RIP Terry Hall you influenced a generation

"Ghost Town" one of the greatest political/protest songs ever, 1981 was a crazy year in the UK.

That's not just a church. That's Coventry Cathedral.

It was bombed in the war. It was gutted out, but the outer walls are mostly there. So it's just been preserved like that and is sometimes used as an outside performance space.

It was and is such a great song.  During Covid lockdowns i was reminded of it and how much of the lyrics still applied.

Coventry was almost flattened by bombing in WWII due to it being the location of many factories producing armaments.
The "church" is Coventry cathedral which was gutted by fire during the largest air raid.  After the war it was decided to keep the ruins of the medieval structure and  build a new modernist cathedral next to it as a symbol of rebirth after the horror of war. The juxtaposition is very beautiful, and reflects something of the character of the people of Coventry, tough and independent.

Saw them play five times they were brilliant

Ghost Town is Art with a capital A. I lived in those places through those times and nothing expresses it better.

Ghost Town always makes me think of that one bit in Father Ted where the DJ only has one single record and it’s Ghost Town 😂

https://youtu.be/LrZAtp157KI?si=VaI7UQ_G939FJHzh

As it happens, that live version of My-Ding-A-Ling was recorded at the Locarno in Coventry... you know, the very nightspot Terry Hall was singing about. Small world.

My last concert before the lockdown was The Specials with Terry and Neville back in the lineup. What a great show. RIP Terry

Second wave Ska was crucial.

The Specials did get back together (minus Jerry Dammers )and had a no.1 album  ‘Encore’ in 2019.  Rip Terry Hall and John Bradbury

There has always been a rivalry between Coventry and Birmingham. The skilled factory workers in Coventry referred to their counterparts in Birmingham as "metal bashers" and called a hammer a "Birmingham screwdriver".

I remember 1981 so vividly. I can remember my Dad driving me (as a ten year old) to gymnastics training and warning me to hunker down in the footwell of the car as we drove through Manchester. The youth were out on the streets and things were looking hairy. Every time I hear Ghost Town it comes flooding back. I still love this song though. It is one of the most original songs ever produced -absolute genius.

There is a British saying. “Being sent to Coventry” means no one talks to you.
The saying is centuries old. Ironically it got  very badly Bombed in WW2 despite the allies knowing it was going to happen. They didn’t evacuate the city as it would let the Germans know they had broken Enigma.

Nice review, it's great you take the time to cross reference some points, I wish more reviewers would do that. Cheers.

If you've seen Shaun of the Dead, you've heard this song. It's right at the start😊

they weren't alone but they said it right"   RIP Terry Hall.

It's worth checking out The Fun Boy Three

I love you doing these.  I'm a Brit and I learn stuff all the time from your research.