The Specials kick off Olympia stint in brilliant style

Some 42 years after forming, The Specials are more popular than ever. This year’s Encore album became their first ever UK number one, and tonight marks the first of three sold-out dates at the Olympia.

They perform in front of a collage of political slogans, some serious (“Think!” “Vote”), some not so serious (my favourite of which is “Free James Brown”) – an appropriate backdrop for a group whose music has always reflected the issues of the day.

The band open with a slew of tracks from The Specials (1979) and More Specials (’80s), classic albums that act as a time capsule of Thatcherite Britain. The nuclear war paranoia of ‘Man At C&A’ and mordant social commentary of ‘Rat Race’ – the latter prompting the first of many singalongs – are early highlights, but best of all is ‘Friday Night, Saturday Morning’.

Lyrically, it’s effectively ‘Nightclubbing’ relocated from ’70s Berlin to ’80s Coventry, with frontman Terry Hall at his sardonic best: “Two o’clock has come again / Time to leave this paradise… Wish I had lipstick on my shirt / Instead of piss stains on my shoes”.

Though his usual introverted self, Hall retains a unique charisma. He even generates gales of laughter when he relays how, on the flight over, he discovered it’s possible to vape in the plane toilets, albeit exhaling requires placing one’s head in the toilet bowl.

Meanwhile, the band – led by the dual guitar assault of Lynval Golding and Ocean Colour Scene’s Steve Cradock – are simply perfect: effortlessly skipping from throbbing ska to infectious reggae and haunting dub.

Highlights are plentiful, although perhaps the most unforgettable moment occurs on ‘The Lunatics’, where the eerie musical backing perfectly complements Hall’s all-too-accurate observation that “the lunatics have taken over the asylum” – a commentary on international political malaise that could also apply to Michael Healy Rae’s contribution to the Oireachtas FAI hearing the previous day.

After that, ‘A Message To You, Rudy’ and ‘Nite Klub’ generate further singalongs, before encore highlight of ‘Breaking Point’. With the band lined up across the front of the stage, the tune offers a powerful reflection on the shocking levels of chaos Brexit has unleashed.

So that’s The Specials – they remain very special indeed.

Photo Credit: Colm Kelly