Search Results for:

THE SPECIALS

Niney The Observer

At King Tubby’s Dub Plate Specials 1973-1975 - 2022 Reissue

Winston ‘Niney’ Holness, A.K.A. The Observer must be one of reggae’s finest Roots Rebel producers. Capable of making some of the heaviest, innovative music, not only in sound but also in the cultural / political sense. Born George Boswell, Montego Bay, Jamaica,1951, and name checked ’Niney’, due to losing a thumb in a workshop accident, he began his career in music by organising bands to play at school dances. But his first steps learning the musical ropes came working under the tutor ledge of producer Bunny Lee around 1967, organising sessions for Bunny’s stable of artists. He moved on to work alongside Lee Perry at Joe Gibb’s ‘Amalgamated’ label setup, where on Lee Perry’s leaving in 1969 to start his own ‘Upsetter’ label, Niney became chief engineer.

Inspired by Perry’s success it wasn't long before his own ‘Destroyer’ label was under way. It was 1970, and his first production entitled ‘Mr Brown’ by DJ’s Dennis Alcapone and Lizzy, proved to be a minor hit, but his own ‘Blood and Fire’ track released in December of that year would become a major hit. After initial problems with it’s likeness to Bob Marley’s ‘Duppy Conqueror’, being ironed out, it’s reissue on his now named ‘Observer’ label, saw it go on to become, Jamaican Record of the Year 1971. Far out selling Bob Marley’s track to the tune of over 30,000 copies in Jamaica alone. A roots classic...

Niney's reputation for building great roots tracks, was furthered with more success working with singer Max Romeo. Issuing cuts such as 'Beard man Feast', the great 'Reggae Matic' and 'Aily and Ailaloo' and renewing his relationship with Lee Perry on the track 'Rasta Band Wagon' who's production credit read Perry, Niney, Maxie. In 1973, Niney began working with Dennis Brown, who was already an established star from an early age, they found a chemistry that went on to produce some of Dennis's finest work.The 1973 hit 'Westbound Train' was followed in 1974 by 'Cassandra', 'I am the Conqueror' and the timeless 'No more shall I Roam'.Another important connection around this time was the great King Tubby who Niney would take his tapes along to and even record some of his tracks at Tubby's house, 18 Drummlie Avenue, Kingston, which doubled as his Studio of Dub.

It's these tracks that we are concentrating on here, Tubby would strip the tracks back to the bone and rebuild them sometimes leaving off the hook line. Weather that be the horn line or keyboard line and adding effects over the top that could disguise the cut even more. Even Niney stating that when Tubby had finished witWinston Niney Holness aka The Observer must be one of reggae’s finest producers. Capable of making some of the heaviest, innovative music, not only in sound but also in the cultural / political sense. Born George Boswell, Montego Bay, Jamaica,1951, and name checked ’Niney’, due to losing a thumb in a workshop accident, his first steps learning the musical ropes came working under the tutorage of producer Bunny Lee around 1967, organizing sessions for Bunny’s stable of artists. He moved on to work alongside Lee Perry at Joe Gibb’s Amalgamated label, where on Lee Perry’s leaving in 1969 to start his own Upsetter label, Niney became chief engineer.

Inspired by Perry’s success it wasn't long before his own Destroyer label was under way. It was 1970, and his first production entitled “Mr Brown” by DJ’s Dennis Alcapone and Lizzy, proved to be a minor hit, but his own “Blood and Fire” track released later that year would become a major hit. After initial problems with it’s likeness to Bob Marley’s “Duppy Conqueror”, being ironed out, its reissue on his now named Observer label, saw it go on to become Jamaican Record of the Year 1971. Far out selling Bob Marley’s track to the tune of over 30,000 copies in Jamaica alone. A roots classic...

