The Specials je britská ska a 2 tone skupina založená v roku 1977 v Coventry. Ich hudba kombinuje tanečné rytmy ska a rocksteady s energiou punku a textovo otvorene komentuje politické a sociálne témy.
Album Encore vyšiel v roku 2019 na dvojCD u vydavateľstva Universal UMC. Ide o ôsmy štúdiový album skupiny, ich prvú kolekciu nových piesní od albumu Guilty 'til Proved Innocent! z roku 1998. Obe CD obsahujú celkovo 21 nahrávok — prvé prináša štúdiové skladby ako Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys, B.L.M. či Vote for Me, zatiaľ čo druhé CD obsahuje živé záznamy z parížskeho Le Bataclan a londýnskeho Troxy, vrátane klasík Gangsters, A Message to You, Rudy a Ghost Town.
Na albume sa podieľali John Bradbury, Dick Cuthell, Jerry Dammers, Lynval Golding, Horace Panter, Roddy Radiation, Rico Rodriguez, Neville Staple a Mark Adams.
Skladby
CD1
1.Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys
2.B.L.M.
3.Vote For Me
4.The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum
5.Breaking Point
6.Blam Blam Fever
7.The Ten Commandments
8.Embarrassed By You
9.The Life And Times Of A Man Called Depression
10.We Sell Hope
CD2
1. Gangsters (Recorded live at Le Bataclan, Paris, 30th November 2014)
2. A Message To You, Rudy (Recorded live at Le Bataclan, Paris, 30th November 2014)
3. Nite Klub (Recorded live at The Troxy, London, 16th November 2016)
4. Friday Night, Saturday Morning (Recorded live at Le Bataclan, Paris, 30th November 2014)
5. Stereotype (Recorded live at Le Bataclan, Paris, 30th November 2014)
6. Redemption Song (Recorded live at The Troxy, London, 16th November 2016)
7. Monkey Man (Recorded live at Le Bataclan, Paris, 30th November 2014)
8. Too Much Too Young (Recorded live at The Troxy, London, 16th November 2016)
9. Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) (Recorded live at Le Bataclan, Paris, 30th November 2014)
10. Ghost Town (Recorded live at Le Bataclan, Paris, 30th November 2014)
11. All The Time In The World (Recorded live at The Troxy, London, 16th November 2016)
