As punk faded, the Coventry-based Specials used punk energy to reinvent old
Jamaican ska in invigorating dance style. Clad in pork pie hats and mohair
suits, they used the 2 Tone name of their label to define a new music rooted in
reggae yet laced with modern social commentary. Main architects Jerry Dammers,
Terry Hall and Lynval Golding created an infectious sound which developed into
its own youth cult with Too Much Too Young - lead track on their chart-topping
The Special AKA Live EP. Dammers' 1981 song Ghost Town defined the frustrations
of a generation blighted by unemployme...