Niney's reputation for building great roots tracks was furthered with more success working with singer Max Romeo. Issuing cuts such as “Beard Man Feast', the great “Reggae Matic” and “Aily and Ailaloo” and renewing his relationship with Lee Perry on the track “Rasta Band Wagon” who's production credit read Perry, Niney, Maxie. In 1973, Niney began working with Dennis Brown, who was already an established star from an early age, they found a chemistry that went on to produce some of Dennis's finest work. The 1973 hit “Westbound Train” was followed in 1974 by “Cassandra”, “I am the Conqueror” and the timeless “No More Shall I Roam”. Another important connection around this time was the great King Tubby who Niney would take his tapes along to and even record some of his tracks at Tubby's house, 18 Drummlie Avenue, Kingston, which doubled as his Studio of Dub.

It's these tracks that we are concentrating on here, Tubby would strip the tracks back to the bone and rebuild them sometimes leaving off the hook line. Weather that be the horn line or keyboard line and adding effects over the top that could disguise the cut even more. Even Niney stating that when Tubby had finished with a cut, he found it hard to recognize the track himself. It's these tracks as dub plate specials that Tubby would play on his Hometown HI - FI Sound System and it's these such tracks that have been compiled for this release. DJ, Arranger, Producer, his Roots Rebel Music still stands the test of time.
h a cut, he found it hard to recognise the track himself.

It's these tracks as dub plate specials that Tubby would play on his Hometown HI - FI Sound System and it's these such tracks that we have compiled for this release. Dub Plates that have not seen the light of day since tragically the great Osbourne Ruddock A.K.A. King Tubby was gunned down and murdered on the 06th of December 1989. For a few dollars and a gold chain, reggae music has lost one of its most inventive, creative forces.

Niney also cut tracks with many other reggae giants, Gregory Issac's, Michael Rose, Junior Delgado, Horace Andy, Delroy Wilson to name but a few. As in house producer at the legendary Channel studios and supervising sessions at Dynamic and Randy's Studio17, his magic touched many. DJ, Arranger, Producer, his Roots Rebel Music still stands the test of time.


STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Considering their age, Niney's dubs still boom hard through any modern soundsystem. One of the darkest and heaviest producers of the wave first!

TRACK LISTING

1 Set Dub Free
2 Lately Dub
3 Dub With Tubby
4 Dub Exclusive
5 In Love With Dub
6 No More Dub
7 Here Comes Dub
8 Tenement Dub
9 Swallow Field & Dub
10 Dubbing With Sally
11 Dark Side Of Dub
12 Dub In Silver
13 Truthful Dub*
14 Dub Born Here*
*CD Bonus Tracks

The Specials

Ghost Town - 40th Anniversary Half Speed Master

    THE SPECIALS are one of the defining bands of the late 70’s/early 80’s along with Jerry Dammers iconic label Two Tone Records. They combined Jamaican ska and Rocksteady mixed with the energy of punk and launched a whole Ska Revival which paved the way for fellow likeminded bands Madness, The Beat and The Selecter to release their first singles.

    Having had seven top 10 singles and two Gold albums over the course of two years, the band released Jerry Dammers’ Ghost Town in June 1981, backed by Lynval Goldings’ Why? and the Terry Hall penned Friday Night Saturday Morning. The beginnings of the song were written around the closure of the Larcano dancehall in Coventry, but also reflecting what was happening in other towns and cities with urban decay, unemployment and ongoing racial tensions of the period. Themes which are still relevant today.

    The single, which was recently voted the second greatest UK single of all time by Alexis Petridis in the Guardian, reached Number One in the UK singles charts and stayed there for a further 3 weeks, becoming one of the biggest selling singles of 1981 and has remained one of the classic UK singles of all.

    This 40th Anniversary Edition has been mastered and cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios using the original production tapes for optimum audio quality.

    STAFF COMMENTS

    Barry says: There's no denying that 'Ghost Town' is one of the most well known singles from one of the greatest Ska bands of all time, and what better way to hear it than on this brand new half-speed mastered definitive pressing? Essential purchase.

