Ska'd for Life: A Personal Journey with The Specials

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As I said, in my previous band we had a record deal that didn’t work out. You’re signing over your career to someone else and you are not in control.”

Horace vividly describes his life before The Specials, the band's formation, their meteoric rise to the top of the charts, and their equally swift disintegration. I was in my previous band for 13 years and it was a gruelling apprenticeship,” said Silky. “We had a record deal but it didn’t work out and we lost money at gigs. Madness look beyond the Caribbean, too. There's an upswing take on the Kinks' 'Lola' that doesn't grate quite as much as it could. A potential cod-reggae calamity is averted on their rendition of the Supremes' 'You Keep Me Hanging On', thanks to Madness's lightness of touch. You'll let Madness off for things that you would never let, say, naff old UB40 get away with.

More clips from Coventry: UK City of Culture

We have a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return. One of the lessons they’ve learned is that the evolution of technology and the shifting patterns of making and receiving music mean more opportunities for bands like DOGP. And that meant not only returning to his first musical love, ska, but also to the summer house at the bottom of his nan’s garden in Warley, Brentwood, where he wrote and rehearsed his very first songs.

It’s a rite of passage for any aspiring musician but with Death of Guitar Pop we have been able to taste the fruits of our hard labour.” Read More Related Articles We love songwriting and we love performing and we take that seriously while having fun doing it. What I’m trying to say is that we’re professional about what we do.” Lots of nice photos included tho not enough discussion of the clothes (yeah, yeah, he discusses why not but still!). It's also interesting because this came out like a year before they all reunited (sort of...) and he's very generous in his evaluations of everyone's contributions and pretty forgiving of everyone's various quirks and you do kiiiind of wonder whether he'd write some of this the same way now. Overall tho, it's a fun read and a neat look at one of my cat's favourite bands. DOGP have enjoyed good support from the very word go but neither Silky nor Top Kat have forgotten the years they spent learning the ropes with their previous bands.Interesting account of Horace's time as bass player for The Specials, from meeting Jerry Dammers in the mid 70's to playing small clubs and pubs with The Coventry Automatics and the eventual rise and fall of The Specials, one of the UK's biggest bands from 1979 to 1981.