Title: The Specials – The Specials

Year/Genre: 1979, Ska/2 Tone

Condition: New

Description:
Released in 1979 on 2 Tone Records, The Specials was the debut album that launched Britain’s ska revival. Produced by Elvis Costello, the record channeled Jamaican ska and rocksteady through the lens of late-’70s Coventry, a city marked by economic decline and racial tension. The band’s multiracial lineup and politically charged lyrics made them central to the 2 Tone movement, which blended music with social commentary and anti-racist activism. This album stands as both a soundtrack to its era and a document of how working-class youth reshaped ska into a vehicle for cultural and political expression in Thatcher-era Britain.

2/22/24 ob