    TRACK LISTING

    7" TRACK LISTING
    Side A
    1. Ghost Town (Single Version)
    Side B
    1. Why? (Edit)
    2. Friday Night, Saturday Morning

    12" TRACK LISTING
    Side A
    1. Ghost Town (Extended Version)
    2. Why? (Extended Version)
    Side B
    1. Friday Night, Saturday Morning

    Everything Is Recorded & CLIPZ

    Saturday Specials: The CLIPZ Remixes Vol. 3

    “Saturday Specials” sees the legendary Bristol drum & bass don Clipz remixing Everything Is Recorded’s acclaimed second album “Friday Forever” in its entirety. Clipz’s first album length project, split here across three volumes; and at first a strange but ultimately rewarding hybrid of the two artists’ involved styles. This third and final set of club ready remakes features the talents of Everything Is Recorded collaborators Infinite Coles & Berwyn.

    Swerving between adderol-fuelled, agro-jungle and smoother-edged, mainroom rollers, it's another perfectly curated and classy display of everyone involved's unique take on modern dnb. Winner!



    TRACK LISTING

    1. Walk Alone - Everything Is Recorded & CLIPZ Feat. Infinite Coles, Berwyn
    2. Dream I Never Had - Everything Is Recorded & CLIPZ
    3. The Night - Everything Is Recorded & CLIPZ Feat. Berwyn

    The Specials

    More Specials - 40th Anniversary Half-Speed Master Edition

      The second album from The Specials, originally released 1980, moved away slightly from the frenetic ska infused energy of their debut, exploring more varied musical styles. Lyrically it paints a bleaky realistic picture of Britain at the time. 40 years on, it still stand up as one of the best albums of the era.

      This 40th Anniversary Edition has been mastered and cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios using the original production tapes.

      For this edition, the album has been split across 2x 12” vinyl running at 45rpm for optimum audio quality.

      Also include is a bonus 7” single, also cut at half-speed, which originally came with the initial run of the album in 1980.

      Last year The Specials celebrated a UK Number One with a new album, ‘Encore’ and concluded a 40th Anniversary World Tour. 


      TRACK LISTING

      Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)
      Man At C & A
      Hey, Little Rich Girl
      Do Nothing
      Pearl's Cafe
      Sock It To 'Em J.B.
      Stereotypes / Stereotypes Pt.2
      Holiday Fortnight
      I Can't Stand It
      International Jet Set
      Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)

      7"
      Braggin' & Tryin' Not To Lie
      Rude Boys Outa Jail [Version] 

      The Star Beams

      Play Disco Specials

        Play Disco Specials’ was produced by Ray Nkwe who also worked with Mankunku Quartet and The Soul Jazzmen, with all writing credits on the album going to Ray, the recording credited to engineer Robin Ritchie and the artwork to Carol Knowles.

        The Star Beams album is a bit of an enigma. When we first came across their epic dance-floor monster ‘Disco Stomp’ it was on a Disco Calypso compilation, so we assumed it originated from the Caribbean. Years later we worked out how wrong we were and that this nugget was actually from South Africa and taken off an ultra scarce album on JAS Pride records from 1976. The next problem was tracking down an original copy and we don’t think we’ve ever seen our Bongo team member Gary Johnson as happy as the day he turned up clutching a copy under his arm.

        Aside from the disco-jazz-funk of ‘Disco Stomp’, which has found it’s way into the DJ sets of Theo Parrish, ‘Play Disco Specials’ will appeal to fans of The Star Beams South African contemporaries The Drive, Batsumi and Pacific Express.

        TRACK LISTING

        We Did It
        Disco Stomp
        Barney’s Moaning
        G.G. Is Talking

        The Specials

        Specials - 40th Anniversary Half-Speed Master Edition

          This 40th Anniversary Edition of their debut album ‘Specials’ has been mastered and cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios using the original production tapes.

          This edition has been split across 2x 12” vinyl at 45rpm for optimum audio quality.

