Ten years into their current reunion, The Specials have announced they’ll release a new album titled Encore next year, the band’s first collection of original material in two decades and its first recordings with original lead singer Terry Hall since the 1981 single “Ghost Town.” Full details, including tracklist, right here.
[tweetmeme]Reactivated 2 Tone ska legends The Specials will return to the U.S. this summer for at least three concerts in California. According to its Facebook page, the band will perform in Oakland, Pomona and San Diego in late June. It’s not known yet whether more shows are in the offing. Full dates here.
Reunited U.K. indiepop outfit The Darling Buds have recorded a cover of The Go-Go’s 1981 hit “Our Lips Are Sealed” — written by Jane Wiedlin and The Specials’ Terry Hall — that will be released on the Neon Maniacs compilation on Cassette Store Day this October. Stream the full song right here.
The Specials return to North America this June for a 12-date run of concerts that will take the band to Canada and the east and west coasts of the United States. The tour opens with two shows in Toronto on June 6 and 7, then plays a few East Coast dates, followed by a West Coast run, before ending at a Quebec festival on June 24.
This week’s new releases include reissue of The Specials’ three albums — 1979′s The Specials, 1980′s More Specials and 1984′s In the Studio, the latter of which was released under the band’s original name, The Special AKA — as well as a new record from German synthpop outfit Camouflage.
The three original studio albums from the legendary 2-Tone ska act The Specials — 1979’s The Specials, 1980’s More Specials and 1984’s In the Studio — will be reissued this March in expanded 2CD sets featuring non-album singles, live material, instrumentals and Peel sessions.
This week’s new releases include a live CD/DVD combo from Simple Minds, a new best-of from The Dream Academy, vinyl reissues of classic debut albums from Tears For Fears, ABC and Soft Cell, a live album from The Specials reissued on vinyl, and a new best-of set of 2 Tone ska.
Elvis Costello and The Roots have been busy this week promoting their just-released new album Wise Up Ghost, performing in Brooklyn Monday night — where they covered The Specials’ classic “Ghost Town” — and appearing on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” aka ?uestlove and Co.’s day job, on Monday night.
As promised, reunited 2 Tone-era ska giants The Specials are returning to North America this summer for the second leg of their 2013 tour, following up their March dates at South By Southwest and in the western part of the country with at least eight concerts in Canada and on the East Coast of the United States.
As one of our readers noted this morning, Morrissey finally got the answer to the question he posed of Margaret Thatcher in his controversial Viva Hate closer “Margaret on the Guillotine”: “When will you die?” The former British prime minister passed away today at age 87.
The Specials have begun announcing dates for the first leg of this year’s North American tour, confirming shows via their Twitter account in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco on either side of the band’s planned performances at the South By Southwest festival in March.
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