Terry: When I was at my ill-est, it triggered something in my brain that wouldn’t allow me to talk or walk for three weeks. Because I couldn’t say anything, I had to write everything down. And a doctor said to me: “Paint.” And actually painting was something that was coming out of my head that I could show to people. For them, in Horace’s case, to despise. [laughter from all] The sound on these remasters is crystal clear with every nuance audible making it the closest many of us will get to experiencing The Specials in their original form. The Specials' success had been sudden and immense: five top 10 singles and two No 1s in under two years between 1979 and 1981, with a whole youth movement, 2-Tone, effectively forming in their wake. Their concerts were regularly disrupted by violence (Hall and Jerry Dammers were arrested and charged with incitement to riot after one particularly bloody confrontation between fans and bouncers in Cambridge) and the attentions of the National Front: the band had begun playing ska in the hope of short-circuiting the far right's concerted effort to co-opt the burgeoning skinhead revival, and recruiting fans instead to their left-wing, anti-racist credo.

Terry: It’s simple. Avoid horizontal stripes. Didn’t work when you were 18 mate, and now you’re middle aged.The Specials (and each individual member is VITAL to what went into making them a great band regardless of what Jerry Dammers still says) touched a generation and are as important to the post-war narrative of British popular culture as Rotten, Strummer and co. Lynval: I think having Nikolaj Torp Larsen, we’re really fortunate to have a kid like that who’s so talented. I was one of the last ones to work with Jerry, I enjoyed working with him. If you’re going to make music, you want to make music with people that you respect as musicians. I do respect him a lot. The Specials on stage, June 1980 (l-r): Lynval Golding, Neville Staple, Roddy Radiation, Terry Hall, Jerry Dammers, John Bradbury. Photograph: Ray Stevenson / Rex Features In 2008, inspired by the Pixies’ reunion in 2004, Hall announced that he would be reforming the Specials for a tour and new music, albeit without founding member Jerry Dammers, who claimed he had been forced out. “The Specials was this big hole which took up four years of my life,” Hall told the Telegraph. “More than anything, I really wanted to see these people again.” Steffen Hung. "Austria Top 40 - Hitparade Österreich". austriancharts.at . Retrieved 17 October 2013.

Spitz, Marc (October 2009). "Past: The Oral History of 2 Tone". Spin. Vol.25, no.10. pp.57–63 . Retrieved 18 January 2018. Matrix / Runout (Side A, stamped / etched, variant 1): CHR TT 5003 A // 3 ▽ E C R S TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN 1 1 1 3 CHR TT - 5003 A 3 √ANOS Then came the Specials. The band released their self-titled debut album in October 1979 and received mass acclaim for blending a punk sensibility – and sharp lyrics about the degradation of modern Britain – with the traditional Jamaican ska sound, even explicitly updating hits by the likes of Toots and the Maytals, Prince Buster and Dandy Livingstone. Interview – Ranking Roger of The Beat". Fred Perry. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018 . Retrieved 14 January 2018.was the year of protest, wasn’t it?” says Horace. “It was in the air. The hardest part of the whole record was deciding what songs to use.” Following the musical liberation of Encore, genre was no obstacle. Each song demands a different arrangement or tone of voice. “We thought, let’s throw out the musical constraints of the Specials. There’s not a tonic suit or Fred Perry in sight. We don’t want to deny our past, because that enables us to do what we do now, but we have our own creative minds to make up.”

This was originally going to be the follow up to Ghost Town," says Lynval. "But because of the pressures and the eternal problems we had within the Specials we had to do it as Fun Boy Three. It was really great to revisit it. The intro is that wonderful keyboard by Nikolaj, which goes absolutely berserk at the end. It's classic Specials." The Specials | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016 . Retrieved 17 October 2013. We knew Terry had been unwell but didn’t realise how serious until recently,” he wrote. “We had only just confirmed some 2023 joint music agreements together. This has hit me hard and must be extremely difficult for Terry’s wife and family.”

If you look at what the lyrics are saying," says Terry. "It's to be good to each other, because on a basic level, that's all you can do. Treat other people with respect and kindness." Terry: I get really bugged by this City of Culture thing. If you have to really search for the culture, you’re making it up. The landmark for me in Coventry is the cathedral. Life and Times of a Man called Depression is almost a prequel to Breaking Point. A Terry song, spoken word, rather autobiographical. With every record I’ve done, I’ve made reference to it,” says Hall, “but this is out-and-out. I was diagnosed with manic depression and schizophrenia about 11 years ago and that diagnosis made a big difference, because then I started taking medication. And the change in me, to be able to function… I couldn’t have done this 12 years ago. People used to say to me, ‘Why don’t you try yoga? Or St John’s wort?’ But there’s a massive difference when you’re in a deep depression and feeling shitty with the world, and the stage that I got to, where you want to give yourself a lobotomy, it’s that bad.”