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The Specials

Well supported

Coventry band formed 1977 (originally the Coventry Automatics) and flagship act of Jerry Dammers's 2 Tone label; their multiracial line-up revived Jamaican ska for late-1970s/early-1980s Britain, and the 1981 UK number one 'Ghost Town' captured recession-era urban unrest as it topped the charts amid inner-city riots. A key node in the Jamaica-to-Britain ska diaspora (Wikipedia 'The Specials'; The Guardian; BBC).

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The Specials - Ghost Town (Official HD Remastered Video)

YOUTUBE · rights discovery only · performs

Youtube upload (channel: The Specials / Chrysalis (official)); embedded as a discovery-only reference pending editorial review.

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In stories

Story · Well supported2 Tone and the Jamaican source

A Coventry label built its entire sound, and its politics, on records its founders had spent years studying.

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Compiled and researched by The Jamaica Music Atlas music desk. The sources that informed it are credited above.

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