A gloomy midweek day in Plymouth, not much on the tellybox, “I know, let’s head out to a show”, “who’s performing?”, “Do you fancy The Specials? they’re on at Plymouth Pavilions”….”I’ll get my coat!”

This was pretty much the conversation I had with a good friend literally on the afternoon of the show.

Having last seen the band in 2019 on their Encore UK tour, I was keen to see them perform their classic hits as well as a few newer ones in a live environment, it’s been a long time, so we were certainly excited!

Pete Williams (ex Dexy’s Midnight Runners) opened up with a mix of upbeat post punk, English soul and old fashioned R&B that filled the arena as people prepared themselves for the main act. His music echoed early Dexy’s, elements of Kevin Rowland’s vocal style shining through with some well crafted singalong choruses for everyone to join in with.

Pete Williams is accompanying The Specials on the entire UK tour.

I’ll admit, to see The Specials live is a treat on any given day, the last time I saw them was in 2019 when they were on tour to promote their ‘Encore’ album, the first release from the band in 37 years. The show was FANTASTIC, with a mixture of new and old to keep everyone happy.

Tonight, the band were on tour to promote their forthcoming album ‘Protest Songs 1924 - 2012’ which is due to land on 1st October, this is a collection of songs in response to recent events that were happening around the world (including the murder of George Floyd). 

Terry, Lynval and Horace started to pick some personal favourites including The Mothers of Invention’s ‘Trouble Every Day’, Leonard Cohen’s ‘Everybody Knows’ while Lynval was keen to sing Bob Marley’s classic rebel song ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ which he did so brilliantly tonight with Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene) joining him on stripped back guitar.

The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum) was well received, a somber, hard hitting nod to the state of the country that I am sure we can all relate to. I read that when Terry, Lynval and Horace reformed The Specials, they all agreed that the social injustices of the Thatcher era Tory Britain still existed in the world today under a new ‘Lunatic’ going by the name ‘Boris’, it was great to hear it live as it brought back memories of what was happening to the country when it was first penned by Fun Boy Three way back in the day.

The show really came to life when they started on the classics, ‘A Message to you Rudy’ saw the ‘skankers’ come out of the shadows and give it all they had, ‘Nite Klub’ sounded as bright and vibrant as it did back in the day, Horace’s bass line driving everyone in the right direction. ‘Do the Dog’ followed this and shortly afterwards, ‘Too Much Too Young’ ignited the arena into a riot of noise from the audience as the whole place took off. ‘Gangsters’ kicked in and sounded as dark and edgy as ever, quite a sinister sounding track but again, with a driving rhythm section, it sounded tighter than ever played live. ‘Monkey Man’ closed the first section and the band left the stage to rapturous applause to refresh themselves ready for the encore. 

Upon arrival back on stage, they burst straight into ‘Ghost Town’ which, despite being written over 40 years ago, still stands true in many towns and cities across the country.  

To summarise the evening, the sound at the Plymouth Pavilions is never the best, you almost have to find that ‘sweet spot’ in order to enjoy the best it can offer but owing to the sheer magnitude of the building, the sound does have a habit of bouncing around the room a lot and this does take the shine away from live music events. Despite this, The Specials were on top form, they looked good, sounded great (when you were stood in the right spot) and prove that, even after 40 years in the business, they are still able to cut it live. Whilst I am not waiting for the new album with baited breath, I will be interested to hear how they have added their own slant to the classic tracks selected and I am sure that the songs will be well received at future shows.

I tip my hat to a band that I have enjoyed since the tender age of 7, their edgy, trademark sound will go on forever and along with all other fans, I hope the band do too.

Steve Muscutt