{"product_id":"cd-specials-the-the-specials-special-edition-2cd","title":"The Specials (Special Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFeaturing Additional Rare Bonus Material, Non-Album Singles, Ep's \u0026amp; B-Sides, New Extensive Sleevenotes And Previously Unseen Chalkie Davies' Photos!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e2 Tone Records\/Warners Catalogue is pleased to release Special Editions of three exceptional, ground breaking albums by one of the most important British bands ever - The Specials. These reissues have been liaised and approved by the band's founder and main songwriter Jerry Dammers and have been remastered by Tim Debney at Fluid. \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAs well as the original albums, they include all the band's EPs, non-album singles and b-sides, the 'Too Much Too Young EP', 'Rat Race', 'Ghost Town' (full version), 'Friday Night, Saturday Morning' and 'Why?' (extended version); a rare, previously unreleased on CD, frenetic concert recorded for the BBC at the Paris Theatre in December 1979 plus John Peel BBC radio sessions and instrumentals of six tracks from 'In The Studio' mixed at the time, (which perfectly demonstrate the album's groundbreaking experimentation). \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAll three Special Editions include new and extensive sleevenotes by Lois Wilson, as well as rare and previously unseen Chalkie Davies' photos of the band, some of which have been used to create variations on the albums' original cover photos.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFormed in Coventry in the mid-1970s, The Specials (formerly Coventry Automatics) was the idea of musician Jerry Dammers, who brought together an eclectic array of individuals to fulfill his vision of a multi-racial band, fusing the energy of punk with the legendary but, at the time, often overlooked, sound of Jamaican ska. This was a fusion which proved to be explosive. The seven individuals – Dammers (keyboards), Terry Hall (vocals), Neville Staples (vocals), Lynval Golding (rhythm guitar), Roddy 'Radiation' Byers (lead guitar), 'Sir' Horace 'Gentleman' Panter (bass) and John Bradbury (drums), along with legendary Jamaican ska trombonist Rico Rodriguez and trumpeter Dick Cuthell - not only fully realised Dammers' vision, but their exuberant, uncompromising sound and 'message' music reached the top of the charts. The resulting popularity of the band and its music was considered by many, to have a hugely positive influence on race relations in late '70s\/early '80s Britain, helping to create unity amongst disaffected youth. \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eDammers' vision also included a record label, 2 Tone Records, which took its blueprint from such disparate elements as anarcho punk band Crass, Berry Gordy's Motown label, Jamaican ska and the Buzzcocks' independently pressed Spiral Scratch EP. The label would release not only The Special AKA's debut single 'Gangsters' and The Specials' debut album 'Specials', but also singles by bands who shared 2 Tone's musical ethos, including: Madness, The Selecter and The Beat. With a striking aesthetic based on a chessboard logo, designed by Dammers, which incorporated a cartoon mascot based on Peter Tosh from the Wailing Wailers album sleeve, christened Walt Jabsco after a vintage bowling shirt, 2 Tone spawned a musical and cultural movement that defined a generation and still resonates around the world to this day. \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the success of their debut album, the band released the non-album single, Rod Byers' class war polemic 'Rat Race', which reached the Top 5 in May 1980. This was followed in September by the groundbreaking 'Stereotypes', which mixed dark lounge core, spaghetti western themes and dub reggae, and reached the Top 10. The song was the first hint of what was to come on the band's second album.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"SOUTHBOUND","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40421351325897,"sku":"291804","price":30.39,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0566\/7120\/7498\/files\/291804-Product-0-I-638916996304018495.jpg?v=1756104029","url":"https:\/\/www.jbhifi.co.nz\/products\/cd-specials-the-the-specials-special-edition-2cd","provider":"JB Hi-Fi NZ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}