TERRY HALL: A Soulful Rebel (Biographies of Musicians)

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Jerry Dammers, founder member of the Specials, won't join Hall and co on their UK dates next month. They haven't seen eye to eye for quite some time. That afternoon two sets of skinheads came in. They told us they were ever so pleased we’d come to Belfast. They appreciated it so much that one set would stay downstairs and the other up on the balcony, so there was no fighting

Bandmate Neville Staple tweeted to say he was 'deeply saddened'. Folk singer Billy Bragg paid tribute to his cultural impact on Britain in the 1970s. Culture Club frontman Boy George called it a 'sad day' and said he 'absolutely loved him' as an artist. On one level, 1983’s Waiting was lighter than their debut – produced by Talking Heads’ David Byrne, it featured the fantastic, poppy hit single Our Lips Are Sealed (on the US version), which Hall had written with Jane Wiedlin of the Go Gos about their clandestine relationship – but it also contained Well Fancy That!, a disturbing account of the abuse Hall had suffered as a child, after being abducted by a paedophile ring during a school trip to France. If you wanted evidence of Hall’s catholic music taste – not always apparent in The Specials – Waiting opened with a jaunty cover of the theme music from the 1960s film adaptations of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple mysteries. After undertaking a variety of solo and collaborative projects it was announced in 2008 that The Specials would be reforming for tour dates and potential new music.Horace: I think age has filtered a few things. The only thing I watch on television is the news, really. I didn’t realise I was spending the first 50 years of my life in this bubble called depression, and people told me about it but I had no idea what I was doing,” he told the DJ. “And then 10 years ago I had to get attention because of an incident and I found a doctor and she’s got me out of this bubble and said, ‘You know, you’ve got an illness but we can deal with it.’”

Terry, as a lifelong Man United fan, what do you think Ole Gunnar Solskjær has to do to get the manager’s job full time? The reggae punk band's hits included Ghost Town, which spent three weeks at number one and ten weeks in the UK Top 40. Hall also released two studio albums and has collaborated with the likes Bananarama, Gorillaz and Lily Allen. Panter revealed: 'Terry had the framework for eight tunes. Confidence was high. We were set to meet up with Nikolaj [Larsen, Specials keyboardist] and make magic. Terry: I think politicians love the division. It’s a great thing for them. They thrive on it. I don’t think they want everyone to be together. Brexit has conjured up so much stuff, and all these personalities are appearing, like Jacob Rees-Mogg. They like the division and I can see it getting a lot worse.Hall was born in Coventry on 19 March 1959 to a family who predominantly worked in the car industry. He was an academically gifted child and also a noted footballer who was invited to try out for West Bromwich Albion. After he sailed through the 11-plus exam, his parents also declined his place at a nearby grammar school. Lynval: He’s a real Man U guy, he spent half his life there, it’s in his blood, and it’s got to be in your blood to be able to manage a club like that. I think they should hold on to him, and give him the job full time. It could be another Fergie in the making.