          The Specials are one of the defining bands of the late 70’s/early 80’s along with Jerry Dammers’ iconic label Two Tone Records. Originally formed in 1977 as The Coventry Automatics, The Specials combined Jamaican ska and Rocksteady mixed with the energy of punk and launched a whole Ska Revival which helped fellow like-minded bands Madness, The Beat and The Selecter to release their first singles. The Specials first single, ‘Gangsters’, was released in May 1979 with independent distribution by Rough Trade and the initial pressing of just 5,000 records sold out. The band and label soon signed with Chrysalis Records who picked up on the release of ‘Gangsters.’ The next single, ‘A Message To You Rudy’, followed in September with their first album released soon after in October. 

          The Specials, one of the most electrifying, influential and important bands of all time, release “Encore”, their first new music for 37 years.

          2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of The Specials and the legendary Two-Tone label in Coventry in 1979, and also marks 10 years since the band reformed to play some of the most vital and joyous live shows in recent memory.

          The 10-song “Encore” was produced by Specials founding members Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Horace Panter alongside Danish musician/producer Torp Larsen and indeed is the first time Hall, Golding & Panter have recorded new material together since the band’s 1981 No.1 single Ghost Town.



          TRACK LISTING

          CD1
          Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys
          B.L.M.
          Vote For Me
          The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum
          Breaking Point
          Blam Blam Fever
          The Ten Commandments
          Embarrassed By You
          The Life And Times Of A Man Called Depression
          We Sell Hope

          CD2
          The Best Of The Specials Live – Tracklisting TBC

          LP Tracklisting
          Side One
          Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys
          B.L.M.
          Vote For Me
          The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum
          Breaking Point

          Side Two
          Blam Blam Fever
          The Ten Commandments
          Embarrassed By You
          The Life And Times Of A Man Called Depression
          We Sell Hope

          The Specials

          The Best Of The Specials

            The Specials are one of the defining bands of the late 70’s/early 80’s along with Jerry Dammers iconic label Two Tone Records. Originally formed in 1977, as The Coventry Automatics, The Specials combined Jamaican ska and Rocksteady, mixed with the energy of punk they launched a whole Ska Revival. They also helped fellow likeminded bands such as Madness, The Beat, The Selecter to release their first singles. The Specials released ‘Gangsters’ as their first single in the summer of ’79, quickly releasing the classic singles A Message To You Rudy, Do Nothing and Rat Race. They released their debut album ‘Specials’ in 1979, followed by ‘More Specials’ in 1980. During this time, the band has two UK Number One singles, a live version of ‘Too Much Too Young’ from ‘The Special AKA Live EP’ and the unforgettable ‘Ghost Town’ in the summer of 1981. Jerry Dammers continued as The Special AKA following the departure of band members in late 1981, releasing their third album ‘In The Studio’ which included the iconic single ‘Nelson Mandela’. 

            STAFF COMMENTS

            Laura says: Along with Madness, The Selecter and The Beat, The Specials were at the forefront of the ska revival which injected a much needed energy into the bleakness of the late 70s / early 80s. They wrote about growing up in a city with all that entailed at the time. Listening to this compilation some 30-odd years on, and the songs still stand up, both musically and lyrically: much of the subject matter is as relevant now is it was back then.

            TRACK LISTING

            Side 1
            1 Gangsters
            2 A Message To You Rudy
            3 Nite Klub (Album Version)
            4 Concrete Jungle
            5 Too Much Too Young

            Side 2
            1 Blank Expression
            2 Doesn't Make It Alright
            3 Rude Bouys Outa Jail
            4 Rat Race
            5 Man At C&A

            Side 3
            1 Do Nothing (Single Version)
            2 Stereotypes
            3 International Jet Set (Album Version)
            4 Friday Night, Saturday Morning
            5 Why?

            Side 4
            1 Ghost Town (Full Version)
            2 What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend (Album Version)
            3 Racist Friend (Single Version)
            4 War Crimes (Single Version)
            5 Nelson Mandela (Album Version)


            Latest Pre-Sales

            96 NEW ITEMS

            E-newsletter —
            Sign up
            Back to top