Terry Hall, The Specials lead singer, has died aged 63

Terry Hall, frontman of The Specials, has died aged 63, his bandmates confirmed in a statement last night. 

Hall rose to fame with The Specials in the 1970s, before splitting the band and forming Fun Boy Three with former bandmates Neville Staples and Lynval Golding. After Fun Boy Three, Hall formed a number of different bands and projects, most notably Colourfield.

“It is with great sadness," the statement reads, "that we announce the passing, following a brief illness, of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced," they said. 

"Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls. His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… the joy, the pain, the humour, the fight for justice, but mostly the love.  

"He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him and leaves behind the gift of his remarkable music and profound humanity. 

"Terry often left the stage at the end of The Specials’ life-affirming shows with three words… 

“Love Love Love” 

"We would ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy at this very sad time.” 

Hall was born in 1959 in Coventry, England. He was abducted by a paedophile ring on a school trip to France at the age of 12 and has said that a lifelong battle with depression and mental health issues resulted from the episode.

He began his music career as singer for Squad, a local band, before joining Coventry Automatics, the band that would morph into The Specials in 1979. The band were in the vanguard of the emerging two-tone movement in the UK, which blended punk attitude with Jamaican ska music. The band's seminal 1981 hit Ghost Town (above), was one of seven consecutive top 10s they enjoyed.

The Specials disbanded in 1981, and Fun Boy Three was born, producing another string of UK hits, including Our Lips Are Sealed, Tunnel of Love and It Ain't What You Do,

The Colourfield was Hall's next band project, formed in 1984, and produced one UK top 20 hit, Thnking Of You. Post-Colourfield, Hall enjoyed a solo career and a slew of collaborations, working with Dave Stewart as Vegas, Fun-da-mental singer Mushtaq, Gorillaz, Toots & The Maytals and many more, before The Specials reunited in 2008.

Tributes from contemporaries and fellow artists including Madness, The Prodigy, Jane Wiedlin, Billy Bragg and more, are pouring in.