The Specials' final album, titled 'The Specials Live from the Cathedral,' has been released this month, serving as a posthumous tribute to the band's lead singer, Terry Hall, who passed away in December 2022.
The live album features 24 songs from the band's 2019 performances at Coventry Cathedral. According to Lynval Golding, one of the band's founding members, the tracklist includes "all the hits you know and love, but also a fair smattering from the Encore album as well."
The 2019 shows are described by Golding as "history in the making." The album 'Encore,' released in 2019, marked the band's first new material in 37 years and achieved their first number one album. Golding considered it "our best album," praising Hall's songwriting. "Terry's writing, that guy should have been voted the best songwriter in England from years ago," he stated.
Golding emphasized the enduring relevance of The Specials' lyrical themes, noting that the songs addressed issues such as weapons of mass destruction, nuclear war, gun violence, and disaffected youth—topics that remain pertinent today. "How many songs are there about teenage pregnancy now?" Golding questioned, adding, "We talked about it yesterday and we're here with it today, and I think hasn't anybody learned anything from what we said?"
'The Specials Live from the Cathedral' is considered by Golding to be "the most important record coming out this year."