Swindon Link reporter Jessica Durston was overjoyed to be given the opportunity to conduct an interview with original member of The Specials, coordinator of From The Specials, and solo artist within his own right, Dr Neville Staple.
After The Specials split in 1981, Staple has explored his options and performed with multiple different musical outfits, as well as building an impressive solo portfolio. He is currently spearheading the band ‘From The Specials’ and released an album last year, with the help of his band and his wife and manager, Sugary Staple.
Now at the age of 66, Staple is not resting on his laurels. He still continues to write and record music, and will embark on a UK tour this year. The ska legend continues to communicate his thoughts and feelings through his iconic two tone toe-tappers, as well as doing charity work and even finding time to write a book! You may also notice his title – Staple received an honorary degree from Arden University in 2019.
Dr Neville Staple talks to me from his home in Coventry, tucked up inside away from the rather dismal and drizzly weather outside. But this day was anything but dismal for me – I got to speak to a genuine musical pioneer, who during his career has, promoted the meshing of culture and the harmony between communities.
Neville started writing, recording and performing with The Specials in 1977. This was a time when racial tensions were prevalent within the UK. The far-right, fascist, political party, The National Front, were making their presence known, and the British and Jamaican foundations of The Specials were a direct contrast to the party members’ ideologies.
2022 also marks the 40th anniversary of The Specials’ – their iconic hit, Ghost Town. This track is close to my heart and is a favourite of my mother’s too. Most people think of this iconic two tone bop fondly – it is considered a ska dancefloor filler. However, when reading between the lines you can find deeper messages about urban decay, deindustrialisation, and city street violence.
I cannot help but apply the same deeper thought process when thinking about Neville himself. Mr Staple is to many, on the surface, just a successful ska performer or regarded as ‘The Original Rude Boy’, but as this interview will reveal, he runs so much deeper than that.
First on the agenda was finding out what would be in store for audiences attending his UK tour this month with his band From The Specials. The tour includes a Swindon date at Meca on 29 April. Tickets for the Swindon date can be found at https://www.mecaswindon.co.uk/events-tickets/from-the-specials/
Staple was more than happy to give me a run-down of what to expect from his upcoming shows. He explained: “Well as it’s the 40th anniversary of Ghost Town, we will be doing a mixture of the old stuff and our new stuff. We will be doing the favourite songs, you know the kind of tracks that people would shout out ‘do this one, do that one!’
“The band I will be touring with are brilliant. I’ve been with them for a while now and they’re great on stage and brilliant to get along with off-stage. All the stuff that’s written or produced is done by myself or my wife Sugary, but when we perform live, the band will put their own little spin on it – you know what I mean?”
Neville, alongside Sugary, will also be attending the Yarmouth-based ska weekender festival, ‘Skamouth’ in May.
He enthused: “People are dying to go out after covid and I tell you what, this tour is going to be brilliant. And Skamouth is also going to be mad! There’s going to be bands from Jamaica, bands from England, ska bands – it’s a real good mix.”
Ready and raring to go, Neville added that he believes in creative freedom and encourages his band members to add their own flavour to the mix.
He said: “It’s not about telling the band to ‘play it this way or that way’ – if they play something and it works, we encourage them, Sugary and I. We tell the band ‘play that again’ or ‘I like that, keep that in.’ That’s the way it goes with the From The Specials outfit.
“The only way it’s going to work is if we give the band creative freedom. If we tell people what to do and become strict, the creativity goes away.”
The conversation then turned to the anniversary of Ghost Town. Staple reminisced about the writing and recording of the track, and what studio life was like back in 1980.
He mused: “We made Ghost Town back in the studio in a time where we had to just get on and do it, you know? Everything needed to be done in one take or two takes. Nowadays, you can be in there with a computer and mess around with things. Back in the day we used tape and the feeling was different. You went in there with the band and you played your bit.
“At that time we were filtering out and away from each other you know? The Specials were splitting up around that time so it was quite a different experience, if I can remember correctly. When we used to record, we used to just go into the studio and do it but the only thing you were told was how Jerry (Jerry Dammers - the band’s manager) kind of wanted it. The rest was on us.”
A revamped mix of Ghost Town appears on Neville and his band’s latest album From The Specials & Beyond. It is a seven minute track (when the original was around the two minute mark) and it gives Neville a chance to introduce the members of the band. The Original Rude Boy has also added a reflective solo verse and the new mix has become a staple (no pun intended) of his gigs.
He explains: “This newer version of the Ghost Town mix appears on the album and it seems to have gone down well. I’ve been performing the song for years, and now with my current band, it gives me the chance to introduce everybody. These band member introductions appear on the album version too.”
“I give the band the chance to freestyle a solo while I introduce each person. I mean, it’s not just me up there. I know I’m the Original Rude Boy from The Specials but I would not just go out there with a backing tape. I’ve got a band with their own ideas and their own input, so it’s always important to take the time and mention them.”
Part of what makes the track so iconic is Neville’s own toasting vocal skills. The performer was born in Jamaica and moved to Rugby, and then settled in his current hometown, Coventry. When moving to the UK, he brought his Caribbean vocal talents with him.
He adds: “All of my toasting bits on The Specials’ songs were made up in the studio. That’s what toasters do – they have a riddim and they just toast and rhyme with it. That’s where the rap sound comes from – the toasting.
“With my current From The Specials band, I may use a bit of technology to help put my toasting bits together nowadays, but mainly it’s in the studio. We play and we come up with it ourselves on the spot. Myself and my wife Sugary come up with the rough cuts and we work from there.”
At this stage in the interview, I was keen to find out more about Neville’s experiences of lockdown, and what it was like to write, record, and release an album during a pandemic.
He said: “We had plans to make an album and do some things, but when you get forced into lockdown you just don’t know what is going to happen.
