The Specials - Ghost Town (TOTP)
Музыка
The Specials lip syncing their classic number one single Ghost Town on Top Of the Pops in july 1981.
UK
2 Tone
CHS TT17
7"
Released: 20 June 1981
A side
Ghost Town
B side
Why?
Friday Night, Saturday Morning
Ghost Town marked the pinnacle of the labels achievements. Critics have called it "one of few singles to reflect perfectly a period in history" and "one of the most important records of our time". Released at a time when Prince Charles and Lady Diana were about to marry and inner city riots swept Britain the single summed up perfectly the irony of the whole period. It stayed on the number 1 spot for 3 weeks and became the labels first single to sell a million copies and also marked the first UK 12 inch from 2 Tone.
With the exception of Dance Craze 2 Tone had been very quiet throughout the first half of 1981 and friction was becoming apparent within the Specials camp. According to Terry Hall the recording of the single was dogged by bad feeling among the various band members even getting to the stage were they wouldn't go into the studio together. The arrangements of the singles' others tracks also caused ill feeling. Terry Hall would have preferred his composition Friday Night Saturday Morning to have consisted of just him and a piano in a pub sing-a-long type fashion but in the end he had to make do with version which was released.
The structure of the song Ghost Town has also been a topic of conversation. The typical format of verse-chorus-verse was set aside in favour of what was indeed a very unusual sounding record. Given the fact that it was recorded on 8 track it makes it even more remarkable.
With a number one single on their hands Chrysalis Records pushed the boat out and produced a video to accompany the song. In usual 2 Tone fashion it was a very simple video which involved the band squeezed into one car driving around what appear to be empty roads. More interesting are the 2 Top Of The Pops appearances the band made to promote the single. Both performances saw the band expanded to a 11 piece which included Rico, Dick Cuthell, Rhoda Dakar and ex-Swinging Cat, Paul Heskett on flute. It was obvious from these appearances that the band had dropped the trademark tonic suits and crops in favour of more 80s casual look. A few months later 3 band members dropped the band all altogether and that was the end of The Specials but not 2 Tone.
(Source: 2-Tone info)
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 inna 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
Пікірлер: 343
Terry, Neville and Lynval making a mockery of the lip syncing. Love it.
@george00719
6 жыл бұрын
freakin genius
@maxinesmith3801
5 жыл бұрын
They hated it didn't they lol
@isaakrivera2554
4 жыл бұрын
Maxine Smith everyone hated english live shows because of the lip syncing
@JohnTaylorMusicClips53
Жыл бұрын
They were mocking the end of the band. They were p'd off, the way the singer on the left acted like he was going to bash the other's head in 😉
@shaneculkin7124
Жыл бұрын
@@maxinesmith3801 No kidding! I read somewhere that they literally broke up immediately following this taping.
Terry Hall...Gone too soon. Music of my childhood 😔💔
I love how the singer doesnt even bother try to look like he is singing.
Can't believe Terry hill has gone today, loved this song 😥😥
Not a single f*ck given by Terry there...love him!
@marklaviolette6474
6 жыл бұрын
MsMoonTheLoon quite right lass ;)
I live in a ghost town. My parents remember the days before it was a ghost town. Never got the chance to live these days... Still a relevant song
@hsdsaunders
3 жыл бұрын
Man thats sad😓
@ninaevans4501
22 күн бұрын
Here, here. A song that slowly becomes a reality 😔😔😔😔😔🇦🇺
Such a sweetie Terry hall very sad when he past away he was a very kind loving caring person rip Terry hall god bless you are a legend 🤩👏👏
these guys always looked as though they were having a fab time ,i always tried to count how many were in the band ? what a splendid sound they made genius to say the least xxx
I still remember vividly seeing those riots in places like Brixton and Liverpool on tv everyday, Thatchers Grip getting ever so tighter and this being the number one record in the charts,....historic!
@k.avilla8061
Жыл бұрын
K. A Villa 1 second ago They destroyed their whole legacy by breaking up this band and becoming a joke, kiddy band, called the ' Fun Boy Three' who sang nusery rhyme songs like : 'It aint watcha do' with Bananarama. Don't be taken in by the rock/ pop industry. it's all a manufactured pretence.
@mickspastik4227
Жыл бұрын
Great song! And then Blair came and saved the country!
Estas son las pocas veces que veo a Terry sonreír 😊 ❤️
I always feel that they never got the recognition they deserved. Simple one of the best bands Britain has ever produced
I can remember when I first heard it back in the early 80s. It was a shock. It still is. Amazing!
listened to this growing up, still love it
@Jamiewelling
3 жыл бұрын
Queen
@sashamonique3005
3 жыл бұрын
@@Jamiewelling why thank you
@Jamiewelling
3 жыл бұрын
@@sashamonique3005 ALSO YOUR PFP OH MY ;) HAAHAHHA
The coolest group at the time. This was my life, first real music trend for me. Great times back then in Croydon, Heath Clark school dodging skinheads on the way home to South Norwood. Great stuff
@harveysmith100
Жыл бұрын
What do you mean the coolest group at the time? You mean the coolest group of all time surely. There was a club I went to one night in South Norwood with a skinhead from work. What a wild night that was!!
