Born on 19 March: Terry Hall, a rudeboy with very 'Special' talents

He was born in 1959 in Coventry, and nothing, absolutely nothing, destined him for such a rich and multifaceted career.

Active on the music scene of his hometown from the mid-70s, Terry Hall often tried to understand how a rudeboy from the deprived district of Borstal became interested in so many musical genres, often very pop but also regularly more abrasive. In various interviews, with his usual insight, he put forward a few hypotheses, including this particularly pertinent one: "I grew up in an environment where nobody cared about your background. Coventry was built on immigration, on the industry's thirst for cheap labour. So, in my opinion, it's no coincidence that a band like The Specials was born there," he told the New York Times in 2010.

With the modesty that characterised him, he forgot to add that his insatiable curiosity and his appetite for sometimes improbable encounters always guided his choices. He waited until 1994 to record Home, his first solo album which, inevitably, hosted a few guests, starting with producer Ian Broudie (Original Mirrors, The Lightning Seeds) but also Les Pattinson (ex-Echo & The Bunnymen) or Damon Albarn (Blur) for his next EP. Terry Hall solo indeed, but far from solitary. In 1997, Laugh was the title of his second and last album under his name.

Before reuniting with his compatriots Horace Panter and Lynval Golding for a joyous (albeit inevitably nostalgic) reformation of The Specials from 2008, Terry Hall was at the helm of a handful of ephemeral projects: The Fun Boy Three (1981-1983), The Colourfield (1984-1987), Terry, Blair & Anouchka (1989-1992), the electro-rock episode Vegas with Dave Stewart (1992), as well as, a few years later, a brief association with Mushtag (Fun-Da-Mental) in 2003. Not forgetting a few appearances alongside Toots & The Maytals or Gorillaz.

These collaborations brought about a few gems and sometimes very political anthems such as Pushing Up Daisies (Colourfield), Ghost Town (Specials), Ballad Of A Landlord (under his name) or The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum (Fun Boy Three), which can be enjoyed as a perfect summary of his artistic career.

Terry Hall left us on December 18, 2022, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 63 years old. His talent is greatly missed...

(MH with AK - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Terry Hall with The Fun Boy Three for the show Generation 80 in Brussels (Belgium) in May 1982