Terry Hall, lead singer of British ska group The Specials, has died. He was 63 years old. The band reports it on Twitter, describing him as “a great man and father” and “a very sincere soul”.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother and one of this country’s most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists,” writes the band. Hall died after a short illness.
Hall began his music career with the punk band Squad in his hometown of Coventry. He later continued with The Specials, founded in 1977. The band’s debut single, Gangster (1979), was immediately well received by the general public and reached number 6 in the UK charts. However, The Specials’ biggest success came in 1981 with the No. 1 hit Ghost city. The song was about urban decay, unemployment and disenfranchised youth. The song received much attention during the many racism riots that broke out between black youth and the police in the UK that year.
In 1980 the band released the song A message for you Rudy from. The song was quite popular in the Netherlands but became a huge hit in the UK. The band’s cover, officially by Jamaican Robert Thompson, was produced by Elvis Costello.
Hall was married to Lindy Heymann, with whom he had one son. Hall also had two children from a previous marriage.
On June 28, Hall performed with The Specials at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.
