Terry Hall of The Specials dies aged 63

Terry Halls from the band The Specials, has died at the age of 63.

The band found fame in the 1970s and 80s with hits such as Ghost Town, Gangsters and Too Much Too Young. 

Hall left The Specials in 1981 to form Fun Boy Three – with bandmates Neville Staple and Lynval Golding, where they earned even more hits. 

In a statement, The Specials said the singer died after a brief illness. 

“Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls,” they wrote.

“His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… the joy, the pain, the humour, the fight for justice, but mostly the love.

“He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him and leaves behind the gift of his remarkable music and profound humanity.”

Tributes pour in 

Jane Wiedlin of the band The Go Gos said he was a “lovely, sensitive, talented and unique person”.

“Our extremely brief romance resulted in the song Our Lips Are Sealed, which will forever tie us together in music history.”

Singer Elvis Costello described Hall’s voice as “the perfect instrument for the true and necessary songs on The Specials”.

“That honesty is heard in so many of his songs in joy and sorrow,” he said.