Earlier this week The Specials announced a full list of dates for their UK tour in 2021. The 2 Tone legends and ska veterans are going to perform in all major cities in England, along with shows in Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and Cardiff in Wales.
The Specials are set to kick off the tour on 31 August 2021 in Swindon and carry on playing throughout September with two final shows at the Roundhouse, London on 23 and 24 September 2021. So far these are the only confirmed dates for next year, and the first live shows announced since their 2019 Encore 40th Anniversary tour in the UK, Europe, US and Canada.
Last week the band featured on the CD boxset release The Albums by Two Tone Records. The deluxe release marked the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the label and including the first 8 studio albums released through it by The Specials, Selecter and Rico, alongside the first recording of the live album Dance Craze and the b-side collection This Are The Two Tone.
Earlier today guitarist and singer Lynval Golding made a special announcement on Twitter with offer to pre-order their upcoming album by 5pm and get exclusive codes for the 2021 UK tour ticket pre-sale starting tomorrow 10 September (Thursday) at 10am BST. General ticket sale are set to start this Friday.
Album title, artwork and release date for the new record are yet to be confirmed but the offer page on the band’s online store suggested it will come out on standard CD, vinyl and casette, with different bundles and limited editions on sale, expected to be available again after the general tour ticket sale commences.
Announcement from @LynvalGolding! Pre-Order our new album by 5pm today to have exclusive access to our tour pre sale on Friday 10th September https://t.co/AE1nnGRQF8 pic.twitter.com/Rc0ERERL4u
— The Specials (@thespecials) September 9, 2020
Last year The Specials released their eight studio album Encore via Island Records. The record debuted straight at #1 in the Offical UK Albums chart and was their first official release to include original material since Guilty ’til Proven Gulty! (1998).
The Special’s current line-up consists of founding members Terri Hall (vocals), Lynval Golding (rhythm guitar, vocals) and Horace Panter (bass), joined by Tim Smart (trombone), Nikolaj Torp Larsen (keyboards), Steve Cradock (lead guitar) and Pablo Mendelssohn (trumpet). Kenrick Rowe returns behind the drumms after joining the band following John Bradbury untimely death in 2016.
The full list of dates for the 2021 UK Tour are below:
31/08/2021 – Oasis Center – Swindon
02/09 – Pavillions – Plymouth
03/09 – Windsor Hall – Bournemouth
04/09 – Birghton Centre – Brighton
06/09 – Barrowland – Glasgow
07/09 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh
09/09 – O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester
10/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
11/09 – Ricoh Arena – Coventry
13/09 – Bonus Arena – Hull
14/09 – Empress Ballroom – Blackpool
16/09 – O2 Academy Birmingham
17/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
18/09 – The Dome – Doncaster
23/09 – Roundhouse – London
24/09 – Roundhouse London
