The Specials Archives

Tiswas versus Multi-Coloured Swap Shop

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago16 mins

In the late 1970s, two very different Saturday morning kids programmes squared up against each other – Tiswas and the BBC’s Swap Shop

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago15 mins

1983 was the year that many pop groups bit the dust with Yazoo, Roxy Music and Scritti Politti calling it a day and hanging up their microphone

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago23 mins

C120 cassette tapes were infuriating even though they could record two hours of music they were prone to snarling up and then breaking

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago15 mins

The Specials number one song Ghost Town brilliantly summed up the mood of Britain as it embarked on a summer of riots in 1981

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago04 mins

1981 is seen by some as the best year for British pop ever so what did the NME think were the pop hits of the first half of 1981?