The Specials - Protest Songs 1924-2012

What makes a protest song? The Specials should know. First time around, back when the 70s were lurching into the 80s, they sang of racism, war, unemployment and the rough edges of urban life, and never in the same way twice. As the multiracial flagship of the 2 Tone movement, they made a political statement every time they stepped on stage. June 2021 saw the 40 th anniversary of their last and greatest protest song, Ghost Town, a record that will retain its eerie power as long as there are concrete jungles, empty dancehalls and desperate spasms of violence.

It's fitting, then, that in 2021 the Specials are releasing Protest Songs 1924-2012, an unpredictable collection of unique takes which celebrates the long history and endless versatility of the form, from folk to post- punk, from righteous uplift to biting satire, and from Kingston to Alabama. It’s a potent reminder that there are no fixed rules to templates for a protest song.

All that’s required is the combination of something that needs to be said with music that needs to be heard. “People have been using music as a vehicle for protest since time immemorial,” says bass- player Horace Panter. “Injustice is timeless.” The album grew out of a very strange period during which, as we all know, nothing went according to plan. In February 2020, Horace got together with Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and co-producer Nikolaj Torp Larsen to start work on a reggae record — their first album since 2019’s chart-topping Encore. Within days, though, Lynval and Nikolaj fell ill with what they later realised was Covid-19, closely followed by Horace.