Terry Hall, Lead Singer of the Specials, Dies at 63

The ska vocalist and two-tone icon died following a “brief illness”

December 19, 2022

Note: This article contains references to sexual abuse.

Terry Hall, the lead singer of the legendary ska band the Specials and former member of Fun Boy Three and the Colourfield, has died, his bandmates in the Specials have confirmed. They broke the news on social media, writing, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing, following a brief illness, of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother, and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced.” Hall was 63 years old.

“Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls. His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… the joy, the pain, the humour, the fight for justice, but mostly the love,” the Specials’ statement continued. “He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him and leaves behind the gift of his remarkable music and profound humanity. Terry often left the stage at the end of The Specials’ life-affirming shows with three words…‘Love Love Love.’ We would ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy at this very sad time.”

Born Terence Edward Hall on March 19, 1959 in Coventry, England, he had a troubling childhood growing up. When he was 12, Hall was abducted by a teacher and brought to France for a pedophile ring. “[I was] sexually abused for four days, and then punched in the face and left on the roadside,” he told The Spectator in 2019. The experience was so traumatic that he kept it hidden from his parents (although he later addressed the experience in Fun Boy Three’s 1983 song “Well Fancy That!”). Hall suffered from manic depression and medicated heavily to deal with the effects, going so far as to take Valium as a 13-year-old. Before his 15th birthday, he left school to land whatever short-term jobs he could get: a bricklayer, an apprentice hairdresser, a quantity surveyor. Years later, he started to pursue music, playing in the local punk band Squad.

The Specials formed in 1977 in Coventry, England with songwriter and keyboardist Jerry Dammers, original vocalist Tim Strickland, singer-guitarist Lynval Golding, drummer Silverton Hutchinson, and bassist Horace Panter. Hall joined the pioneering two-tone band—who, at the time, were called the Automatics—later that same year to replace Strickland. After changing their name to the Coventry Automatics, the band welcomed singer Neville Staple and guitarist Roddy Byers into the fold, thus prompting another name change to the Special AKA. That year, Joe Strummer invited the band to open for the Clash on one of their UK tours, introducing the band to a wider punk audience.

Hall recorded two albums with the band during its initial run, the 1979 debut The Specials and the 1980 sophomore LP More Specials, both of which would go on to become instant classics for two-tone and the evolving image of ska as a politically and socially conscious genre. Early singles like “Gangsters” (a reworking of Prince Buster’s “Al Capone”) and “A Message to You Rudy” became beloved hits, as did 1980 singles “Do Nothing” and “Stereotype.” It was the group’s 1981 single “Ghost Town,” however, that would intertwine the band with the history books for good, becoming the soundtrack to the 1981 England riots between young Black people and the police that summer in response to racial discrimination. Dammers’ lyrics about urban decay in Great Britain and recession struggles resonated with younger listeners. That year, “Ghost Town” held the No. 1 spot on the radio charts for three weeks and stayed in the Top 40 for 10 weeks.

Because the Specials railed against racism in their lyrics and fostered inclusive environments at their shows, neo-Nazis often targeted their concerts, prompting Hall to dive into the crowd to stop fights a number of times. “My political awakening was in Coventry in my teenage years when I discovered that working men’s clubs had a colour bar on their doors. You could only get in if you were white… I couldn’t work it out,” Hall told Big Issue last year. “When you see injustice, all you can do is think: What can I do to help, what can I say about this, how can I make people aware of this? That’s not necessarily on a global scale, it can be in your street or family. Influence the people around you, then you live in harmony, and that to me is success. I’ve always had the belief that you should treat people with respect and be kind. So set yourself a standard and try not to dip below it. Mostly, you can wake up every morning and say, I’m going to be kind. It’s not that hard.”

After the Specials’ biggest hit topped the charts, Hall left the band to start Fun Boy Three, his new wave project with Specials bandmates Lynval Golding and Neville Staple. They released their self-titled debut LP in 1982 and followed it up with Waiting, their sophomore album, the following year before disbanding. In 1984, Hall formed another new wave band titled the Colourfield, which released two albums: 1985’s Virgins and Philistines and 1987’s Deception. Additionally, Hall joined the bands Vegas and Terry, Blair & Anouchka, and released two solo albums. He would also go on to co-write the Go-Go’s “Our Lips Are Sealed” and collaborate with a wide range of artists, including Sinéad O’Connor, Gorillaz, Tricky, Lily Allen, M.I.A., and Dub Pistols, among others.

In 2008, the Specials reunited, including Hall, for a number of tours and concerts. They went on to record two new albums together: 2019’s Encore and 2021’s Protest Songs 1924 – 2012. Encore hit the No. 1 spot on the UK albums chart, making it the highest-charting album ever released by the band.

After learning of Hall’s death, countless artists have paid tribute to the late musician, including Elvis Costello, the Roots’ Questlove, the English Beat, Billy Bragg, Living Colour, Portishead and Beak>’s Geoff Barrow, the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle, Sleaford Mods, and Matt Sharp of Weezer and the Rentals. “Gutted to hear of the passing of Terry Hall,” tweeted the Go-Go’s Jane Wiedlin. “He was a lovely, sensitive, talented and unique person. Our extremely brief romance resulted in the song ‘Our Lips Are Sealed,’ which will forever tie us together in music history. Terrible news to hear this.”