The label started things off with the classic ‘Gangsters’ shortly followed by Madness’ ‘The Prince’ (a tribute to Prince Buster and the Jamaican Ska scene in general) and The Selecters’ ‘On My Radio’ Other classics which followed included ‘Too Much Too Young’ and The most famous 2 Tone release of them all; ‘Ghost Town’. However, the song was hailed by the contemporary UK music press as a major piece of popular social commentary, [3] [4] and all three of the major UK music magazines of the time awarded "Ghost Town" the accolade of "Single of the Year" for 1981.

Goldman also criticised the lack of understanding of a female point of view in certain songs, but concluded on a positive note: "Perhaps I'm extra critical, because I (still) have great hopes for the future of The Specials". I remember Lynval rushing into the control room while they were doing it going, 'No, no, no, it sounds wrong! Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Jalen perform live knows that he is one of the most captivating performers on today's soul scene. But so embedded were these in the British psyche, that Dammers needed only a minimum of words to paint his picture. Well, I had to put a piece of tissue under my chin because sweat was dripping off my face due to it being so scary – one mistake and that would have been it!The three songs for the single were recorded over ten days in April 1981 in two separate sessions at Woodbine Street: seven days from 3 to 9 April and then a further three days from 15 to 17 April. The reviewer went on to praise Costello's "first rate production" and finished his review by saying that the album was a "very promising debut and highly recommended".

Over its 40 years in business, PIAS has grown to be one of the largest independently-owned music groups in the world, carving out its own in-house recorded music division PIAS [Recordings]. The pink hype sticker covering the "E" in "More" was an intentional visual pun; referring to the influence of Muzak that Jerry Dammers was feeling at the time of making the album. Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez had already gone back to London, and I had to record that flute by actually dropping in. It concluded that The Specials "was a classic example of a band making an almost perfect first album, acting as both a mission statement (the rise of right wing groups opposed by the message of Two Tone equality) and as an alternative way to have fun without having to pogo or spit. Even stranger still is the indisputable fact that just one year after releasing this snoozefest, they released the Ghost Town EP which contains two of the best tracks in their discography; "Ghost Town" (of course), and "Friday Night, Saturday Morning".In March 1981, Jerry Dammers heard the reggae song "At the Club" by actor and singer Victor Romero Evans played on Roundtable, the singles review show on BBC Radio 1. Evoking themes of urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment and violence in inner cities, the song is remembered for being a hit at the same time as riots were occurring in British cities. Then there was brass on another track, lead vocals on another, backing vocals on another, and various little bits and pieces dropped in. The Specials remains a snapshot of a bleaker time, and a wrily comical antidote to political and cultural indifference anywhere".

The album features a mixture of original material and several covers of classic Jamaican ska tracks. The Specials also brought guitar to the front of the mix; it had often been a secondary instrument in Jamaican ska. To achieve the effect he wanted, Collins utilised a kit-built Transcendent 2000 synthesiser to create a "ghost" sound, which he used to fade in and out at the beginning and end of the track. In a retrospective review, AllMusic described the record as "a perfect moment in time captured on vinyl forever. Originally, the lead part was done on Jerry's guide organ before the flute was dropped in on the brass track.In 2008, BBC Music agreed that the economic and political conditions of the day had heightened the record's impact, saying, "To understand the impact of this spearhead of the ska revival on early Thatcherite Britain you have to imagine something so left field and yet so apt occurring today. The Specials began the British ska revival craze, combining the highly danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude. Jerry stormed out a couple of times virtually in tears and I went after him, 'Calm down, calm down'. The follow up ‘More Specials' was, at the time, considered disappointing but in truth had a hard task following up the first album and was possibly released too late - after the success of 2 Tone was beginning to recede.

I don't know what could've possibly happened to this band in just one year but the difference between their fantastic first, timeless self-titled album, and this massive waste of vinyl (which sounds like an '80s Las Vegas airport lounge act doing their most earnest Specials imitation) is so vast they really could've been recorded by two different groups.produced by Elvis Costello, declared their intentions loud and clear with a rare blend of furious energy and no-nonsense, hard-hitting lyrics.