SOUNDTRACK4LIFE: THE B-SIDES: Tidy Tunes 2019 #2/28: The Lunatics

Yesterday we mentioned about it being 40 years since the release of the debut album by Joe Jackson, well funnily enough today's choice, The Specials, are also celebrating the 40th Anniversary of their self-titled debut on Two Tone. They also happen to have released a brand new album called 'Encore' just yesterday. It's the first one since 1980's 'More Specials' to feature Terry Hall and he's joined by the only other remaining original members Lynval Golding and Horace Panter. The rest of the originals are off doing their own thing (it's way to complicated to go into all the details here!) apart from John Bradbury (he wasn't an original but was part of the classic line up of the band and played with the reunited band from 2008-2015) who sadly passed away four years ago.

Listening to the new album it's very clear that the world into which they were born way back in the days of The Automatics/The Coventry Automatics (in 1977) has changed in many ways except for the fact that many of the things they were standing for back then are even more higher profile now, the issues of racism and sexism for instance.

Today's pick from the album is actually a cover version of a song that Terry Hall and Lynval Golding wrote with former Special Neville Staple and released in 1981 when they had left The Specials and formed Fun Boy Three. The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum) peaked at #20 in the UK Singles Chart.

The Lunatics - The Specials
from the album 'Encore'
Released 1st February 2019 (Island Records)