The Specials Return With New Album, "Encore" and Announce North American Tour". Music News Net . Retrieved 1 February 2019. After their departure from the Specials, Golding, Hall and Staple founded the pop band Fun Boy Three and enjoyed commercial success from 1981 to 1983 with hits such as " Tunnel of Love", " It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)", " Our Lips Are Sealed" and "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)". The group ended with Hall's sudden departure, leading to a 15-year rift with Staple. [13] The Specials secure first Number 1 album with Encore". Officialcharts.com . Retrieved 8 February 2019. Turner, Luke (10 December 2008). "Jerry Dammers Damns Specials Reunion". Thequietus.com . Retrieved 29 April 2010. The Specials completed a North American tour in 2013, performing to sold-out crowds in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and Vancouver.

Williams, Paul (2009) You're Wondering Now-The Specials From Conception to Reunion, Cherry Red Books. ISBN 978-1-901447-51-4 Neville Staple with Tony McMahon, Original Rude Boy: From Borstal to the Specials, Chapter 9: "Bhangra House".

# 6 – International Jet Set

Muso's Guide Interview with the Specials". Mymusos.com. 13 May 2009 . Retrieved 29 April 2010. [ permanent dead link]

After seven consecutive UK top 10 singles between 1979 and 1981, main lead vocalists Hall and Staple, along with guitarist Golding, left to form Fun Boy Three. [3] Continuing as "The Special AKA" (a name they used frequently on earlier Specials releases), a substantially revised Specials line-up issued new material until 1984, including the top 10 UK hit single " Free Nelson Mandela". After this, founder Jerry Dammers dissolved the band and pursued political activism. [7] In 2017, the band invited 20-year-old Birmingham native Saffiyah Khan to a show after a photo of her confronting an " English Defence League goon" in a Specials t-shirt at a counter-demonstration went viral. Less than two years later, Khan had performed on stage for the first time, recorded a song and toured North America with the band. [41] [42] The Specials join Blur for London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony". Birmingham Post. 21 February 2012 . Retrieved 23 April 2018. Trendell, Andrew (19 December 2022). "The Specials' Terry Hall has died, aged 63". NME . Retrieved 19 December 2022.Original Rude Boy: From Borstal to the Specials by Neville Staple with Tony McMahon; Chapter 4: The Specials – The Rude Boys Arrive Sutherland, Mark (13 August 2013). "The Specials join Blur for London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 23 April 2018.

On 1 February 2019, the band announced a spring North American tour to promote the 1 February 2019 release of Encore (out via Island Records). [44] The following week, Encore debuted at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart, giving the band their first chart-topping album since 1980. [45] During late 2019, The Specials invited 17-year-old artist and photographer Sterling Chandler to join and photograph the band on the remaining leg of the tour. [46] More…Or Less. The Specials Live': Live compilation of the legendary band's 2011 tour. Release date: 6th August, 2012". Thespecials.com. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original on 23 August 2012 . Retrieved 13 August 2012. From 1984 until 1987, Hall fronted the Colourfield, with some commercial success. After they disbanded, he pursued a solo career, working mostly in the new wave genre. He co-wrote a number of early Lightning Seeds releases. He also performed some vocals for a Dub Pistols album. He and Eurythmics member David A. Stewart formed the duo Vegas in the early 1990s, releasing an eponymous album in 1992. Hall joined the Specials for their 2009 reunion, and continued to perform with them until his death in 2022.

# 3 – Friday Night, Saturday Morning

On 29 October 2018, the Specials announced a UK tour in 2019 to coincide with the release of a new album, Encore. [43] The Specials reveal updated UK tour dates including homecoming Coventry gig". Coventry Telegraph. 3 March 2021 . Retrieved 13 May 2021. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

The Specials – The Best Of The Specials. Released via Chrysalis Records. Available on Double Vinyl LP, CD+Bonus DVD. John Bradbury, Drummer for the Specials, Dies at 62". The New York Times. 2 January 2016 . Retrieved 23 April 2018.Despite the live success, the band fizzled out after a 1998 Japan tour (which Panter missed due to illness [19]), although limited touring with a different line-up continued into 2000. The release of the earlier Trojan sessions, Skinhead Girl in 2000 and Conquering Ruler in 2001, would be the last heard from the band for some time. The group re-formed in 1993, and have continued to perform and record with varying line-ups, none of them involving Dammers. In 2007, Hall teamed up with Golding for the first time in 24 years, to play Specials songs at two music festivals. At Glastonbury Festival, they appeared on the Pyramid Stage with Lily Allen to perform "Gangsters". In May 2009, Golding claimed that Allen's reuniting him with Hall played a "massive part" in the group's later reformation. [20] Later the same day, they played on the Park Stage, with Damon Albarn of Blur on piano and beatboxer Shlomo providing rhythm, to perform "A Message to You, Rudy". At GuilFest, Golding joined the Dub Pistols to again perform "Gangsters". In 2007, Golding regularly performed concerts and recorded with Pama International, a collective of musicians who were members of Special Beat. Bradbury continued through the Special AKA era, then formed the band JB's Allstars, before moving into production. He joined Special Beat for several years, then a reformed Selecter, before retiring from music to work as an IT specialist. [14] He rejoined the band for their 2009 reunion, and continued to perform with them until his death in 2015.