Terry Hall has passed away, age 63, following a brief illness.
A tribute…
Fun Boy Three
Our Lips Are Sealed.
As a teenager, became obsessed with this wonderfully written song, which probably speaks to all teenagers.
Co-written by Jane Wiedlen, guitarist with The Go-Go’s and Terry Hall. (Apparently, they had a brief affair). The Go-Go’s also did a version, (1981), which was typically upbeat. However, Terry’s version, (1983) - somber and melancholy - seems to hit the mark for “moody teenage angst”.
If I was ever forced to pick a top 10 ( just 10 is impossible) I think this one would make it into that 10, just on the strength of the lyrics alone.
Great as the Danmers era was for at least two albums I must admit to a soft spot for Protest Songs. In many senses it’s an album which sounds the least like them and, given the American origin of many of the covers perhaps even less likely as a statement, and yet it has, for me, more of the life and joy of the original Two Tone than anything they’d done since reforming.
63 is far too young. Sadly I never got to see The Specials either in their heyday or later. I had tickets for a concert in Newport but something happened and I didn’t end up going. A shame.
Growing up in the West Midlands in the 70s and 80s (with all that entailed in unemployment and heroin problems in the area), the Specials and the voice of Terry Hall told our story in some ways.
Terribly sad news. Ghost Town was one of those songs which just fitted so many different places back in the day. At the time it seemed a perfect fit for Belfast when I was in my teens and different factions were determined to blow the heart out of the city. Most night venues were to be found well outside the city, which sat cowering with its useless steel defence line around it, waiting for the next bomb to go off. Terry Hall, The Specials and that particular song resonated profoundly with me and many like me in Belfast and I’m sure across the UK and beyond. RIP Terry Hall.
