# The Specials — Every Record We Rank

The Specials appears 3 times in our Two-Tone list, placing as high as No. 1. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.

- **Ranked entries:** 3
- **Appears on:** Two-Tone
- **Years:** 1979–1981
- **Highest placing:** No. 1 in Two-Tone
- **Updated:** 2026-08-31
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/the-specials/

## Appears on

### [Ghost Town](https://waxonia.com/track/the-specials--ghost-town/)

*1981 · 2 Tone · No. 1 in [Two-Tone](https://waxonia.com/genre/two-tone/)*

Number one while English cities were actually burning, and the band split the week it topped the chart. A haunted-house organ, a wailing horn, and the most precisely timed record in British pop.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Specials%20Ghost%20Town) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ2oXzrnti4)

### [A Message to You, Rudy](https://waxonia.com/track/the-specials--a-message-to-you-rudy/)

*1979 · 2 Tone · No. 3 in [Two-Tone](https://waxonia.com/genre/two-tone/)*

Dandy Livingstone's rocksteady original, with Rico Rodriguez — who had played on the Jamaican sessions of the sixties — brought in on trombone. Continuity made audible.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Specials%20A%20Message%20to%20You%2C%20Rudy) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cntvEDbagAw)

### [Too Much Too Young](https://waxonia.com/track/the-specials--too-much-too-young/)

*1980 · 2 Tone · No. 7 in [Two-Tone](https://waxonia.com/genre/two-tone/)*

A live EP about teenage pregnancy that went to number one, and got banned in places for a lyric about contraception. Very funny and not remotely kind.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Specials%20Too%20Much%20Too%20Young) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PD9NvKKY7W0)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.