Terry Hall (singer)

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Terry Hall


Img_capt = Terry Hall at Sassy Sue's July 07 deletable image-caption
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Born = birth date and age|1959|03|19
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Origin = Coventry, England
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Genre = New Wave
Ska
Rock
Occupation = Musician
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Associated_acts = The Specials
Fun Boy Three
The Colourfield
Terry, Blair & Anouchka
Vegas
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Terry Hall (born Terence Edward Hall; 19 March 1959, in Coventry, England) is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He released his first solo album, "Home", in 1994. He has also worked with David A. Stewart, The Lightning Seeds, Sinead O'Connor, Stephen Duffy, Dub Pistols, Gorillaz, Tricky and Lily Allen.

Biography

Early Years

Hall was an active member of the burgeoning Coventry music scene of the late 1970s, playing in local punk band Squad, and being credited as a composer on their single "Red Alert" / "£8 a Week". This scene also produced acts such as The Selecter and Hazel O'Connor.

The Specials

As the frontman for The Specials (though initially called The Coventry Automatics and then The Special AKA), Hall primarily struck it big in Britain in 1979 when BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel played their single "Gangsters" on his show; the song was included in his Festive Fifty at #7 in that year. The Specials' first self-titled album features some of Hall's most recognizable and notable performances, including "Little Bitch", "Nite Klub" and "Concrete Jungle". This debut album also displays Hall's writing talent alongside Jerry Dammers.

In October 1980, The Specials released their second album, "More Specials". While singing such fan-favourites such as "Enjoy Yourself", "Rat Race", and "Hey, Little Rich Girl", Terry helped the band recreate the upbeat music of the first album. The next album released by the band, 1984's "In The Studio", was credited to The Special AKA (a lineup that did not include Hall).

The Fun Boy Three

After The Specials' last single with Hall, the UK #1 hit "Ghost Town", Hall left the band to start a New Wave group, Fun Boy Three, with two other Specials members, Lynval Golding and Neville Staple. Fun Boy Three's first hit single occurred in late 1981, entitled "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum)", then followed-up in early 1982 with "It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)", a duet with Bananarama. Fun Boy Three then provided guest vocals for Bananarama's single, "Really Saying Something". That same year, Hall and his bandmates appeared in the video for "Driving in My Car" by ska band, Madness. In February 1983, Fun Boy Three released "Waiting". It consisted of the Top Ten hits "The Tunnel of Love" and the classic "Our Lips Are Sealed". The latter was a song Hall wrote with Jane Wiedlin, who had already made it into a hit the previous year with her group The Go-Go's.

The Colourfield

In 1984 Hall formed the Manchester based band The Colourfield, releasing the album "Virgins & Philistines" in 1985, which included the single "Thinking of You" (UK #12 hit single). This new musical direction would culminate in collaborations with the Lightning Seeds' Ian Broudie, contributing a number of songs to the Seeds' "Sense" (1992), "Jollification" (1994), "Dizzy Heights" (1996) and "Tilt" (1999) albums. Hall also co-wrote the song "Smoke Rings" for Broudie's debut solo album "Tales Told". The track was subsequently released as the lead track on the "Smoke Rings" EP.

Terry, Blair and Anouchka

In 1989, Hall teamed up with American actress Blair Booth and jeweler Anouchka Groce, taking the prosaic band name of Terry, Blair & Anouchka. After two poorly-performing singles and the album "Ultra Modern Nursery Rhymes", released to little fanfare in early 1990, the group disbanded.

Vegas

In 1992, Hall joined forces with Dave Stewart, most famous for his role as one half of the The Eurythmics. The duo took the name of Vegas and released a slick electronic pop album that was heavily promoted by label BMG, but failed to make much of a mark. The final single released from was a cover of Charles Aznavour's "She". The last single released by Halls' previous band The Colourfield was also a cover of another song called "She", that one by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, a duo known primarily for writing many of the Monkees biggest hits.

Terry Hall and Mushtaq

In 2003, Hall collaborated with with Mushtaq (Fun-Da-Mental) on the album "The Hour of Two Lights", which contains contributions from a twelve-year-old Lebanese girl singer, a blind Algerian rapper, a Syrian flautist, Hebrew vocalists, a group of Polish Gypsies and Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz).

Recent Years

In 2001 he appeared as a guest on the Gorillaz-D12 single "911", which was a song about terrorist attacks in the U.S.

In 2007 he provided vocals for many tracks on the Dub Pistols album Speakers and Tweeters, as well he appeared live at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK on the Pyramid Stage with Lily Allen (and fellow Specials / Fun Boy Three band member Lynval Golding). He also played on the Park Stage, once again with Lynval Golding and also Blur frontman Damon Albarn and beatboxer Shlomo, playing a version of Specials classic "A Message To You Rudy". Later that year in July he appeared at GuilFest on the BBC2 radio stage with Dub Pistols and Lynval Golding.

On 30 March, 2008 Terry Hall stated that The Specials would be reforming for tour dates in Autumn 2008, and possibly for some recording. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20080330_specials.shtml BBC - 6 Music - The Specials reunion ] ] This was officially confirmed on 7 April, 2008. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/7335284.stm BBC.co.uk: "Ska band confirms reunion plans"] ]

On 6th September 2008, six members of the band performed on the Main Stage at the Bestival as the 'Surprise Act'. As Jerry Dammers did not play at the festival and owns the trademark rights to the name "The Specials", the group was billed as "Terry Hall and Friends".

Discography

Footnotes

External links

* [http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ataleofwoe/ A Tale Of Woe (Yahoo! Group)]
* [http://www.terry-hall.com/ A Terry Hall Website]