Songs to the Siren

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Running From the Thoughts

Dub Pistols feat. Terry Hall

2nd April 2007 (LP)🇬🇧

The fourth song in my trilogy of Terry Hall-related tracks, here he is providing vocals to the 2007 track Running from the Thoughts on the “Speakers and Tweeters” LP by Dub Pistols.

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Gangsters

Special A.K.A.

4th May 1979🇬🇧

Punk was running out of steam by 1979, but as a seventeen-year-old who was into whatever was new, this was just as exciting as punk to me. Of course, this wasn’t really new, it was a second wave of ska. But it was certainly still pretty exciting. This is the first of a few tracks on this blog that have a Terry Hall connection.

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Night Nurse

Gregory Isaacs

1982🇯🇲

Whatever the genre, a great melody and great singer are a special combination. Night Nurse is such a song, and Gregory Isaacs is such a singer. This completes a trilogy of reggae songs. There are likely to be more some time later.

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Throw Down Your Arms

Sinéad O’Connor

28th September 2005🇮🇪

Although Sinéad O’Connor is an amazing songwriter, she is best known for her version of a song written by Prince. This is a cover, but not that one - this track is from an album she made of classic reggae songs she grew up with.

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Private Life / She’s Lost Control

Grace Jones

? 1980 (Single), 9th May 1980 (LP)🇯🇲

After a disco period, Jamaican model and singer Grace Jones brought out a dub-heavy reggae album of covers in 1980, and had a hit single with her version of The Pretenders song Private Life.

Arguably even more astonishing is her take on Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control, which formed the B-side of the single.

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