Part 3: No Fun Boys

Nothing was heard from the Specials until September, but they had not been taking the well deserved rest they all craved for. Instead, they had been shut up in Horizon studios putting the finishing touches to their second album, 'More Specials', which was released at the end of the month. The recording had been a difficult process. The tension still remained between Jerry and Roddy, and Dammers health was beginning to suffer, a direct result of the non stop work schedule of the last year.

Dammers managed to get himself together in time for the Specials latest UK tour, which kicked off in Cornwell on September 13th. A taster for the forthcoming album, 'Stereotype', was released as a single a week later, and found the band in very different territory. The single, a swipe at Jack the lad types, featured an overtly muzak influence, which was Dammers latest influence. As well as a drum machine, the recording also had a flamenco style guitar and quirky keyboards, all of which left some rude boys and skinheads very bemused. The flip side 'International Jet Set', featured an even heavier muzak influence, and was inspired by the bands gruelling American tour.

Eventually, the new sound was readily accepted by the fans, and the single reached No.6 on the UK chart. Some radio stations had a problem playing the track though, as it wasn't exactly 'radio friendly', containing as it did references to getting "pissed" and catching VD. The eagerly awaited album was issued the following week, and received very favourable reviews from the press, many of whom had been sharpening their knives, ready to tear the band apart.

The first side of the album featured pretty much the Specials old ska sound. Kicking off with an uptempo version of 'Enjoy Yourself', previously popularised by Prince Buster, it moved steadily toward the newer sound as the tracks progressed. 'Man At C & A', 'Hey Little Rich Girl' and 'Do Nothing' are all typically Specials classics, whereas 'Sock It To 'Em JB' is a soul stomper originally recorded on Stax by Rex Garvin. 'Pearls Cafe' was an updating of an early Automatics number called 'Rock & Roll Nightmare', that now featured the infamous "it's all a load of bollocks" chorus, that was soon being sung in shools up and down the country by junior rudies and mini skinheads.

Side 2 started with an extended version of 'Stereotype', that featured Nevill Staples toasting over the second section, and this was followed 'Holiday Fortnight', an instrumental that could quite easily have been recorded by Joe Loss or Herb Alpert. The next track featured guest vocals from Bodysnatcher Rhoda Darkar, who duetted with Terry Hall on 'I Can't Stand It', a bitter sweet tale of love and rejection. The album closed with a remix of 'International Jet Set' and a brief reprise of 'Enjoy Yourself'.

The first 100,000 copies came with a free poster, and more importantley, a free 7" single, that coupled Roddy Radiations 'Braggin' & Trying Not To Lie', and Neville's 'Rude Boys Out Of Jail Part 2'. The second track was a completely different recording to the original, and saw Neville revive his Judge Roughneck character who originally appeared on 'Stupid Marriage' on the first album. 'More Specials' was warmly received by the fans and they sent it to the No.5 spot on the UK album chart.

The ugly spectre of violence again reared its head at Specials shows. The worst incident occured in Cambridge on October 9th, where 3,500 people gathered in a tent on Midsummer Common to see the band play. Trouble flared during support act The Swinging Cats set, which forced them to leave the stage. To try and calm things down the Specials took to the stage, and announced at the first sight of trouble they would be off. Initially things cooled down, but eventually further fighting broke out and the band, true to their word, left the stage.

The Specials tried to resume their set, but were forced off stage twice more as the aggrovation continued. After taking to the stage a fourth time, with the fighting still ongoing, the police were called, but rather than keeping order, bouncers were now contributing to the violence. Terry Hall also had to be restrained after he grabbed a microphone stand with the intention of inserting it into one of the guilty bouncers. In the dressing room, Dammers and Hall were shocked to hear that the promoter was holding them personally responsible for the trouble. The police charged the two Specials with behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace, and eventually the pair were fined £1,000.

The cracks were beginning to appear in the 2-Tone dream. The Specials were fed up with the mindless violence that, through no fault of their own, seemed to follow them wherever they went. They made it public that they had no intention of touring on such a large scale in the foreseeable future, it just wasn't worth all the trouble. The next planned live performance was supposed to be at a CND gig at Trafalgar Square, but when the Department Of Enviroment refused to grant a license for the large PA system, the Specials were pulled from the bill. Other bands still played the gig, through smaller PA's on the backs of trucks, but the Specials were not asked by the organisers to do so.

As well as problems on the road, things were also beginning to falter at 2-Tone records. The Beat had left the previous year after issuing just one single, a cut of Smokey Robinson's 'Tears Of A Clown', the Bodysnatchers had split, and the Swinging Cats had failed to last to the end of the More Specials tour. That left just Rico and the Specials themselves still signed to the chequered label. The Selecter had quit to sign directly to Chrysalis, as they felt that 2-Tone could not offer them the promotion they needed. To rub salt in the wounds, they got a much more lucrative deal than Dammers had for the Specials and 2-Tone.

