Neville Staple
(born Neville Euton Staple
, 11 April 1955, Manchester, Jamaica) is a singer for the two-tone ska band, The Specials as well as his own combo, The Neville Staple Band. Along with Ranking Roger, he also sings in Special Beat.
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NEVILLE STAPLE TICKETS
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Early life
At the age of five, Neville left Jamaica to live in the English town of
Rugby, Warwickshire but later moved to
Coventry. He was initially active in the sound system scene forming his own crew called "Jah Baddis". Neville was a regular fixture at the Locarno ballroom in Coventry where he met its resident DJ,
Pete Waterman. Pete was heavily involved in the seventies
reggae scene before going on to become a major pop producer in the 1980s. Pete has written the foreword to Neville's biography - "Original Rude Boy" - and briefly managed
The Specials.
[1]
The Specials
Neville's first involvement with The Specials was when they were still called The Coventry Automatics. He initially joined as their roadie but at a gig supporting
The Clash, Neville took to the stage and never looked back. For a while, The Specials were managed by The Clash's manager
Bernard Rhodes of whom Neville used to toast "Bernie Rhodes knows don't argue" at the beginning of the Specials hit single "Gangsters".
[2]
Neville's vocal style is
toasting or chanting over a rhythm. A forerunner of
rapping which was brought to Britain in the 1960s by musicians from Jamaica. Neville honed his toasting skills on the sound system scene in Coventry during the 1970s. When he joined the Coventry Automatics, the line up already included
Jerry Dammers,
Horace Panter and Silverton Hutchinson on drums.
Terry Hall subsequently came in as vocalist, replacing Tim Strickland, and
Roddy Radiation on lead guitar.
John Bradbury would later take over on drums from Silverton.
[3]
Fun Boy Three
When The Specials split up, Neville departed with
Terry Hall and
Lynval Golding, to form
Fun Boy Three. They had a string of chart hits, some in collaboration with the all-female trio
Bananarama.
[4]
Third wave
In 1990, Staple joined
Ranking Roger from
The Beat to form
Special Beat, a revival group playing
hits from both former
two-tone bands. This was in response to the huge explosion of interest in ska in the United States. The so-called "Third Wave" of ska. Neville moved to
California in the 1990s to work with many of these new American ska acts. Bands he collaborated with included
No Doubt,
Rancid and
Unwritten Law. Neville also featured on the song "Explosive" by the Canadian ska band,
The Planet Smashers.
[5]
In 2000, Staple's re-recordings of hits by The Specials and Fun Boy Three were released as
The Very Best of the Specials and Fun Boy Three
, though without being prominently labelled as a solo work by Staple.
In 2004, Neville returned to the UK and formed a new combo - "The Neville Staple Band". This group featured former members of the British ska band
Bad Manners with Warren Middleton (Trombone), Sledge (Bass), Andy (Guitar), Joey (keyboards) and Pat (Drums).
[6]
In 2006 Staple toured the UK with a new backing band. He has a daughter; Sheena Staple, who currently lives in the U.S., who is working on a solo album; and a son Darren Simms who is the lead singer in a U.S. reggae / rock band named "DreadStarr" And a Male model.
Original Rude Boy
In April 2009, Neville Staple set out on a reunion tour with
The Specials.
[7] [8] [9] The same month also saw the launch of his biography
Original Rude Boy
published by
Aurum Press. The book covers Neville's involvement with the 1970s
sound system scene and childhood in
Jamaica. Then how a chance encounter with
Jerry Dammers and The Specials led to his involvement in that band and
Fun Boy Three. Neville collaborated with former
BBC journalist Tony McMahon on the book and both are registered with the Blake Friedmann literary agency.
[10]
Compilation albums and compilation contributions
| Title
| Release
date
| Label
| U.K. album peak
|
| The Singles Collection
| 1991
| 2 Tone, CHR TT 5010
| 10
|
| Coventry Automatics Aka the Specials: Dawning of a New Era
| 1994
| Receiver
| -
|
| Too Much Too Young: The Gold Collection
| 1996
| EMI
| -
|
| Concrete Jungle
| 1998
|
| -
|
| BBC Sessions
| 1998
| EMI
| -
|
| Best of the Specials
| 1999
| Disky
| -
|
| Very Best of the Specials and Fun Boy Three
| 2000
| Cleopatra
| -
|
| Archive
| 2001
| Rialto
| -
|
| The Specials vs. The Untouchables: Ska's Greatest Stars
| 2002
| Big Eye Music
| -
|
| Ghost Town
| 2004
|
| -
|
| Stereo-Typical: A's, B's and Rarities
| 2005
| Chrysalis
| -
|
| The Best of the Specials & Fun Boy Three
| 2006
| Pegasus
| -
|
| Greatest Hits
| 2006
| Fantastic Prize
| -
|
| 80's New Wave Hits
- Rearrangement of The Go-Go's' "Our Lips Are Sealed", with Jane Wiedlin, originally on The Specials vs The Untouchables: Ska's Greatest Stars
| 2006
| Big Eye Music
| -
|
| The Best of the Specials
| 2008
| EMI
| 24
|
References
- [1] Pete Waterman's biog outline
- [1] Story behind the song "Gangsters"
- [1] The Specials early years on their website
- [1] Bananarama chronology on band website
- [1] Planet Smashers and Neville Staple
- [1] Neville Staple Band management and details
- BBC - 6 Music - The Specials reunion
- BBC.co.uk: ''Ska band confirms reunion plans''
- NME.com ''The Specials reunite for 2009 tour''
- Book Clients: Neville Staple