Terry Hall is just as open and confessional on the topic of mental health and his bi-polar disorder on the gently spoken вЂThe Life And Times (Of A Man Called Depression)вЂ™, and most striking of all is a guest spot by Saffiyah Khan, the acivist who was photographed cheerfully facing down an angry EDL protester in Birmingham wearing a Specials t-shirt. вЂB.L.M.вЂ™ (an acronym for Black Lives Matter) finds Lynval Golding telling the story of his father arriving in the UK on the Windrush to help rebuild a war-torn Britain, and his own experiences of racism in the UK and America the infectious pop reggae of вЂEmbarrassed By YouвЂ™ is its sister-piece, the older generation berating the knife-carrying, hoodie-hidden вЂњnasty little brutesвЂќ as a shame to their country. Thankfully, their own tunes are far more pertinent. Have The Specials grown up into dislocated dreamers, sitting back waiting for love to heal the world? Have they watched a Question Time recently? The record opens with a Chic-disco-style cover of The EqualsвЂ™ 1973 track вЂBlack Skinned Blue Eyed BoysвЂ™, presenting an idealistic vision of a peaceful вЂњhalf-breedвЂќ melting pot world where race has been globally mixed into irrelevance a lovely Blue Mink sort of idea, but one that feels date-stamped to its post-hippy era, a million miles from tackling the issues of a 2019 increasingly scarred with the poxes of racism, division and intolerance.

You wouldnвЂ™t expect the вЂ™70sвЂ™ premier ska-punk band to return after 20 years out of the studio having transformed themselves into a cutting edge psych grime act вЂ“ вЂEncoreвЂ™ essentially mingles mellowed ska and reggae with funk disco, Latin hints and spoken-word pieces вЂ“ but initially you might fear their socio-political edge has dulled. In troubled times, thank god The Specials are on hand to slap some sense into a babbling world. Their numbers have dwindled due to death, ill health and dissent вЂ“ Jerry Dammers, Neville Staple and Roddy вЂRadiationвЂ™ Byers have all quit since their 2009 reunion, and drummer John Bradbury died in 2015 вЂ“ but their relevance as commentators on our broken nation is as strong today as it was when вЂGhost TownвЂ™ sneered darkly at ThatcherвЂ™s riot-rattled Britain in 1981. Time to send out the Two-Tone Bat-Signal and call in The Specials.

Poverty, racism and inequality on the rise. A party at which she ordered a vodka and a hotdog and stayed til the bitter end.Brexit chaos. RIP Betty White, the only SNL host I ever saw get a standing ovation at the after party. Several former SNL members shared fond memories of her yesterday including Seth Meyers and Tracy Morgan. White won an Emmy for вЂњOutstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy SeriesвЂќ for her performance on the late-night sketch show. During its original premiere, the episode drew over 12 million viewers. Jay-Z dedicated his performance of вЂњYoung ForeverвЂќ to вЂњthe most incredible Betty White.вЂќДЄ Facebook campaign (yes, it really was 2010) recruited hundreds of thousands of fans to petition to have White host SNL after a viral Snickers bar campaign. The episode includes former cast members Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph, and Rachel Dratch as well as 2010 cast members Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg, and Jason Sudeikis. A spokesperson for Saturday Night Live confirmed that they will air an encore telecast of Betty WhiteвЂ™s MotherвЂ™s Day episode with musical guest Jay-Z during the 11:30 p.m. White became the oldest person to host Saturday Night Live at the age of 88. Photo: Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images/NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesДЄs the nation continues to mourn the loss of Betty White, itвЂ™s almost impossible to not take a moment to laugh with her during one of her many famous cameo appearances.

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