Ghost Town by the Specials is 30 years old. How did this strange but unforgettable record capture a moment in history?Ghost Town by the Specials is 30 years old. How did this strange but unforgettable record capture a moment in history?
It starts with a siren and those woozy, lurching organ chords. Then comes the haunted, spectral woodwind, punctuated by blaring brass.
Over a sparse reggae bass line, a West Indian vocal mutters warnings of urban decay, unemployment and violence.
"No job to be found in this country," one voice cries out. "The people getting angry," booms another, ominously ...
Full article here, BBC magazine, 17/06/11.Jerry Dammers, composer of Ghost Town
"I think it couldn't have happened without Sex Pistols and punk rock - the door was open for lyrics about reality, about real lives. Pop music was a completely different thing then.
"We were touring the country and we could see what was going on. I remember driving through Liverpool and seeing the shops all boarded up.
"As we drove into Glasgow, going to the gig I remember looking across to these flats. There were people setting up stalls on the street selling their things out of desperation, which I'd never seen before.
"But it wasn't just about that. There was a lot of resentment towards me in the group. I wanted the Specials to be a progressive, creative band but some of them wanted to keep doing the first album.
"So it's a combination of the personal and the universal.
"It still sounds good as a piece of music. It's not just about that time, it's about what human beings do to the world. It's still relevant today." 
