The Specials – Ghost Town

Released in 1981, “Ghost Town” was written by Jerry Dammers and produced by John Collins. Unlike The Specials’ earlier ska-influenced material, the song takes a much darker direction, blending reggae, dub, jazz and soul into an eerie, unsettling sound. Its inspiration came from what Dammers witnessed while the band were touring Britain, including shuttered shops in Liverpool and elderly people selling their possessions on the streets of Glasgow.

The lyrics portray a society suffering from unemployment, social unrest and a loss of community, with the repeated phrase “this town is coming like a ghost town” becoming an almost hypnotic refrain. Terry Hall delivers the words with a detached, mournful quality, while Neville Staple and Lynval Golding add backing vocals that deepen the song’s sense of unease.

The recording was made at the small eight-track Woodbine Street studio in Royal Leamington Spa. Collins deliberately adopted a stripped-back reggae approach, recording the drums and bass in mono and building the arrangement piece by piece. Jerry Dammers’ Hammond organ shuffle, atmospheric synthesizer effects and the haunting brass contributions from Rico Rodriguez and Dick Cuthell create the song’s distinctive sound.

“Ghost Town” remains a remarkable snapshot of Britain in the early Eighties, combining an unforgettable melody with a bleak but powerful portrait of social and economic decline.

The song peaked at No. 01 in the UK charts on 11th July 1981.