The Specials discography
| Releases | |
|---|---|
| ↙Studio albums | 7 |
| ↙Compilation albums | 15 |
| ↙EPs | 2 |
| ↙Singles | 14 |
| ↙Video albums | 3 |
| ↙Live albums | 6 |
| ↙Tours | 1 |
The following is a comprehensive discography of The Specials, an English ska revival band.
Albums
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] |
CA [2] |
NZ [3] |
SWE [4] |
US [5] | ||||||
| 1979 | The Specials
|
4 | 21 | 5 | 34 | 84 |
| |||
| 1980 | More Specials
|
5 | 49 | 28 | 30 | 98 |
| |||
| 1984 | In the Studio
|
34 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | Today's Specials
|
— | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1998 | Guilty 'til Proved Innocent!
|
— | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2000 | Skinhead Girl
|
— | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2001 | Conquering Ruler
|
— | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||
Live albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK [1] | ||
| 1987 | Peel Sessions
|
— |
| 1994 | Live at the Palace
|
— |
| 1997 | Live at the Moonlight Club
|
— |
| 1999 | Blue Plate Specials Live
|
— |
Ghost Town Live
|
— | |
| 2012 | More... Or Less: The Specials Live
|
109 |
Extended plays
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] | |||||||||
| 1980 | The Special AKA Live! EP
|
1 | |||||||
| 1993 | The Two Tone EP
|
30 | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles
-
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] |
IRE [7] |
NZ [3] |
NL [8] |
AUT [9] |
NOR [10] |
US Dance [11] |
US Mod [11] | ||||||||||||
| 1979 | "Gangsters" | 6 | 27 | 20 | 11 | — | — | — | — | Non album single | |||||||||
| "A Message to You, Rudy" | 10 | 19 | 29 | 35 | 7 | — | — | — | Specials | ||||||||||
| 1980 | "Too Much Too Young" | 1 | 3 | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Rat Race" | 5 | 17 | — | — | — | — | 89 | — | Non album single | ||||||||||
| "Stereotype" | 6 | 12 | — | 41 | — | — | — | — | More Specials | ||||||||||
| "Do Nothing" | 4 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1981 | "Ghost Town" | 1 | 3 | 20 | 12 | — | 7 | — | — | Non album single | |||||||||
| 1982 | "The Boiler" (with Rhoda Dakar) | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Jungle Music" (with Rico Rodriguez) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "War Crimes" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | In the Studio | ||||||||||
| 1983 | "Racist Friend" | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1984 | "Free Nelson Mandela" | 9 | 6 | 1 | 9 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend" | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1988 | "Free Nelson Mandela" (re-recording) | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non album single | |||||||||
| 1991 | "Ghost Town Revisited" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Singles Collection | |||||||||
| 1995 | "Hypocrite" | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Today's Specials | |||||||||
| 1996 | "Pressure Drop" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Today's Specials | |||||||||
| 1996 | "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" (promo only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Today's Specials | |||||||||
| 1997 | "It's You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 29 | Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent! | |||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||||||
Compilation albums and compilation contributions
| Title | Release date |
Label | UK Albums Chart[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Singles Collection | 1991 | 2 Tone, CHR TT 5010 | 10 |
| Coventry Automatics Aka the Specials: Dawning of a New Era | 1994 | Receiver | - |
| Too Much Too Young: The Gold Collection | 1996 | EMI | - |
| Concrete Jungle | 1998 | - | |
| BBC Sessions | 1998 | EMI | - |
| Best of the Specials | 1999 | Disky | - |
| Stereo-Typical: A's, B's and Rarities | 2000 | EMI Records | - |
| Archive | 2001 | Rialto | - |
| The Specials vs. The Untouchables: Ska's Greatest Stars | 2002 | Big Eye Music | - |
| Ghost Town | 2004 | - | |
| Greatest Hits | 2006 | Fantastic Prize | - |
| 80's New Wave Hits – Rearrangement of The Go-Go's' "Our Lips Are Sealed", with Jane Wiedlin, originally on The Specials vs The Untouchables: Ska's Greatest Stars | 2006 | Big Eye Music | - |
| The Best of the Specials | 2008 | EMI | 24 |
Videography
- "Dance Craze – The Best of British Ska... Live!" (VHS)
- "The Special AKA on Film" (1981 VHS & Laserdisc)
- "The Specials: Too Much, Too Young" (2008 DVD)
- "The Best of the Specials" (CD/DVD 2008)
- "The Specials – 30th Anniversary Tour" (2009 DVD)
Films
- Sixteen Candles – song – "Little Bitch"
- SLC Punk! – songs – "Too Hot" and "Gangsters"
- Snatch – song – "Ghost Town"
- Shaun of the Dead – song – "Ghost Town"
- Garage Days – song – "Ghost Town"
- An Extremely Goofy Movie – song – "Pressure Drop"
- A Room for Romeo Brass – song – "A Message to You, Rudy"
- Grosse Pointe Blank – songs – "Pressure Drop", "A Message to You, Rudy" and "You're Wondering Now"
- This Is England – songs – "Do the Dog", "Pressure Drop"
- Mystery Men – song – "Gangsters" Covered by Citizen King
- 200 Cigarettes – song – "A Message to You, Rudy"
- Multiplicity – song – "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"
- Natural Born Killers – song – "Ghost Town" (not included on the soundtrack album)
- We Own The Night – song – "A Message to You, Rudy"
Television
- Father Ted – Episode – Good Luck, Father Ted – song – "Ghost Town"[12]
- Six Feet Under – song – "Monkey Man"
- Misfits (TV series) – song – "A Message to You Rudy"
Commercials
- The song "A Message to You, Rudy" was featured in a SFR television commercial directed by Bruno Aveillan, with world champion football player, Marcel Desailly in 2001
- The song "Blank Expression" was featured in a Ford Fiesta television commercial in 2003
Video games
- Dance Dance Revolution – song – "Little Bitch" (remix)
- MLB 2K7 – Song – "A Message To You, Rudy"
- Skate 2 – Song – "Ghost Town"
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 519. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "Search – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Steffen Hung. "New Zealand charts portal". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ↑ Chris Woodstra. "The Specials | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1
- ↑ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ↑ Steffen Hung (15 February 1980). "Austria Top 40 - Hitparade Österreich". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "Norwegian charts portal". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chris Woodstra. "The Specials | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ↑ McDonald, Shane (2005). "Father Ted Useless Information". shanemcdonald.com. Retrieved 7 September 2007.