The Specials - Show why they are so important to British music in Bristol

*****

Something special in Bristol 

The Specials ***** are on a 40th anniversary tour having released a new album ‘Encore’ too this year and one of the stops was the Bristol Harbourside, the perfect way to kick off the weekend long Harbourside Festival. The weekend was drenched in sunshine to massive crowd, unfortunately the crowd on Friday night just got drenched and somebody forgot to order the sunshine. Last year we had Jimmy Cliff headlining this concert with his hit ‘Sunshine after the Rain’ ,this year it seemed to be reversed.

But ponchos on we got down to enjoying the music, The Specials always have had a political edge which was on show tonight with the backdrop mimicking protest banners. The first song ‘Man at C&A’ from a time when the masses were downtrodden, the world has a racist edge and the US could cause world havoc at any time, luckily we live in more enlightened times, erm.

In fact the current political climate has given them the material for the new album with a few tracks from that played tonight ‘Vote for Me’ about self-serving politicians and ‘Embarrassed by You’ taking aim at the “nasty little brutes like you” of the hooded knife wielders across the country.  With what has been going on around the World it seems we do need a band like The Specials back again and they certainly treated us to the old hits too.

Terry Hall, Horace Panter and Lynval Golding remain of the original members who played these songs back from 1977 onwards, maybe slightly ironically Neville Staples band was playing just up the road in Melksham.’ Rat Race’ and ‘Blank Expression’ both had early outings with every word being sung back by the crowd followed swiftly by ‘The Lunatics have taken over the Asylum’ by Fun boy Three, who were an offshoot band of The Specials back in the 80’s.

These songs have stood the test of time too and you realise why solid songs become classics, and they just kept coming ‘A message to You, Rudy’ once again uniting the crowd in song.  Before being united in more skanking for ‘Monkey Man’ and ‘Gangsters’ before the main set was concluded with ‘Too Much, Too Young’ they have one of the biggest repertoires of instantly recognisable hits I think of many of the older bands still actively touring.

The two encores included ‘Ghost Town’ and the final sons was their traditional closing track of ‘You're wondering Now’. They pick this due to the line “You’re wondering now, what to think now you know this is the end” which Terry Hall had the audience repeatedly sing back until he was happy, almost teacher like as he declared “no, I have all night”.

Although sadly he didn’t as I could have happily listened for longer, in fact I think the curfew as opposed to the standard of singing called it a night. A band that have been around for a long time, but in that time have built a loyal fanbase that still sell out multiple shows around the country and it was a pleasure to part of that audience in a damp Bristol.

Review by Jon Cooper and Photo's by Steve Owen (Icarus Photography)

Check Out! the Video for 'Gangsters' Below...