Joe Scholes

Joe — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:45:39 +0000

Hi,

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New To This Blog?

Joe — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:45:29 +0000

6 Reasons To Be Excited About The New London International Ska Festival – A Strictly Personal Selection
Should All Ska Music Be Free? Two Sides Of The Same Coin
Ska – Rocksteady – Early Reggae: Which Online Radio Stations have it?
My First Time: What It Was Like To Be In The Studio With The Braces In 1987
Alpha Boys Are Dead

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Must The Specials Record A New Album?

Joe — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:45:18 +0000

The party started in April 2009 – that’s when The Specials went on their 30th Anniversary Tour with sold-out shows around the UK. Gigs in Australia, Japan, the USA, Canada and festival appearances throughout Europe followed. On the way the 2Tone heroes picked up an Inspiration Award by Britain’s quality music magazine Q and regained international celebrity status. The next tour with UK dates scheduled for fall 2010 is already sold out. It soon became clear that the reunion was a huge success. The controversy around former bandleader Jerry Dammers being banned from the reunion was reduced to a footnote. His nagging couldn’t stop the fun.

But wait a minute …. What about the new album with original material that The Specials have promised?

Already in 2008, with the first announcements of the reunion, singer Terry Hall talked about booking studio time. According to the BBC quote, the band was to go into the studio first and then on tour. If that was the original plan, fundamental changes have been made. Two years later nothing has been recorded yet. As Marco On The Bass reports, drummer John Bradbury has recently “confirmed during an interview with BBC 6 that the Specials will record again …”. In Bradbury’s words: It’ll be different to what we’ve done just because it has to be really. We can’t keep doing the same set …”. Does that sound like a band eager to start recording?

Imagine The Specials are really going for another album. How can they make it happen?

It’s one thing to play the old songs with a (competent) stand-in organ player. It’s a completely different story to create a new musical vision. In his Grapevine blog {http://www.thespecials.com/grapevine/?p=375} bass player Horace Gentleman hints at The Specials being a collective with equal rights now. Which might work if you need to decide on a setlist or a tour plan. But a new direction? Can The Specials avoid ending up like a football team without a manager, an orchestra without a conductor, a chicken without a head?

The void after Jerry Dammers’ seclusion must be filled. But how?

Four scenarios seem feasible:

Scenario No 1
One or two members of The Specials will take responsibility as the band’s driving forces. The best pick would probably be Terry Hall, because he has proven more than once to have a unique musical vision. Others like Roddy Byers or Lynval Golding might be able to contribute (great) songs, but they may not be in the position to take the lead in this fragile collective. The question is: If Terry Hall is ABLE to do it, is he WILLING to?

Probability for this scenario: High, but it could also be a frustrating trip leading into a dead-end street.

Scenario No 2
The Specials ask for help from outside. A list of people coming to mind:

– John Collins (producer of The Specials’ biggest single “Ghost Town”), a man to trust.
– Elvis Costello (producer of the first album), always up for an interesting project.
– Damon Albarn (the singer/composer for Blur, Gorillaz and many more) has worked with Terry Hall before and grew up with 2Tone.
– Sly & Robbie (the Jamaican producer duo) are experienced in furnishing dance music with an edge.

Probability for this scenario: Not very high, though some guest appearances are to be expected (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen).

Scenario No 3
The Specials reappoint Jerry Dammers. Remembering Terry Hall’s words “the door remains open for him” { http://www.nme.com/news/the-specials/41400 } it would be very interesting to see if Jerry’s comeback would make the party complete. Or smash it.

Probability for this scenario: Close to null, too much has happened.

Scenario No 4
The Specials throw together some cover songs for a “new” album. Something which looks like the easiest way to go would probably turn the affair into a comeback without “dignity”, a thing that Terry Hall was anxious to avoid by all means.

Probability for this scenario: Hm, no.

Or will history repeat itself and Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staples declare the end of the 2Tone party next year: just in time for Fun Boy Three’s 30th anniversary? We shouldn’t be surprised. What do you think will happen?

http://marcoonthebass.blogspot.com/2010/09/specials-next-move-more-touring-album.htmlda

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The more I think about it,

Joe — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:45:08 +0000

The more I think about it, the more obvious it gets: 2009 was a good year for Ska and me. Much, much better than 2008 I recall. And if the trend remains steady, 2010 will be even better. I did not buy any Ska records or went to see a lot of bands there are still some absolute highlights in my balance. Here they are in a chronological order. 1.) I visited London to see The Specials for the first time in my life That alone made the year extraordinary. The Specials were the band that brought me to Ska music in 1980, never letting me go until now. I was 14 years old at the time, my life changed the moment that I saw them performing “Rudy, A Message To You” on German TV, but I couldn’t find a way to see them then at their only tour through Germany. Still the voices of some so-called “friends” are haunting me who – being a few years older – bragged about how great The Specials had been in Cologne. Thanks so much, Volker and Gerald! In the next years my life was ruled by Jerry Dammers, Terry Hall and their lot. I soaked up everything I could find on them, The Specials were God, and I was a their truthful servant. Their political inclinations helped me overcome some ideas of my conservative upbringing. The will to understand their lyrics improved my English, and I also got a clear view of where I wanted to go with my guitar playing. Had The Specials only spoken out about the greatness of studying natural sciences, Latin or Greek, my academic comedown in the next years could have been prevented. For some years you could rarely see me in jeans and t-shirt, much more frequently in suits, profiting largely from my grandfather Josef’s death. I spent many afternoons at the home of a retired tailor Jacobs who followed my instructions for stylish alterations of the suits as best as he could. Maybe I should write a list post giving details about how The Specials helped shape my life. Maybe I should move on now to 2009 now. Although some members of The Specials reformed in the 1990s I never went to see them, because I didn’t think it was the real thing without Jerry Dammers and Terry Hall. Then 30th anniversay reunion tour of The Specials was announced in late 2008, and I followed reports on that pretty closely. Terry Hall was in, that was the good thing. Jerry Dammers was not, that was the worse thing. I fought with myself, would it be a betrayal of Jerry Dammers if I went to see The Specials? Surely it was. But I went for it, telling myself that my trip to London was not all about seeing the band of my life play live for the first time, but that I was visiting the former Braces organ player Steffi and her boy-friend, who had moved to London, and BY THE WAY going to see The Specials. So, that’s a whole different thing. Apart from that, I could tell myself that there was still a slight chance that Jerry changed his mind and joined the rest on stage. I got tickets for Thursday’s performance at the Brixton Academy in London. When we arrived at the location, we Top 3 happenings of my life in Ska 2009. What were yours? 1. Joining Alpha Boy Until this summer my bloblog. 2. Seeing The Specials live 3. Starting joescholes.com

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The Mobile Musical Memos Series Default

Joe — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:44:47 +0000

Welcome to Part 1 of the Mobile Musical Memos Series. For an introduction to the concept behind it please go here:

And here are the today’s 5 memos with my comments.

Memo 1: “x” (working title)

Why I recorded it:

What I think about it now: