Interview: Horace Panter of the Specials

When musicians and fans alike talk about the birth of ska, one band is always at the epicenter of the discussion. The Specials were formed in Coventry England in 1977. the goals of the band were simple ones. They wanted to make spirited ska music that had a punk edge and a social message and they wanted to do it with an integrated band made up of Black and White musicians. The group not only garnered a massive following but they spawned a movement of like minded bands both in England and in America. They also created the 2-Tone record label and were part of the Rock Against Racism movement. By 1981 band members started to go their separate ways but in 2009 The Specials reunited to celebrate their 30th anniversary in England. The celebration is now destined to come to these shores next month. The Specials will hit America for a string of shows including a Friday appearance at the Coachella Music Festival.

While sitting in his home in England, Horace Panter chatted with me about the history of his ground breaking band and he shared some insight on how The Specials, got to be so special.

David Carr: Horace, talk to me about how the band formed in 1977. How did you all get together and why was it important for you to be an integrated band?

Horace Panter: Hold on David. We will need to back up a bit. In order to explain the band we have to talk about the history of Coventry. Coventry England was heavily bombed back in World War II. When it was rebuilt in the 50's and 60's it became a very multicultural city. Coventry was a multicultural place before there was multiculturalism. We lived side by side with each other and to be honest it was no big deal...it wasn't a big deal for an Englishman to live by an Irish person or a Jamaican or Asian. That's just how it was.

DC: So by the time the band started to form, was it just the natural progression to have an integrated band?

HP: Exactly! We knew that Coventry was very unique compared to other parts of England...we knew other parts were not as multicultural but for us it was very natural. When we started to form the band it was very mater of fact. We knew we wanted to play reggae so we thought the smart thing to do would be to find a Jamaican guitarist, who could play reggae. Punk was just starting up and we knew we wanted that element in the band so we had to find a punk to be in the group. We just went about it that way.

DC: How did the Rock Against Racism movement come about? How did the band get involved with that?

HP: Well in 1974 a very inebriated Eric Clapton got on stage and started bad mouthing the Asian community in England...he also pledged support for Enoch Powell who at the time was a very conservative, anti-immigrant minister. The movement was born the very next day. The movement coincided with the advent of punk and reggae. Both punk and reggae were seen as rebel music. They were seen as the opposite of the extravagance that had seemed to really engulf rock. Both forms of music were aggressive, back to basics and had attitude, and it seemed that they fit well together. We became a part of that movement quite naturally. We were integrated and we were bringing together both punk and reggae.

DC: So then, ska was the defining force that brought both genres together.

HP: Yes, definitely! We were able to bring both styles together. We figured if we could play the punk songs slower and the reggae songs faster we would have something! HA!

DC: Horace, what in your opinion broke the band up? What made band members start to walk away?

HP: Wow...how much time do we have? I mean really, do we have a few weeks for this interview?

DC: HA! I guess it's hard to sum up in an interview eh?

HP: In 1978 and 1979 we had a unified vision, look and sound. We were united in what we were doing as this little band. By the time 1981 rolled around the feeling was we have done what we wanted to do. I mean we helped create a whole musical movement with Madness and the English Beat. We had the 2-Tone record company. We were part of Rock Against Racism. There were some in the band who felt, "if it isn't broke don't fix it". Some just wanted to keep doing what we were doing. Other folks in the band wanted to do something new, something different. They did not want to keep doing the same thing. We were also young. I mean we drank too much! We did drugs...you know all the things young bands do, we did them also...I guess to quote one of our own songs it was all "too much, too young." That's what happened.

DC: After the 30 years, what made the band members decide to put The Specials back together?

HP: I think it really just took 30 years for us to see all of the water that had passed under the bridge. We have families now, and we have more of a perspective on things. It seems we really meant a lot to people, and there are many people who never got a chance to see us. Folks keep saying this is a dream come true for them. I mean I don't know if you remember General Public, but I was in that band. No one comes up to me and says, "You're that bloke who was in General Public". They always say, "You're that bloke who used to be in The Specials". I think we meant a lot, to an enormous amount of people and the time seemed right to try and get this thing together again.

DC: Your founding member Jerry Dammers is not with the band on this reunion. Why is that?

HP: Well now you have indeed asked about the Elephant in the front of the room. It is true that Jerry is not with us on this reunion. We have fallen out with him and we really don't have anything further to say about it.

DC: You will be coming to the states soon and one of the shows you will be playing is the Coachella Music Festival. Are you looking forward to playing such a massive festival?

HP: I am actually looking forward to seeing Them Crooked Vultures! The first band I saw live in England was Led Zeppelin! I also loved "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and I am a fan of Queens of the Stone Age. I think it's great that we are playing this festival but I do think we make much more sense playing in the clubs.

DC: You mentioned that your band has had an effect on folks, and this is true when it comes to the ska movement here in the states. What do you think of the ska bands that got started in the U.S.?

HP: You know when I first heard American ska I didn't really like it. I thought they played the music too fast, but then I realized that there really wasn't anything wrong with the music. I realized this was just the way ska was played in the states. I mean it's like a Jamaican hearing me play reggae and thinking I am doing it wrong. It may not be wrong at all, it's just the way I play it.

DC: Any bands from the third wave of the ska revival stick out in your mind?

HP: A lesser version of The Specials came to the US in the 90's. We got a chance to meet bands like Bim Skala Bim, The Toasters and The Bostones...those bands were very, very nice. We actually got to tour with No Doubt while we were here and that was also great. I think the one band we were most leery about sharing the stage with was Fishbone. They put on the most incendiary live shows I have ever seen. I think they were the best band we had ever seen live in the states!

DC: What does the future hold for the band after these shows? Will there be new music? Will you tour this summer?

HP: I think there is a danger in over selling something. We did forty shows in England last year so I don't think we will play there again for a bit...we are going to concentrate a bit more on the states but I think we are going to take it slow.

DC: Sounds like The Specials will be taking it one day at a time during this reunion.

HP: Well we really don't want to over stay our welcome...maybe we'll take it one month at a time!

Catch The Specials at Coachella and at the Nokia Theater in LA next month.