terry hall [1959 - 2022]

terry hall, lead singer & lyricist of the great ska band The Specials, & Fun Boy 3, & The Colourfield, died today at the very early age of 63.  another blow to the fucking heart.  i can't write a proper obit.  i can only report on my & anna's love of his music.  how important The Specials are to us.  when i think of bands that are truly great in every way The Specials are on the top of my, & anna's, idiosyncratic list.  ska as a genre of music is extraordinarily important to us.  we were fortunate to see them perform at The Fox Theater in oakland in 2019 on their 40th anniversary tour.  it was a great show.  hall's life & music was all about racial justice, workers' rights, equality, peace & love.  The Specials' 1981 song 'Ghost Town' is one of the greatest written, produced & recorded of its kind.  but the tune below is a personal favorite of mine.  hall co-wrote this song with jane wiedlin of the L.A. based band The Go-Gos.  The Go-Gos had a hit of their own with this tune, but it is this performance of that song by hall's later band Fun Boy 3 that i think captures & expresses hall's charisma.

terry hall died today.  

fuck you, mr. death.

let me end with the three words hall used to end all of his performances & to which anna & i heard him say at the end of The Specials' show at The Fox in 2019.

LOVE LOVE LOVE