Have any of the Brit or Irish dopers got along to this?
I went to one of the Dublin shows last weekend. It was just incredible. They sounded almost exactly like they do in live videos from the old days. Terry’s voice has held up well (even if his looks haven’t… sigh) and I don’t know how Neville still has so much energy at 50+ years. Shame Jerry Dammers wasn’t there, but his replacement was great fun to watch.
They did every song you would want them to do, and it was sadly ironic how many of them have become relevant again.
Probably the most remarkable thing was the audience. I could only get tickets for the balcony, which is supposed to be all seated, but there wasn’t a single person sitting down. The bouncers didn’t even bother trying to clear the aisles of all the people dancing. Every so often you could see the band look up and smile - they were obviously really touched by the reaction. A lot of the people there were clearly Specials fans from the original era and probably haven’t danced so much in 30 years, others would have missed them the first time around (as I did - just barely - myself), but everyone knew the words to all the songs. It was just fantastic.
I think the tour is entirely sold out but if you do get a chance, go!!! It will be one of the best nights of your year, guaranteed.
