Lankum release cover of The Specials' 'Ghost Town'

Lankum have released their new cover of 'Ghost Town' by The Specials.

The Dublin band began teasing the release on social media last week, before releasing the single today, along with a music video with cinematography by The Favourite (2018) cinematographer Robbie Ryan.

'Ghost Town' was first released as a protest song by English ska band The Specials in 1977, a commentary on the recession during Margaret Thatcher's reign as UK Prime Minister.

The release follows news that the contemporary-folk band will extend their contract with UK independent label Rough Trade. 'Ghost Town' will be released on vinyl format on January 2026.

“Ghost Town came to us through some curious circumstances. Oona Doherty, who we were familiar with through her phenomenal dance work on the video for Gilla Band’s ‘Shoulderblades’, contacted us and told us about a new show she was putting together," explained the band. "She wanted a new piece of music for the show, for a party scene set on Halloween night, and told us she wanted it to start out indistinguishable and woozy, before developing into the very recognisable track by The Specials.

"At first we were slightly reticent, since a cover of a ska tune wasn’t something we’d usually ever consider, but after a bit of deliberation we decided we’d give it a shot, and the result took us on an incredibly enjoyable journey that had us gleefully playing with synthesisers and drum machines in Hellfire Studios, trying to come up with the scaldiest 90s sounding techno for the outro section of the track."

"We’re very excited with the end product and delighted that Oona approached us and challenged us to step out of our comfort zone. It’s an honour to be releasing a version of this iconic tune, and it feels eerily relevant to be referencing yet again themes of urban decay, economic hardship and working class frustration."

The music video was shot in County Wicklow, and directed by Leonn Ward. Ward is known for her short films and was included in the official ‘Voice of a Woman’ selection at Cannes Film Festival for the film 'The Way We Dress'.

'Ghost Town' is the band's first release since their last studio album False Lankum in 2023. They also released Live In Dublin, a live album, last year. Most recently, their track 'The Granite Graze' off of their 2017 record Between The Earth and Sky, was featured on Netflix's House of Guinness soundtrack, which premiered last month.

• See the 'Ghost Town'  video below: