In a statement released on social media, the well-known reggae trio, whose numerous songs include Rat Race and Too Much Too Young, confirmed his passing.
They tweeted, “It is with tremendous regret that we announce the loss of Terry, our wonderful friend, brother, and one of the greatest singers, songwriters, and lyricists our country has ever produced.”
Terry hall’s family life
Terry was a fantastic husband and father, as well as one of the nicest, funniest, and most sincere individuals. His songs and performances captured the very essence of life… the pleasure, the anguish, the humour, the struggle for justice, but most importantly, the love.
Hall, well renowned for his work with Dave Stewart and Damon Albarn, joined The Specials in Coventry, England, shortly after their foundation in 1977.
The band’s initial formal lineup was singer Neville Staple, guitarists Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation, bassist Horace Panter, pianist and principal composer Jerry Dammers, drummer John Bradbury, and horn players Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez.
“Gangsters,” “A Message to You, Rudy,” and “Ghost Town” were among the band’s darkly bouncy singles in the U.K. and Europe in the 1980s.
He was featured on Billboard at 34
In 1984, “Free Nelson Mandela” hit No. 34 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs Chart – as it was then known – providing the Specials with their sole mainstream presence in the United States (as Special AKA, sans Hall).
Hall co-wrote The Go-Gos’ 1981 breakthrough hit, “Our Lips Are Sealed,” with guitarist Jane Wiedlin during his Fun Boy Three years after the all-girl band backed the Specials on their 1980 tour of England. Fun Boy Three initially recorded the song, but Wieden, who had a relationship with Hall, told the songwriter website Songfacts.com that Fun Boy Three’s rendition was “far darker” than the Go-Go’s.
In 2007, Hall rejoined with Golding for the first time in twenty-four years, and in 2008, the Specials reformed for a run of gigs with all original members save Jerry Dammers.
The Specials released their eighth album, “Protest Songs 1924-2012,” in 2021, with Hall, Golding, and Panter contributing.
Wiedlin was among many who paid homage to Hall, stating that she was “devastated” to learn of his passing.
“He was a charming, compassionate, brilliant, and one-of-a-kind individual,” she said, adding that “Our Lips Are Sealed” will “forever bind us together in music history.”
Belinda Carlisle, Wiedlin’s bandmate, also observed that the Go-are Go’s “inextricably linked” with Hall.
Billy Bragg, an English singer-songwriter and activist, wrote in a tribute that the band was “a celebration of how British culture was revitalized by Caribbean immigration” and that Hall’s performances were “a reminder that they were engaged in the serious business of challenging our perception of who we were in the late 1970s.”
Elvis Costello also hailed Hall’s vocals as “The ideal instrument for the essential and genuine songs on ‘The Specials’ This authenticity can be heard in so many of his happy and sad songs.”
Read Also: What Happened To Brittany Murphy? Brittany Murphy Cause Of Death.