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"It is with great sadness that we announce the
passing, following a brief illness, of Terry, our beautiful
friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers,
songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced," they
said on Twitter.
Hall joined the band in 1977 in his central English home city of
Coventry. With its mix of black and white members and its
Jamaican-inspired sound, they became a symbol of Britain's new
multicultural identity at a time of racial tensions.
"The Specials were a celebration of how British culture was
invigorated by Caribbean immigration," singer Billy Bragg, part
of the same wave of performers, tweeted in response to the news.
"But the onstage demeanour of their lead singer was a reminder
that they were in the serious business of challenging our
perception of who we were in the late 1970s."
Hall was famous for his deadpan delivery, staring expressionless
into the television cameras as he sang, while the rest of the
band leapt about behind him, dressed in their trade-mark suits,
pork-pie hats and loafer shoes.
Their song "Too Much Too Young," a critique of teenage
pregnancy, reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1980, and
they repeated the feat in 1981 with "Ghost Town," a protest
against urban decay under the government of former prime
minister Margaret Thatcher.
Hall left the band in 1981 to set up another group, Fun Boy
Three, with two other former Specials members. He rejoined The
Specials -- also known as The Special AKA -- and performed with
them as recently as this year.
(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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