Fucking LOVE the Specials. Bands like this simply don't exist anymore. :(
My uncles favorite tune back then. May he RIP!
RIP Specials trombonist Rico Rodriguez who has died aged 80
@syaifuddinaris3687
6 жыл бұрын
Jani McCauley respect
@anthonynavarro6074
5 жыл бұрын
Shine on Rico❣️🎼💯
@shaneculkin7124
Жыл бұрын
God Bless his Soul. He appears to have done the right & fun things in life. That's a nice chunk of Life, if I may say so myself. I would be enormously fortunate to make it as long. Sincerely!
Wow crazy this is 40 years ago wow so amazing I still love it today glad I went to the music downtown sound in bham and learned about this summer 2015
Man I loved this song in my younger years. Still do.
terry is the most fcking adorable man I've ever seen.
@jonathandavies7462
3 жыл бұрын
You can edit out “I’ve ever seen” 😊
There's more people in the band than there are in the audance
@johnolson5538
2 жыл бұрын
Crazy how people had to play instruments, and not some hipster and his MacBook.
@JamBadguy
2 жыл бұрын
@@johnolson5538 ok boomer
@johnolson5538
2 жыл бұрын
@@JamBadguy ok cartoon avatar that like crap music.
@joeoc7762
2 жыл бұрын
The band members probably wouldn’t get paid all that much tho
@patrickweissel5241
2 жыл бұрын
Love Playback s
The lovely Rhoda in the background.
Them were the days that good old days back in the UK peace out🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧👍👍👍👀👀👀👀🤘🤘🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 this town coming like a ghost town
Wow! I still remember this music also the shortwave band of the BBC Radio broadcast in 1981 when I was attending college. I loved my multi-band Zenith radio..
That's a first, Terry Hall looking like he is enjoying himself on TV!
My uterus explodes every time with Terry's face 0:47
@emmathomas2403
4 жыл бұрын
Mine too!!!!
@MFavplace
4 жыл бұрын
I thought it was just me 😂
@sashamonique3005
3 жыл бұрын
hahahahha yup
Listen to the message as relevant now as then 2022
In hindsight, the look in Terry Hall's eyes when he sang the two lines " Bands won't play no more" and " can't go on no more" were telling you everything about the Band's future.
@wyrmseyeview26
7 жыл бұрын
His really is a pretty phoned-in mime even by the standards of TotP.
@julieeales
5 жыл бұрын
Really ??
@bonnieandclyde222
3 жыл бұрын
Jesus Christ died for our sin if we turn from sin we'll be saved
@bonnieandclyde222
3 жыл бұрын
The Ten Commandments 1. You shall have no other gods. 2. You shall not make idols. 3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord. 4. Remember the Sabbath, keep it holy. 5. Honor your father and mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not lie. 10. You shall not covet.
@mattiassvanberg8292
2 жыл бұрын
@@bonnieandclyde222 All hail Ozzy!
Delicious to see this video again after all this time.
This record perfectly summed up what 2020 felt like when everything shut down. This generation can relate, it's just a timeless record.
Jerry Dammers was a fcuking genius!! Artistic/ productive/ musically GOD!!!!!! He had the vision and thankfully gave us many classics in the original line up!! Ghost time being the swan song of the legendary line up!! My mate sat next to terry in a barbers! Me, I sat next to an old lady on a bus! She smelt old
good musical influence brought me here
lol takes me way bk to my child hood when me mum n dad would play it.
I have not heard this in years-thanks for posting it!
RIP 💔
This is a good song to play on halloween!🎃
Legians love this song rest in piece Terry hall great singer big shout to my niece Rachel laverty have a nice Christmas Eamon cuddy
The Specials getting back together and touring UK in April and May next year. Can't wait!
One of the best records of the 80's.
Terry Hall R.I.P
THIS is what I call a party! Tremendous song!
Listened to this song so much when i was 7-9 (im 17 now) That i still know all of the words.
@aureol40012
Жыл бұрын
Do you still play it now you are 28?!
... 20 yrs later BIG UP SpeCiaLS.
Gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ha look at terry's face 0:51 and a little onwards MAAAANN i've never seen him smile sooo big HARDLY EVER SEE HIM SMILE AT ALL he looks insanely adorable that way X]
@shaneculkin7124
Жыл бұрын
LOL..... Yea, all boy-ish. They were having fun with the having to lip sync and knowing the audience know it. Not their fault. American Bandstand made their acts do the same. And it was a pity since some (few) bands sound better live. Like, -- INXS, The Cure, and Tears For Fears as examples.
Classic brilliant track from 1981 by the legendary the Specials Ghost town
One of the very best SKA tunes!!! How LUVLY English!!
Love how the backing band are still making an effort at lip syncing!
