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#20 The Specials
by The Specials (2-Tone, 1979)
The vinyl revival remains in rude health.
Dylan Jones selects an overlooked classic to hunt
out next time you’re flicking through the crates...
The Specials were
advocates of late-Seventies
postmodern ska, the
inventors of two-tone and
quite simply one of the
coolest, most important
British bands of all time.
In the space of just two
years, from 1979 to 1981,
the original Specials
managed to embody the
new decade’s violent
energies, morals and
conflicts – though always
with an ironic and often
sardonic detachment that
kept the band cool as the
Eighties grew increasingly
hot. “Gangsters”, “Too
Much Too Young”, “A
Message To You, Rudy”,
“Do Nothing”, “Rat Race”,
“Ghost Town”, records that
defined a generation who
weren’t sure they wanted
to be defined in the first
place. Sure, the band were
earnest, but they were
studiedly sarcastic too,
which endeared them to
everyone at the time who
mattered. Not only that,
but they came from
Coventry, Britain’s very
own answer to Detroit, the
epitome of the post-war
urban wasteland, the
quintessential concrete
jungle, and felt they had
a right to bleat about
anything they wanted to,
especially the onslaught
of Thatcherism.
Jerry Dammers was the
creative genius behind
The Specials, the man who
gave them their political
edge, who gave them their
110 GQ.CO.UK OCTOBER 2018
idiosyncratic musical
tropes and who set them
apart from the likes of The
Selecter, The Beat or Bad
Manners. The Specials
without Dammers were
like The Doors without Jim
Morrison, Queen without
Freddie Mercury, Wham!
without George Michael
or Morecambe and Wise
without Morecambe or,
er, Wise. Dammers was
always a genuine
bohemian, and it’s no
surprise to me the way
his career has panned
out (DJing, production,
forming various esoteric
dance orchestras).
However, I also thought
he might turn out to be
our generation’s John
Barry, scoring important
movies with solemn yet
iconic orchestral themes,
balancing Jacques Derrida
with Francis Lai, Scott
Walker with Dr John. To
me, Dammers was the
Lennon and McCartney
of ska, one of the most
important voices of the
postpunk movement, a
man who always appeared
to be carrying his
generation’s hopes and
dreams on his shoulders,
as well as his own. Quite
simply, I thought Dammers
was something of a
musical genius. A genius
who has always followed
his own path: that he
didn’t turn into John Barry
was a disappointment to
me, but probably not
to him.
HOW TO WIN AT
LIFE, A BOOK
OF EXPERT
MASTERCLASSES
INSPIRED BY THIS
COLUMN, IS OUT
NOW (£14.99).
No45: Conquer
your to-do list
‘Getting Things Done’ is the cult productivity system used by
Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr and Joss Whedon. Here, the
man behind it, David Allen, explains its key principles to help
you squeeze more out of every day...
1 Capture everything X
Identify all of your “in-baskets” – your
email, your physical in-box, your voicemails.
Also jot down whatever’s on your mind:
put each thing on separate slips of paper
and toss these into your in-tray. Ready to
process your stuff? Work through your in-
baskets from top to bottom. For each item,
ask, “Is this actionable?” If it isn’t, either
discard it or transfer it to a “someday” list.
However, if it is actionable...
W 2 Work out the ‘next action’
to complete each task
Is the next action doable in less than two
minutes? Do it immediately. If not, write it
on a “next actions” list or – if it’s date-
specific – put it in your calendar. If a next
action is a delegation, note it on a “waiting
on” list. Any task requiring two or more
next actions should also be recorded on a
separate “projects” list. (See flow chart, left.)
3 Assign contexts X
You will likely have amassed a huge
number of “next actions”, so organise
these into smaller lists depending on their
“context” – this is the situation within
which you’ll be best placed to complete
the action. For instance, “commute” might
be one, “home” or “computer” might be
another. Running some errands? Go to
your “errands” list and start working
through it.
W 4 Find time to reflect
Once a week, carve out time to review
your lists. Ensure you have removed
everything that has been completed. Now
go through your “projects” and make sure
each has at least one “next action”. If you
encounter a thing that you don’t want
to do, either get rid of it entirely or shift
Illustrations Dave Hopkins; Dale Edwin Murray
it to your “someday” list. Also consider
whether anything from the “someday”
list should be added to “projects”.
5 Get a ‘tickler’ system X
This is a way of organising documents so
that you encounter them when they are
required. It comprises 43 physical files
– one for each day of the month, plus 12
for each month of the year. So: you need
to renew your visa on 15 May? Put the
application form in the May folder. On the
evening of 30 April, take out the May folder
and organise its contents into the relevant
days. The visa form will go in file 15.