The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy outfits ". Their music combines the danceable rhythms of ska and rocksteady with the energy and attitude of punk. Lyrically, their work presented overt political and social commentary.
Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band the Specials and later the Spatial AKA Orchestra. Through his foundation of the record label Two Tone, his work blending political lyrics and punk with Jamaican music, and his incorporation of 1960s retro clothing, Dammers is a pivotal figure of the ska revival. He has also been acknowledged in his work for racial unity.
The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies of apartheid. The AAM changed its name to ACTSA: Action for Southern Africa in 1994, when South Africa achieved majority rule through free and fair elections, in which all races could vote.
46664 was a series of AIDS benefit concerts played in honour of Nelson Mandela by South African and foreign musicians between 2003 and 2008.
"Ghost Town" is a song by the British two-tone band the Specials, released on 12 June 1981. The song spent three weeks at number one and 11 weeks in total in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a popular-music concert staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London, and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. Marking the forthcoming 70th birthday of the imprisoned anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, the concert was also referred to as Freedomfest, Free Nelson Mandela Concert and Mandela Day. In the United States, the Fox television network heavily censored the political aspects of the concert. The concert is considered a notable example of anti-apartheid music.
"Biko" is an anti-apartheid protest song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released by Charisma Records as a single from Gabriel's eponymous third album in 1980.
Savuka, occasionally referred to as Johnny Clegg & Savuka, was a multi-racial South African band formed in 1986 by Johnny Clegg after the disbanding of Juluka. Savuka's music blended traditional Zulu musical influences with Celtic music and rock music that had a cross-racial appeal in South Africa. Their lyrics were often bilingual in English and Zulu and they wrote several politically charged songs, particularly related to apartheid. Some better-known Savuka songs include "Asimbonanga", and "Third World Child", from their 1987 album Third World Child. Band percussionist Dudu Zulu was killed in 1992; their song "The Crossing" was a tribute to him.
In the Studio is the third studio album by British ska revival band the Specials. It was released under the name the Special AKA in June 1984, their only album under that name. The album took over two years to produce before finally seeing release, by which time the original Specials had long since disbanded.
"Starvation/Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie" is a double A-sided charity single released in 1985, and recorded by two charity ensembles formed specially for the occasion, also known as "Starvation" and "Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie" respectively. The aim was to raise money for the starving people of Ethiopia.
Sun City is the first and only album by Artists United Against Apartheid, released on October 25, 1985, by EMI Manhattan Records. The Little Steven-led project features contributions from more than 50 artists from the rock, hip hop, soul, funk, jazz, reggae, latin, and world music genres. The album contains two versions of the "Sun City" protest song against apartheid in South Africa as well as other selections in the same vein from that project.
"Sun City" is a 1985 protest song written by Steven Van Zandt, produced by Van Zandt and Arthur Baker and recorded by Artists United Against Apartheid to convey opposition to the South African policy of apartheid. The song declared that all the artists involved would refuse to perform at Sun City, a resort which was located in the bantustan of Bophuthatswana, one of a number of internationally unrecognized states created by the South African government to forcibly relocate its black population.
"Gimme Hope Jo'anna" is a British anti-apartheid song written and originally released by Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eddy Grant in 1988, during the apartheid era in South Africa. The song was banned by the South African government when it was released, but was widely played there nonetheless. It reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Grant's first British top 10 hit for five years.
Rhoda Dakar is an English singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label. She also worked with The Specials/Special AKA, and also other 2-Tone artists.
Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa was a music concert that took place on 16 April 1990 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, and was broadcast to more than 60 countries. It was held two months after the release of Nelson Mandela from a South African apartheid prison and was regarded by Mandela as an official international reception.
"Mandela Day" is a song by the rock band Simple Minds. It was included in the single "Ballad of the Streets" EP which reached No.1 on the British charts in February 1989 and in their album Street Fighting Years. The single highlights the songs "Mandela Day", "Belfast Child", originally its A-side in the full length version, and "Biko".
"Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)", also known as "Bring Him Back Home", is an anthemic anti-apartheid protest song written by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was released as the first track of his 1987 album Tomorrow. It was recorded in 1986 when Masekela was in exile from the apartheid regime of South Africa. The melody of the song is buoyant, containing a number of powerful chords and trumpet riffs. The lyrics of the song demand the release of Black South African leader Nelson Mandela, who had been imprisoned by the White South African government on Robben Island since 1962. The song became enormously popular, and turned into an unofficial anthem of the anti-apartheid movement. It became one of Masekela's most performed live songs. It was later used as a part of the official soundtrack to the documentary film Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony. The song was included in the 1994 live album Hope and in the 2001 collection Grazing in the Grass: The Best of Hugh Masekela, released by Columbia Records.
The apartheid regime in South Africa began in 1948 and lasted until 1994. It involved a system of institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy, and placed all political power in the hands of a white minority. Opposition to apartheid manifested in a variety of ways, including boycotts, non-violent protests, and armed resistance. Music played a large role in the movement against apartheid within South Africa, as well as in international opposition to apartheid. The impacts of songs opposing apartheid included raising awareness, generating support for the movement against apartheid, building unity within this movement, and "presenting an alternative vision of culture in a future democratic South Africa."
"Asimbonanga", also known as "Asimbonanga (Mandela)", is an anti-apartheid song by the South African racially integrated band Savuka. It was first released as a 12" single in 1986, and then included in their 1987 album Third World Child. It alluded to Nelson Mandela, imprisoned on Robben Island at the time of the song's release, and other anti-apartheid activists. "Asimbonanga" is a Zulu phrase that may be translated as "We have not seen him". It was well received, becoming popular within the movement against apartheid, and was covered by several artists including Joan Baez and the Soweto Gospel Choir.
Encore is the eighth studio album by the English ska revival band the Specials. It is their first studio album of original songs since 1998's Guilty 'til Proved Innocent!, and their first new material with vocalist Terry Hall since 1981's "Ghost Town" single.
