The Specials Trivia Quiz

Answer: Also known as The Automatics

The band had been known as The Automatics for some time, but were forced to change their name after a punk band going by the same name hit number one on the punk/new wave charts in 1978 with their single "When The Tanks Roll Over Poland Again". Briefly enjoying a stint as The Coventry Automatics, they eventually plumped for their better known identity.

As for the other options, The Adicts were another punk group who enjoyed modest success, probably best remembered for the classy single "Easy Way Out".

The Allisons were an old sixties band who hit the UK top 40 on three occasions, most notably with the number two smash "Are You Sure?".

The Adverts were a highly influential punk band whose key members hailed from Devon. They are primarily remembered for their topical 1977 number 18 hit "Gary Gilmore's Eyes", a reference to the first man to be executed after the death penalty was reinstated in the US.

Answer: Coventry

Coventry has been home to many great bands and artists over the years, most notably The Specials, but also the underappreciated Adorable, Clint Mansell (Pop Will Eat Itself), Hazel O'Connor and her brother's brilliant but sadly neglected punk band The Flys.

Leicester is the city I live in and unfortunately has little to shout about by way of successful credible musicians. In recent times we've had Kasabian and one half of Basement Jaxx, and further back we had Family, but aside from that there's only really Engelbert Humperdinck, Showaddywaddy and Mark Morrison to speak of!

Birmingham, of course, has seen a number of diverse luminaries make the leap from the street to the spotlight, including Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra, Duran Duran, The Beat, UB40 and Napalm Death. Dexys Midnight Runners also formed here and the best of the lot in my eyes - The Au Pairs. One of my all time favourites, The Wonder Stuff, were based in nearby Stourbridge.

Wolverhampton's most famed musical inhabitants are unquestionably 70s glam rockers Slade, although recently Beverley Knight has become one of the city's top celebrities. Also hailing from the city were 80s indie guitar heroes The Mighty Lemon Drops, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Goldie. Actually I could have used the "nearby Stourbridge" quote for Wolverhampton as well as Birmingham!

Answer: Too Much Too Young

"Too Much Too Young" was a surprise chart topper at the beginning of February 1980. It was doubly surprising to me as the lyrics were really quite controversial for the time!

"Rat Race" was a number five hit later the same year in May. It was a double a-sided single with "Rude Boys Outta Jail".

"A Message To You Rudy" and "Nite Klub" were released as a double a-side in October 1979. It was the band's second single and it peaked at number ten.

Answer: Elvis Costello

Costello, as well as releasing a fine body of work himself throughout his career, produced not only The Specials' classic debut, but also the remarkable sophomore album from The Pogues, "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash". He even co-produced and co-composed the title and incidental music for Alan Bleasdale's gritty and brilliant tv mini-series "GBH", and continues to put out quality material to this day.

Nick Lowe produced all of Costello's first five albums.

Clive Langer was primarily known for his work co-producing Madness with Alan Winstanley, although the pair also produced Costello's 1983 album "Punch The Clock".

Jerry Dammers was the main creative force in The Specials, and he produced the band's second and final album "More Specials" before they broke up, amidst much animosity.

Answer: Maggie's Farm

Like many people, The Specials were far from enamoured with Margaret Thatcher's rise to power in 1979 and this Dylan track seemed to reflect the mood perfectly.

"International Jet Set" was absolutely nothing to do with Bob Dylan. It's one of my favourite tracks by The Specials, and it reached number six in the UK charts as a double A-side with "Stereotype" in September 1980.

I chose "The Times They Are a-Changing" as it was another Dylan song that could feasibly fit the criteria of the question, and I thought "Subterranean Homesick Blues" could fit the description of a band on tour.

Answer: Two Tone

2 Tone Records gave many bands a platform to start from, the most successful of these being Madness, who released their debut single "The Prince" on the label and went on to become one of the most successful bands of the eighties. Other bands who struck gold on the label were The Beat, The Selecter and The Bodysnatchers, amongst others.

Stiff Records was an infamous label which ran for nearly a decade between 1976 and 1985. Madness signed for them after "The Prince" and the label's most illustrious names, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and the Blockheads and Wreckless Eric were synonymous with the name Stiff Records. The Pogues, The Damned, The Adverts, Tracey Ullman, Kirsty MacColl and Motorhead also released material on the label.

Zarjazz was a short lived record label set up by Madness themselves, releasing former Undertones vocalist Feargal Sharkey's debut solo single "Listen To Your Father" in 1984, which peaked at number 23. Other than one single and album released by Madness themselves and an eponymous charity single called "Starvation" featuring members of the latter band, UB40 and General Public, the label enjoyed little other success.

I'm sure nobody went for The Beatles' record label, Apple. Shame on you if you did!

Answer: True

According to Horace Panter's excellent book "Ska'd For Life", studio engineer Dave Jordan cheekily said "I see the funboy three are out there again then" or words to that effect, and the name stuck!

Answer: Two skeletons at a piano

"Ghost Town" was the second single I ever bought, after Adam and the Ants' "Stand And Deliver", and everything about it was just perfect. It was a striking cover in black and white and conveyed the mood of the song perfectly. Not only that, but its B-sides were two of the strongest I've ever heard; "Why" was written after Lynval Golding suffered a racist attack by National Front thugs and is poignant and profound, while "Friday Night, Saturday Morning" is a rejection of the youth yob culture with Terry Hall at the height of his lyrical wit.

I chose the taxi option because of the classic video, where the band are seen travelling through deserted streets in a big black car.

If you chose the "photo of the band wearing Hallowe'en masks" option, oh come on! They're not Slipknot you know!

As for the other option, there WAS one record released in 1981 which simply had a plain black cover - "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie.

Answer: Nelson Mandela

"Twenty one years in captivity, his shoes too small to fit his feet". So goes the first line, although it was closer to 22 years by the time the single made number nine in 1984. Nelson Mandela was finally released from prison in February 1990, initially having been arrested for illegally leaving South Africa, and then whilst serving his five year term was charged with sabotage and treason and sentenced to life in prison on Robben Island.

Terry Waite, a humanitarian from Cheshire, England and Irish journalist John McCarthy were both held captive in Lebanon between 1986 and 1991.

Patrick McGoohan, of course, was "number six" in the classic cult television series "The Prisoner"!

Answer: Horace Panter

"Ska'd For Life" is a fascinating and frank look at the majestic rise of the band and the dramatic deterioration of relationships within The Specials and is one of the few recent books I would regard as a "must read" for anyone who hasn't already done so.

Jerry Dammers, Terry Hall and Rico were of course all members of the same band at one time or another, although the latter was already a Jamaican reggae legend by the time he joined up with The Specials.