Watch The Specials perform 'Gangsters' live on SNL

THE SPECIALS performing GANGSTERS on German TV show 'RockPop' in 1979. In May 1979, GANGSTERS "was initially distributed via Rough Trade Records, who persuaded the band to produce 5000 copies, twice what the band had originally intended,” wrote Jason Weir & Peter Walsh for 2-tone.info. “The single was issued a plain white sleeve stamped by the band themselves with the words THE SPECIAL A.K.A 'Gangsters' Vs THE SELECTER.” “The band then signed to Chrysalis Records, who were more than happy to sig

Gangsters - Saturday Night Live - 1980 #thespecials #ska #2tone | The Ska Bar

“Gangsters” was The Specials’ (@thespecials) first single. Its success ignited the whole 2-Tone Ska scene. The song is about a tour in France where The Specials were held responsible for damage in a hotel that another English band caused. The hotel manager even took one of their guitars as a deposit. The Specials had to pay the damage, and the situation escalated when the French police came around. #ska #2toneska #thespecials | Ska Punk Daily