Six of the seven core members of The Specials came together in 2008 to play at the festival “Bestival” on the Isle of Wight. Their 2009 tour of the UK sold out in minutes and they promptly announced some Australian dates, which were equally as popular. As we close in on their Sydney gig, Roddy Byers aka Roddy Radiation, Specials and Skabilly Rebels guitarist, has been kind enough to answer some questions for dizzybeat.com. Please forgive the the odd in-joke!

Photos by and copyright Joe Kerrigan.

Can you offer a highlight/s from the UK shows you’ve played so far with the reformed Specials? Also, how do these current shows sit with your reflections on the past, or even your gigs with the Skabilly Rebels?

WELL NEWCASTLE THE FIRST NIGHT WAS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES I'VE FELT NERVOUS IN MY 40 + YEAR CAREER!
BUT IT WAS A GREAT NIGHT AND WE WERE ALL A LITTLE TEARFUL AFTERWARDS.
SO FAR ITS BEEN A LOT OF FUN COMPARED TO HOW STRAINED THINGS WERE TOWARDS THE END OF THE ORIGINAL BAND BACK IN 1981.
I STILL PREFER PLAYING WITH MY GROUP THE SKABILLY REBELS AS I SING ALL THE SONGS AND GET TO PICK THEM, WHILE IN THE NEW SPECIALS I'M ALLOWED TO SING ONLY ONE OF MINE "CONCRETE JUNGLE". I WANTED TO SING MY THREE SONGS "HEY LITTLE RICH GIRL" "RAT RACE" AS WELL AS JUNGLE BUT I WAS OUT VOTED.

How did the tour to Australia come about? Having been here before, did you and Neville have to get in the ears of the others and convince them to come down?

ME AND NEV BOTH KEPT GOING ON ABOUT PLAYING OZ AS WE HAD A GREAT TIME THERE AND THE ORIGINAL BAND NEVER TOURED AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.
EVERYONE'S REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT*

I notice a New Zealand date has been added to your tour. Does this suggest other parts of the world can expect a visit from The Specials? I know the yanks are hoping they get a visit.

THERE ARE A FEW PLACES IN THE WORLD WE HAVEN'T PLAYED! NEW ZEALAND WILL BE INTERESTING*
AMERICA IS CALLING AND WE MAY TRY AND FIT A FEW DATES IN AT THE END OF THE YEAR IF WE ARE STILL STANDING!

In 2008 four of us Australians saw you play with the Skabilly Rebels at a ska festival in Skegness. How does Sydney compare to a town such as Skegness?

SKEGNESS AND SYDNEY? ...YES THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME... LOL.

Madness has had some recent success with the release of new material. Are there any plans for The Specials to do some new songs?

I HAVE PLENTY OF NEW SONGS AND I KNOW SOME OF THE OTHER GUYS HAVE TOO, BUT WE WILL HAVE TO DO SOME DEMOS AND DISCUSS WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE BAND NEXT YEAR WHICH COULD BE PROBLEMATIC.

Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. I don't know many people who haven't bought tickets, so not only will the shows be packed, but they'll be full of people right into the sound.

CHEERS
Roddy Byers
11th June 2009.

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Thanks must also go to Dan Chin from The Wall for organising the Q and A. Dan runs an arts + music weekly club night on Wednesday nights at The World Bar in Sydney’s Kings Cross.
Check it out: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=19071840928

Also, in the lead up to the gig, the Sydney ska scene is coming together for a gig at the Vanguard in Newtown to celebrate The Specials and ska more broadly. Full details: http://www.dizzybeatnetwork.com/node/343