Nelson Mandela – The Special AKA (1984)

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An individual, limited edition, example of vinyl record silhouette art made from a genuine, original, 45rpm, 7” single of Nelson Mandella from 1984, by British 2 Tone and Ska band, The Special AKA. This vinyl single has been reworked into a silhouette of the Africa, the continent.

A great framed gift for a friend or family member who is a fan of The Special AKA, The Specials, SKA, Nelson Mandella, Africa,  Terry Hall,  Jerry Dammers or has a special memory linked to the song.

Presented in a black wooden box frame
Limited Edition of 100, signed and numbered by myself, the artist

Title: Nelson Mandella
Media Artist/s: The Special AKA (The Specials)
Record Label: Two-Tone
Medium: Mixed media, hand cut from an original 7″ vinyl single
Era: 1980s
Genre: SKA

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Description

Description

Additional information about this, The Special AKA vinyl art.

The Special AKA – The Artist/s

The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 Tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. Their music combines a “danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk’s energy and attitude”. Lyrically, they present a “more focused and informed political and social stance”. The band wore mod-style “1960s period rude boy outfits (pork pie hats, tonic and mohair suits and loafers)”. In 1980, the song “Too Much Too Young”, the lead track on their The Special AKA Live! EP, reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1981, the recession-themed single “Ghost Town” also hit No. 1 in the UK. After seven consecutive UK Top 10 singles between 1979 and 1981, main lead vocalists Hall and Staple, along with guitarist Golding, left to form Fun Boy Three. Continuing as “The Special AKA” (a name they used frequently on earlier Specials releases), a substantially revised Specials line-up issued new material until 1984, including the top 10 UK hit single “Free Nelson Mandela”. After this, founder and songwriter Jerry Dammers dissolved the band and pursued political activism. costumes – the group found success with the proto-disco smash “Lady Marmalade” in 1974, leading to their successful album Nightbirds. The group members each went on their own after the end of a tour in 1976, going on to have significant solo success.

Nelson Mandella – The Song

‘Nelson Mandella’  (known in some versions as “Free Nelson Mandela”) is a song written by British musician Jerry Dammers, and performed by band The Special A.K.A. – with lead vocal by Stan Campbell – released on the single “Nelson Mandela”/”Break Down The Door” in 1984. It was a protest against the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela by the apartheid South African government, and is considered a notable anti apartheid song. Unlike most protest songs, the track is upbeat and celebratory, drawing on musical influences from South Africa. The song peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and was immensely popular in Africa. In December 2013, following the news of Nelson Mandela’s death, the single re entered at #96 on the UK Singles Chart.

Africa – The Shape

This record has been modelled into a silhouette of the African continent. Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth’s total surface area and 20% of its land area. With 1.3 billion people as of 2018, it accounts for about 16% of the world’s human population. Africa’s average population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, the continent is one of the least wealthy per capita in large part due to the legacies of European colonisation in Africa. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context.

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Additional information

Weight 1030 g
Dimensions 25 × 4.5 × 25 cm
Artist Formation

Group / Band

Decade

80's

Gender

Male

Nationality

English

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