The Specials - The SpecialsThe Specials are one of the defining bands of the late 70s early 80s along with Jerry Dammers iconic label Two Tone Records. Originally formed in 1977 as The Coventry Automatics, The Specials combined Jamaican ska and Rocksteady mixed with the energy of punk and launched a whole Ska Revival which helped fellow like minded bands Madness, The Beat and The Selecter to release their first singles. The Specials first single, Gangsters, was released in May

and subsequently made into a salsa groover by Puerto Rico's El Gran Combo in 1971

The portrait is David Berman’s most to-the-bone yet

and shows Kurt both deeply introspective and briskly self-assured

Turns out we didn’t have to do much

mixing and sound manipulation with helpåÊfrom Tim Green (Fucking Champs

defining a whole genre of punk and post-punk music

‘Any Other City’ by Life Without Buildings

acknowledging the influence of the German sound spearheaded by Kraftwerk

‰Û÷Celestial Vibrations‰۪ is a cosmic ambientåÊjourney sounding unlike anything else when it was first released in 1978 - and sounding utterly unique today

with help from the Lips’ Wayne Coyne and Michael Ivins

* Etching on Side D

And even though it wasn’t actually possible to go back to the way things were