Terry Hall, frontman of British ska group The Specials, has died at the age of 63. He said the group in a statement published on Monday Facebook.
The band has taken strong political and social stances with their music and lyrics. To separate Nelson Mandelawhich was created as a protest against the imprisonment of the then activist and later President of the Republic of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, became a top ten song in the British charts in 1984.
“Terry has been a great husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, most genuine people,” the band wrote on Facebook. “His music and his performances captured the very essence of life…joy, pain, humor, the fight for justice, but most of all love…he will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him” , he added.
Hall was born in 1959 in Coventry, England and rose to prominence in the late 1970s in the group The Specials. In 1981, their song Ghost Town topped the UK charts for several months. He then left the band together with musicians Neville Staple and Lynval Golding and founded the group Fun Boy Three.
Hall’s life changed when he was kidnapped by a teacher at the age of twelve. ‘I was kidnapped, taken to France and sexually abused for four days,’ he told the magazine in 2019 The viewer. “And then I was punched in the face and left on the side of the road,” she added. The singer noted that he has struggled with depression all his life because of it.
After a music career outside of the Specials, he rejoined the group years later with a changed lineup. Last year, the band released a cover of protest songs. During his career, Hall has also collaborated with other artists, such as rapper Tricky, the group Gorillaz and singer Lily Allen.
