The Specials, Brixton Academy, 07 May 2009
Photo courtesy of Wonka
The Specials played the first date of their comeback tour at the O2 Brixton Academy after a 30 year absence last night. Taking my place in the crowd of mostly male, Fred Perry wearing 40-something rude boys, I found myself standing next to Mark Lamarr as the crowd chanted for The Specials to appear. At about half past nine the curtain rose to reveal a simple backdrop with THE SPECIALS written large in black and white.
Opening with Enjoy Yourself before heading straight into Do the Dog, Dawning of a New Era and Gangsters, it quickly became apparent that the acoustics of the Academy were going to suit The Specials just fine, with a loud bass contributing to a great meaty sound. If anything they sounded slightly too polished, with a couple of stadium-rock sounding outros to songs which previously would have draws to a shambolic close. There was no sign of Terry Hall’s (eucalyptus vapour action) throat problems beyond the lead singer taking numerous swigs of water and forgetting the words in the otherwise excellent Rat Race.
The band hadn’t aged too badly either. Terry Hall was his usual sulky self, whilst Neville Staples and Lynval Golding provided the energy, with Neville doing plenty of running on the spot. The crowd, having waited a long time to hear these songs live, were loving it, with chants of Rude Boy going up in between songs.
Whilst the music was great, I couldn’t help feeling a little sad, particularly during the more uptempo songs (during which their age was more noticeable). I am too young to have seen The Specials live, so what I know of them beyond their two albums is footage of electric performances on the likes of The Old Grey Whistle Test (see below), where they all look so young, vital and energetic. And their live albums, particularly the excellent Too Much Too Young and Live at the Moonlight Club, give some idea of just how exciting their gigs were - you can almost feel the sweat dripping off the ceiling on those early recordings. So it’s a bit of a shame to see these old men playing songs which are 30 years old rather than preserving those moments.
Still, close your eyes during Friday Night Saturday Morning, Stereotype and Man at C&A and you can almost forget that its 2009. Coming after a surprisingly low key Monkey Man and Rat Race, this middle section was particularly strong. Man at C&A, with its trombone intro and dub-heavy guitars sounded superb. These later songs were the sound of The Specials as accomplished musicians exploring their boundaries, and reminded you what a shame it was that they split at the height of their powers after just two albums.
Other highlights included A Message to You Rudy and Nite Klub, during which an enormous disco ball descended from the ceiling. Ghost Town was a little disappointing, the eerie backing vocals not working live, maybe because they never really played it live originally, splitting up shortly after it was released. Perhaps here they could have done with Jerry Dammers’ help in arranging this song for live performance. While not noticeable musically, the fact that Dammers was not present tonight hung heavily in the air tonight. Surely with a reunion it has to be all the original members or nothing, but one wonders whether that particular disagreement can ever be settled since it descending into a blame game.
The Specials finished with You’re Wondering Now, with the last chorus being sung acapella by the crowd. The encore yielded the inevitable Too Much To Young, surely one of the best singles ever, which was introduced by Lynval Golding rambling about how many children the band members now had. This was followed by Skinhead Moonstomp and Longshot Kick de Bucket before The Specials departed to huge cheers.
Whether this reunion is motivated by love of the music or money (the size of the merchandise stall hints at the latter) is probably immaterial. The tour is a sellout, and the fervour of a crowd made up of people who worshipped this band in teh late 1970s and early 1980s together with the fact that the Specials still sound great, will ensure this tour is a success. Glastonbury should be fantastic.
May 8th, 2009 at 4:21 am
I have to say that having been a fan of the Specials for many years, I was not sure whether this would be the best gig ever or not. I have to say though that having been there, it was far better than described. Terry Hall apologised profusely for cancelling the night before and contrary to this article was quite raspy due to his throat problems. He also thanked everyone so much for coming along and supporting them after so many years. As for the energy and vitality, it was in abundance as the running around on stage and the crowd going completely mental.
If you get the chance and you are a fan. go and see them. It is an experince you will not forget.
May 8th, 2009 at 7:39 am
What a night ! I fely strangely nervous waiting for the Specials to take the stage, not sure how the sound and the songs would come across after all this time. From the first note to the last the Specials played one of the best gigs I have seen, their music and lyrics still poignant to this day, this could be more than a comeback, if they want it, I think they can produce a lot more!
May 8th, 2009 at 11:29 am
At aged 11 I aspired to go out on Friday nite and come home on Saturday morning. I am glad that thousands still feel the same, and proves the music still stands out. The remarks about their age, and vigour are petty and shows a real lack of understanding of how their music (not their image) has stayed part of our lives over such a long period of time. AND whats wrong with them making money? Don’t we all do that everyday to support ourselves and families. None of them are multi millionaires racking in the cash, from annual staduim gigs, like U2. I hope they make loads of money, because the specials and all the influence they’ve had on music, are priceless.