The Specials

Five stars

Brighton Dome, Brighton, Wednesday, April 17

“I WAS 17 when I first saw them, I was a lot more angry at the world back then,” said a punter on his way into The Specials.

He was one of many in their fifties or sixties who had raided the wardrobe for their old Harrington jacket, braces and band T-shirt before travelling to the gig at Brighton Dome.

They were travelling to relive the sound of their youth with Terry Hall and co.

The band performed some well-established classics, along with some surprisingly good new tracks, to the backdrop of “vote”, “think” and “the revolution will not be televised” placards.

You might think that a band who started in 1977 would struggle to remain politically relevant decades later.

But in reality, some of their hit songs written 40 years ago such as Ghost Town or The Lunatics find new relevance in today’s political and social climate.

Politics aside, the 2 Tone band remain as tight as ever and the packed-out crowd was skanking from start to finish.

They gave the crowd all the hits they came to see, along with some great new tracks of their number one album Encore.

The Argus caught up with Lynval Golding, who lives in the US, after the show. He said he loves coming to Brighton for the vibe and atmosphere and might move here if “that crazy geezer gets re-elected”.

I am sure he will be very welcome.

The Specials remain a must see for any die-hard fan and a should see for everyone else.

Jody Doherty-Cove