5 minutes after this they split up ...the best band in England at the time 💔
Jerry Dammers great song writer
another reason to love Being Human (UK) get to hear some of the weirdest/coolest music!!
My mom used to always listen to this when I was younger and I always just remembered the beginnin... for some reason I thought this was by Santana...
I love how half the people on the stage are not necessary to the song.
If Arcade Fire came out in the late 70`s this is how they would sound like.
id use a time machine to go back to this exact place and moment, anybody in? these guys killed it here.
@shaneculkin7124
Жыл бұрын
Not their fault but I'd rather use our machine to attend a truly live performance of theirs!!!
Brings back memories
as a Coventry band we all know them when they split up 3 became fun boy 3..brill lad's..
There is so much going on in this music video...
Too cool. I know they were so stoked to be on top of the pops
Amazing to think this was only 4 months before Fun Boy Three's first single.
my town literally closed down only three bars .no night clubs .there used to be mental work ing clubs live band s doing tribute bands like whitesnske etc . literally no words from l such a steel industry .coal mining people filled the night s drinking .after a long week
LOVE this song and the movies it has popped up in~ CLASSIC~
*Terry Hall needs some long stemmed flowers in his back pocket*
was my dole yrs then when that came out, life was shit but the song cheered us up...
Greatest song of the 80s
Wow. Times huh. What a tune. If only C&A was still in the high street 🤕
Hahaha LOVE how they're just taking the piss!
just saw them last night in manchester still good now as back then what a show still the best oi oi oi oi
Summed up Thatcher' Britain of the early eighties everything from Factories to shops closed down.
what a group help break down racial barriers shows blacks and whites can make sweet music together
I've never seen Trevor so happy
This may be the performance I was looking for in connection to an ABC 2020 segment on the Brixton riots(see official video).
@shaneculkin7124
Жыл бұрын
You would be totally correct on that sir.
Terry Hall has died aged 63 after a short illness. May he R.I.P.
still got my 45" single record in the attic lol
Terry, Neville and Lynval all growing their hair ready to form Fun Boy Three. Bad move.
Yeah, TOTP performances were lipsynced for years, that is the reason why Iron Maiden refused to play in the show until dance of Death record. Technology is getting better and better, so I think that nowadays all the performances aren't lip synced
@shaneculkin7124
Жыл бұрын
Oh yea! American Bandstand was the same way. Bands that actually sounded better live (few) would actually end up looking silly. Like INXS. Didn't QUEEN have to play on T.O.T.P.s....?
good energy-all together in one rhythm-todo bien-like in the good old days-
Como rifan y como se divierten... son la neta¡¡¡
They can't be any cooler.
Too much fighting on the dance floor..lol This is a classic!
It is great that The Specials are back. I can watch this without sadness as they split up as this record hit no1. Losing the specials in 81 just made that shit summer grimmer . Top song to finish on. Now what for Specials in the 21st century ?
AWESOME Bass
I feel like lighting up a blunt with my boys Sol, Tyrone & Vincent and the dog, and just chill and listen to this song. Snatch, FTW.
I still think jerry dammer's is the overall specials... He is what made the specials without him its empty space... all the songs music and image of the specials was by this guy..this song speaks volumes of jerry's talent!!
@shaneculkin7124
Жыл бұрын
Very, very true. The instruments, the orchestration, the lyrics (I think), amd the entire vibe was his doing. The rest of the band made it all come alive and were not without talent themselves. But also, -- bands this size can NEVER survive for long. Too many people to satisfy and please musically.. Among the many other dilemmas that go with big bands. Oh, and they're expensive too.
2:38 very enthusiastic dancing from mr.jerry dammers
i love how they treat it like its a joke. cause thats what it is, in reality. Specials > all
It's strange to see this when you know Neville Staples, Terry Hall and Lynval Golding told eachother they were gonna leave the Specials.
This song was 30 years ago no.9 in the world charts #ghost #town
@M15CY glad we can agree on that.
Man, Terry is smiling 😁😁
@mickspastik4227
Жыл бұрын
Terry won't smile no more. RIP.
great bgs, i remember this song that comes back from the past :) singular cool ambiance
hopefully back in the uk charts next week! :)
this was released on my birthday
@DJMicFRESH
4 жыл бұрын
Happy birthday!
@somacruz8272
4 жыл бұрын
@@DJMicFRESH hey thanks!
@sonor23 Thatcher destroyed one-third of Britain's manufacturing base between 1979 and 1981. It was the end of the world's first industrial nation as an economic force. She had all the money from north sea oil and the profits of flogging off the nation's assets to her city chums, and turned them into two recessions in 10 years, with unemployment near 5 million.
The only problem is..... that this fine song is becoming a reality.......
RiP rude boy, you have earned it 🙏
Fun boy three in the making at the end of the video
uuuu I Love it....
If you guys like the specials I highly recommend the band PapaFish from southern california, they have a totally unique and awesome ska reggae sound!
i feel the funk in all music that i like...classic beat sickness