“The band had to send their parts to Sugary and it was all put together afterwards. We would work out the lyrics and put a very rough drum ‘n’ bass rhythm just to give the band an idea of the sound and the timings. Then we would send it off to everyone. The band would then sort their bits and send them over to Sugary and she would help bring everything together. I’m old-skool and I’m not really a computer person so she helped with that.
“It was definitely a strange experience not having the band with me physically in the studio. It meant I had to depend on my ears and do things the old fashioned way. We got it together in the end.”
Neville and From The Specials also released a single entitled Lockdown, which clearly communicates his feelings towards the pandemic.
He added: “We sat down and wrote our feelings about being stuck at home. My songs are created from what is around me at the time – and there is a lot of that on this new From The Specials album.
“We filmed the music video for Lockdown inside our home – we were stuck indoors the same as everyone else. She shot the majority of the video, and then my step son shot the parts with Sugary and I together. Sugary also did the artwork for the single, she’s good with all of that too.”
We moved on to discuss more generally what it was like to be a songwriter in the middle of a pandemic.
Neville said: “It was easier because I had Sugary with me – if I was on my own it might have been different. I can still sit and write, but having Sugary to work with keeps me focused and less distracted.
“After releasing the single, I wasn’t writing too much about lockdown and other big things that were going on. People know what is going on as they’re seeing or hearing about it on the news all the time. I felt it would be pointless me sitting here on my own, watching the news and then putting all the bad news into my music as well. I don’t think you need to push bad news like that down people’s throats, they’re hearing about it and seeing it every day and you know. Facebook is another place for that kind of thing.
“When me and Sugary write, we try bring what’s going on around us into our music but in a different way - not so in-your-face.”
As well as writing and putting out music over the past couple of years, Neville and Sugary have also been filling their time doing charitable work and giving back to the community.
Neville and Sugary are both ambassadors for the children’s charity Zoë's Place. The charity provides palliative and respite care for very or terminally ill babies and children up to five years old. As well as supporting this cause, the couple are also advocates for the fight against knife crime, after the tragic loss of Neville’s grandson.
Dr Staple said: “My grandson got stabbed and killed in 2018, so we do a lot of work to help fight against knife crime. We go to schools and youth offenders prisons and talk to children and prisoners about knife crime. Some of the people we meet are fans of mine or of The Specials, so it also give them a chance to ask me questions about that too.
“We’ll talk about the cause and explain why we’re there and then they will ask me any questions about my life and what it was like being in The Specials and about The National Front. It’s nice seeing the kids of around 17 or 18 who have been listening to The Specials because of their parents and asking for autographs. We always give all the kids the opportunity to have photos and that.
“I tell these young people, I used to be a rough rude boy on the streets and to look where I got to later in life because I didn’t follow the bad path. I explain to them, if you take that certain path you’re going to end up in a bad way, but if you take another path, you could be a musician or any kind of artist.”
Neville also released a single entitled Put Away Your Knives in aid of the fight against knife crime. It can be found on YouTube:
More information about Neville’s life growing up and his time in The Specials can be found in his book ‘Original Rude Boy: From Borstal to The Specials: A Life of Crime and Music.’ The autobiography also features a foreword from Pete Waterman.
After hearing about his close relationship with his wife Sugary, I could not help but ask Neville how the partnership works 24/7. A large majority of people would surely recoil in horror at the idea of living and working with their spouse?
He explained: “It works - we just get on. We’ve been together about ten years now. She’s stuck with me all the time through my ups and my downs. She’s helped me with my epilepsy and helps me now as I’ve got knee problems from where I used to keep jumping off PAs when I was younger.
“I didn’t realise how bad it would affect me now later on in life. I mean I’m still alright for stage performances, I just can’t be doing any more of that jumping – I’m too old for that now.”
When I asked about how the pair first met, Neville was only too happy to oblige me…
Neville recalled: “I remember the night we met. I was her hero, and her pin up. We met one night when I was doing a DJ set in London. I sent someone over to go and tell her that I wanted to talk to her. She said to me that when she came over to see me, she thought ‘Oh God, he’s going to think I’m one of those groupies.’ Groupies had a reputation at the time and it was all that ‘sex, drugs and rock n roll’ business.
“I remember I asked her ‘are you going to come back?’ She said, ‘Who do you think I am? You think I would go back to a hotel room with you?’ She walked away but I invited her to a party afterwards and we ended up going. That was quite funny.”
Hearing the two tone legend gush about his wife was wholesome and heart-warming. It was unexpected and interesting to discover they really are a complete package deal – a cooperative, or duo if you will!
Neville added: “Sugary put me on the straight and narrow and I’ve been alright since. I’ve not done any bad things, would never cheat – nothing. She stood by me when I needed it and when most people didn’t want to know. When you’re on top everyone wants to know you, and as soon as they think ‘oh he’s no good anymore’, that’s when people dump you. But Sugary stuck by me. She’s fantastic.
“You get the odd comments, you know what I mean? People saying it’s a John Lennon/Yoko Ono situation, but we just ignore them. People can’t believe we work well together and say things like ‘oh they must argue’ and that but we really don’t. We never reply to negative comments online and choose to ignore it, but thankfully we don’t get a lot of that.
“As well as being a manager, songwriter, performer and doing all the digital stuff - she’s an actress too! she does everything, I don’t know how she does it. She’s unbelievable.”
It felt right to draw the interview to a close on this wonderfully positive note. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to understand the man behind the Original Rude Boy exterior better and find out what Dr Neville Staple is all about.
Before I sign off, I will leave a message to all of you (no, not just Rudy) to book yourself a ticket for the From The Specials tour, or to go and see the power couple, and enjoy a wonderful weekend of music at Skamouth in May.
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