For any young person growing up in the oppressed industrial north (whether the Midlands or the North East) in the 70’s and 80’s ‘Two Tone’ spoke for a generation – none more so than Terry Hall of The Specials and the ‘Fun Boy Three’ who died on 19 December 2022 aged 63 yrs of age. In a press release The Specials said: 

His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life … the joy, the pain, the humour, the fight for justice, but mostly the love.  He was one of the most brilliant singers and songwriters Britain has ever produced. He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him and leaves behind the gift of his remarkable music and profound humanity.

Two Tone wasn’t just the reintroduction of SKA into mainstream music or a fashion phase (I dressed in Two Tone along with a mixture of the resurrected ‘Mod’ fashion courtesy of ‘The Jam’) it was a movement that gave a voice to a generation oppressed by the policies of ‘Thatcherism’ and living under a tory government which created mass unemployment as the mines, shipyards and mills closed one after another. I remember it very well and, thinking about it all again this morning, it reminds me of the heartache and crushed potential that so many of my generation in the North East experienced at that time. 

Known for his dour image and sharp wit, Hall chronicled the social and economic unrest of the times quite brilliantly. Has there ever been a song which shone a light on urban decline of the time than ‘Ghost Town?’  

Ghost Town

This town, is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place, is coming like a ghost town
Bands won’t play no more
Too much fighting on the dance floor

Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?
We danced and sang, and the music played in a de boomtown

This town, is coming like a ghost town
Why must the youth fight against themselves?
Government leaving the youth on the shelf
This place, is coming like a ghost town
No job to be found in this country
Can’t go on no more
The people getting angry

This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town

What has also come to light as a result of Hall’s death is how he was abducted by a paedophile ring when he was on a school visit to France aged 12 yrs old. This experience shaped Hall’s life and it’s testimony to his resilience (and drugs) that he was able to rise above this terrible experience. Perhaps this accounts for his piercing social insight of the times, who knows?

RIP Terry Hall, a true British musical great.

Late Edition. I never expected to see this on timelines about Hall’s death!