will  bring  when  we're  living  in  real  gangster  time"  and  it's  difficult  to  think  he's  not  anticipating  the  forthcoming  election  result. Terry's  double-tracked  vocals  brought  a  new  voice  into  pop  - harsh, sarcastic  but   intelligent  and   controlled   refusing the  punk  snarl  in  favour  of  an  accusatory  question. Jerry  and  Rod  take  turns  to  add  colour  with  their  different  takes  on  the  eerie  Oriental  melody.  Horace  wrote  later  that  the  bass-heavy  sound  was  due  to  the  primitive  studio  set  -up  which  didn't  allow  for  screening  off  his  instrument.

Deciding  that  the  other  tracks  needed  more  work  Jerry  asked  John  to  record  an  instrumental  tune  he  and  his  friend  Neol (sic)  Davies  had  come  up  with  for  the  B-side. It  was  named   "The  Selecter "  and  credited to  a  "band" of  the  same  name. Davies  quickly  got  together  an  actual  band  but  he  was  the  only  member  who'd  had  anything  to  do  with  the  tune.

Jerry  soon  came  up  with  the  name  2 Tone  for  the  label. Acutely  aware  that  ska  and  blubeat  music  had  a  big  following  among  skinheads  he  wanted  to  make  it  crystal  clear  where  the  band  stood  on  race. The  black  and  white  checkerboard   and  the  Walt  Jabsco  figure , based on an  old   photo   of   Wailer  Peter  Tosh  gave   visual  emphasis  to  his  politics. It  also  exhausted  the  budget  and  the  initial  copies  were  in  a  white  paper  sleeve  hand  stamped  by  Horace  and  Terry.

The  single  quickly  sold  its  initial  pressing  so  Jerry  went  to  Rough  Trade  for a  proper  distribution  deal. With  Peelie  getting  behind  it  as  well, the  majors  became  interested. In  June  Jerry  signed  a  deal  with  Chrysalis  where  they  would  fund  2  Tone , including  up  to  10  singles  by  other  bands  ( obviously  if  some  were  hits  this  was  likely  to  be  extended ). Besides  being  keyboard  player  and  songwriter  with  an  up  and  coming  band,  Jerry  was  now  a  record  company  boss  and  A &  R  man. Chrysalis  also  agreed  to  take  over  the  marketing  of  "Gangsters" once  Rough  Trade's  stocks  ran  out. As  soon  as  that  happened  the  single  started climbing  the  charts.

The  Specials  went  on  to have  two  chart-toppers  and  like  the  other  four  singles  by  the  classic  line  up ( which  all  went  Top  10 )  "Gangsters"  is  neglected  as  far  as  radio  play  is  concerned  but  it  is a  stonewall  classic.