COVENTRY Music Museum Curator Pete Chambers writes for the Observer.
To Terry with Love
This weekend, there will be two days of celebration at the 2-Tone Village for Terry Hall who passed away late last year.
Terry’s Birthday was March 19, so a fitting time to honour one of the world’s finest front men.
On Saturday, I will be hosting a special Sounding Off in the Music Museum with the incredible Roger K Burton at 2pm.
With over 50 years’ experience collecting vintage street fashion, Roger K Burton, costume designer, stylist and author, supplied much of the original clothing for the cult film Quadrophenia before establishing the Contemporary Wardrobe Collection.
Roger went on to dress literally hundreds of influential bands and artists, from David Bowie to the Rolling Stones, and Terry Hall and Ranking Roger, and he will be bringing two very special suits along – The pinstripe that Terry wore for the Ghost Town video and the Butts Gig and a Zoot suit as worn by The Beat’s Ranking Roger on the cover of the iconic Face magazine!
Linked events feature the legendary Rick Buckler, drummer of The Jam, making a return to the Village on Friday, March 17, for a meet, greet and Q&A.
Then on the night of March 18, The Neville Staple Band, supported by Roddy Radiation and his Skabilly Rebels, will be at the Rialto Plaza.
Do I really need to say what an amazing night that will be?
On Sunday, March 19, there will be a Memorial Ride Out from various scooter clubs from all over the area, amassing at the 2-Tone Village in the day.
There will be lots going on in the 2-Tone Village on Ball Hill, including a visual memorial to Terry, with photos by myself and the great John Coles.
DJ Paul Roberts and DJ Ska’d4life Andy Kemp in association with TONIC the mental health care charity that was championed by Terry Hall.
If you have never visited the village before this weekend is the perfect chance to pay respect to a local legend.
The 2-Tone Trail Goes On
I was very proud to be part of the unveiling of two new plaques in Coventry’s railway station which celebrate the long gone Horizon Studios and the more recently demolished The Rocket public house.
Both places figured heavy in the history of Coventry’s 2-Tone music. Horizon studios was the audio lab that gave birth to many 2-Tone and Ska hits, while the Rocket became the ad-hoc watering hole for the various bands that needed an oasis of calm during a busy recording session.
So last Friday morning, two plaques (sponsored by Coventry City Council) were unveiled by former Specials frontman Neville Staple and his wife and bandmate Christine ‘Sugary’ Staple, alongside myself and the man that helped make it happen Councillor Jim O’Boyle.
When I created the 2-Tone Trail back in 2005, I had no idea that 18 years later we would still be adding to it.