The band played a gig for the charity Blanket Coverage at the Hope & Anchor, and this really made the band pine for the old days when they were on the small club circuit. Also on the bill that night were old chums Madness, and both bands played blinding sets. Lynval Golding stated afterwards that it was one of the best performances the band had ever put in, and he also said the band would play a lot more small venues in the future.

The next vinyl outing for the band was released a week before Christmas 1980. 'Do Nothing', Lynval Golding's catchy reggae number from the 'More Specials' album, was re-mixed with added strings, and issued as a 7", coupled with a percussive cover version of Bob Dylan's 'Maggies Farm'. The single proved extremely popular and finally peaked at No.4 on the UK chart, but it was to be the last thing anyone heard of from the Specials collective on record for 6 months.

The break was just what the band needed, 18 months of non-stop touring and recording had really taken it's toll on the group. Rather than put their feet up and relax however, Neville Staples and John Bradbury each founded their own record labels, Staples with Shack and Brad with Race Records. Neither label enjoyed commercial success, and both ventures folded after 4 releases. Roddy Radiation passed his time by forming an offshoot band, the Tearjerkers, who played what Roddy described as "Skabilly", a mix of ska and rockabilly.

By January, the band were back on the treadmill. Gigs in Ireland for some childrens charities and anti-nuclear campaigns ended in farce when the money raised was confiscated by airport officials. The band could also be seen live on cinema screens when the film 'Dance Craze' was released in February 1981. The film, directed by American Joe Massot, featured all the popular 2-Tone bands, as well as soulmates Bad Manners, playing live in footage shot the previous year. The Specials contributed 5 performances to the movie, and 3 were included on the soundtrack album released by 2-Tone, that reached No.5 on the album chart.

The Specials finally returned to the studio, and the fruits of their labour were issued on a 3 track EP in June. The lead track 'Ghost Town', a spooky reggae number complete with banshee wailing, immediately caught the publics imagination, and the record shot straight to the top of the chart. The record featured a shared vocal between Neville and Terry, and ex-Bodysnatcher Rhoda Dakar also contributed. The single was also issued as a 12", which featured a sublime trombone solo from Rico over the extended dub section.

The other 2 tracks on the EP were of the same high standard. The first of these,'Why?', was written by Lynval Golding as a direct response to the racist attack he suffered at the Moonlight Club the previous year. Terry Hall's 'Friday Night Saturday Morning' came next, and portrayed a night out on the town, although it was a far cry from 'Stereotype'. Although he admitted Jerry's slightly muzak treatment of the song was OK, it wasn't exactly how Terry had envisaged it. He had wanted to sing the song to just a basic piano accompaniment, but General Dammers pulled rank and jazzed it up.

After playing several gigs around England, the Specials were due to travel to Ireland for a gig at Dalymount Park. The tickets went on sale, but soon after the gig was mysteriously cancelled. No definitive explaination has ever been put forward, but rumours of ill health, or the band splitting were rife.When the controversy died down, the Specials crossed the Atlantic for another tour of America. The tension between band members was reaching a new high, and Dammers behaviour was becoming increasingly unpredictable.

After performing in front of 25,000 people in Toronto, Canada, an argument between Dammers and manager Rick Rogers resulted with Jerry giving Rogers his marching orders. Hearing of Rogers dismissal, Terry Hall approached him and said that he, Neville and Lynval had been thinking of quitting the band. Hall asked if Rogers would like to join the trio as their manager, and Rick readily agreed, after all what did he have to lose?

Terry, Lynval and Neville had already worked on a couple of tracks back in January. The trio recorded an early version of Lynval's 'Why?' and a cover version of the Paragons 'Wear You To The Ball', which eventually saw the light of day on the album 'The Shack' in 1993, although Hall's vocal was removed for legal reasons.

After returning to the UK, the individual members of the Specials went their seperate ways, with the intention of returning to the fold later that year to record their third album. By late October however, Hall confirmed that he, Staples and Golding had left the band, and formed a new outfit the Fun Boy 3. Jerry, Brad and Horace learnt of the defection whilst on tour with Rico, and a week later Roddy Radiation was also on his way. Jerry was obviously upset by the reticent manner of their departure, and was disappointed that the trio didn't try and work things out with him.

A mere fortnight after the split was announced, the debut single from the Fun Boy 3, 'The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum', was in the shops, and shortly after, in the charts. It was a typical Specials style lyric, vaguely akin to 'Man At C&A', but the backing track was very different. To conceal their lack of musical dexterity (only Lynval could play an instrument to any real standard), the boys covered the recording in heavy percussion, which worked a treat, and created their own sound in the process.