| "Gangsters" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the single released in the Netherlands | ||||
| Single by the Specials | ||||
| B-side | The Selecter (by The Selecter) [1] | |||
| Released | 4 May 1979 [1] | |||
| Recorded | January 1979 | |||
| Studio | Horizon Studios, Coventry | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:47 | |||
| Label | 2 Tone | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jerry Dammers [3] | |||
| Producer(s) | Special A.K.A. | |||
| The Specials singles chronology | ||||
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| The Selecter singles chronology | ||||
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"Gangsters" is the first single by the English ska group the Specials.
"Gangsters" was recorded in January 1979 in Studio One of Horizon Studios in Coventry. Horace Panter recalls that the song "had so much bass on it that it had to be recut as the bass blew the needle out of the record's grooves" and that "to compensate for the low end, Jerry [Dammers] overdubbed a treble-heavy piano on". The vocals were created by Terry Hall singing a "bored" vocal and an "angry" vocal, which were then mixed together. [4] [5]
Versions of "Nite Klub" and "Too Much Too Young" were also recorded, but it was decided they didn't quite work, so the band then had to find a B-side to "Gangsters". John Bradbury, who had only recently joined the band, replacing Silverton Hutchinson, suggested a instrumental track he had recorded in 1977 with Neol Davies, called "The Kingston Affair". Dammers asked Davies to put a ska rhythm guitar on the song and it was then retitled "The Selecter", becoming the B-side to "Gangsters". [6] [7]
A limited 5,000 copies of the track were distributed by the fledgling 2 Tone record label in May 1979, as a double A-side along with "The Selecter", which was credited to the Selecter, who were Neol Davies, John Bradbury and Barry Jones. The actual wording of the original single is 'The Special A.K.A Gangsters vs. The Selecter', with the 'vs.' being the idea of Dammers, from a poster advertising a sound system battle. [8]
It was given a full release two months later, and went on to reach No. 6 in the UK charts for the week of 2–8 September 1979, becoming both The Specials' and the 2 Tone label's first hit record. [9] [10] The single was first aired on John Peel's Radio 1 show on Monday 7 May, where he was so pleased with it that he played the other side as well.
The song is about an incident that happened to the band while on tour in France with the Clash. They were held responsible for damage in a hotel that another English band (rumoured to be The Damned) had caused, and the hotel manager held one of their guitars as collateral. The situation escalated when the hotel called the local police, and ended with the Specials paying for the damage. [11]
The song is a reworking of Prince Buster's 1964 ska song "Al Capone", sampling the car sound effects that opened that song. The opening line "Al Capone's guns don't argue" was changed to "Bernie Rhodes knows, don't argue" as an insult aimed at Bernard Rhodes, who had briefly been the band's manager. [11]
Despite being a top 10 hit, the song did not appear on the UK version of any studio album by the band, although it was included on some overseas releases of their first album.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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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.
More Specials is the second album by English ska band the Specials, released by 2 Tone Records in September 1980. After the success of the band's debut album, band member Jerry Dammers assumed the role as the band's leader and stirred them into expanding their 2 Tone sound into other genres of music, most prominently a lounge music and easy listening style inspired by Muzak. Several band members disagreed with Dammers' vision and brought their own influences to the album, including from northern soul and rockabilly, contributing to an eclectic sound palette. The relations between band members continued to sour into the album's accompanying tour and most of the band departed in 1981.
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 Selecter is an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979.
Specials is the debut album by British ska revival band the Specials. Released on 19 October 1979 on Jerry Dammers' 2 Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene. Produced by Elvis Costello, the album captures the disaffection and anger felt by the youth of the UK's "concrete jungle"—a phrase borrowed from Bob Marley's 1973 album Catch a Fire—used to describe the grim, violent inner cities of 1970s Britain. The album features a mixture of original material and several covers of classic Jamaican ska tracks.
Stephen Graham "Horace" Panter, also known professionally as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the British 2 Tone ska band The Specials.
2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records.
"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.
Too Much Pressure is the debut studio album by the English 2 tone ska revival band the Selecter. After the band's official formation in 1979 in Coventry, following the release of a song entitled "The Selecter" by an unofficial incarnation of the band, the band's hit single "On My Radio" prompted their labels 2 Tone and Chrysalis to ask the band to record their debut album. Working with producer Errol Ross, the Selecter recorded the album at Horizon Studios over two months. The album contains original material, mostly composed by band founder and guitarist Neol Davies, as well as numerous ska and reggae cover versions, in a similar fashion to the Specials' debut album.
"Nelson Mandela" is a song written by British musician Jerry Dammers, and performed by the band the Special A.K.A. with a lead vocal by Stan Campbell. It was first released on the single "Nelson Mandela"/"Break Down the Door" in 1984.
John "Brad" Bradbury was an English drummer and record producer. He is best known for having been the drummer in the English ska group the Specials.
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.
"On My Radio" is a song by the English 2 tone ska revival band the Selecter, released as a single on 5 October 1979 by 2 Tone Records. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart, remaining on the chart for nine weeks, and became their most successful single.
"The Boiler" is a single by Rhoda Dakar with the Special AKA. It was released in January 1982 on 2 Tone Records.
Neol Edward Davies is an English musician, composer and original member and founder of 2 tone ska revival band the Selecter.
"Missing Words" is a song and single written by Neol Davies and performed by English 2 tone ska revival band the Selecter. Released in 1980 it reached #23, on the UK charts, staying there for eight weeks.
"Rat Race" is a song by ska/2-Tone band the Specials, released on 16 May 1980 by 2 Tone Records as a double A-side single with "Rude Buoys Outa Jail". The single wasn't included on the UK release of the More Specials album, but was included on the US version, released by Chrysalis Records. The song peaked at no. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and also charted on the US Dance Chart.
"Do Nothing" is a song by ska/2-tone band the Specials, released in December 1980 by 2 Tone Records as the second single from More Specials. The single peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
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.
