Neville Staple

Staple's first involvement with the Specials was when they were still called the Coventry Automatics. Initially employed as their roadie, Staple joined the band on stage at a gig supporting the Clash. At that point, the line-up already included Jerry Dammers, Horace Panter and Silverton Hutchinson on drums. Terry Hall subsequently came in as vocalist, replacing Tim Strickland, and Roddy Radiation joined on lead guitar. John Bradbury would later take over on drums from Silverton.[5]

In the Specials, Staple sang lead vocals on some tracks or additional and backing vocals alongside Terry Hall's lead. He also contributed to the writing of many of their songs, but rarely received credit.

The Specials were managed for a time by the Clash's manager, Bernard Rhodes, whom Staple toasted in the phrase "Bernie Rhodes knows don't argue" at the beginning of the Specials' hit single "Gangsters".[6]

When the Specials initially split up, Staple departed with Terry Hall and Lynval Golding to form Fun Boy Three. They had a string of chart hits, some in collaboration with the all-female trio Bananarama.[7]

In 1990, Staple joined Ranking Roger from the Beat to form Special Beat, a revival group playing hits from both former 2 Tone bands the Specials and the Beat. This was in response to the huge explosion of interest in ska in the United States—the so-called "Third Wave" of ska. Neville moved to California in the 1990s to work with many of these new American ska and punk acts, including No Doubt, Rancid and Unwritten Law. Neville also featured on the song "Explosive" by the Canadian ska band the Planet Smashers.[8]

Staple participated in a reunion line-up of the Specials from 1993 to 2001, and again from 2009 to 2012, after which he left the band due to mostly personal reasons, as well as some health concerns.[9]

In 2000, Staple's re-recordings of hits by the Specials and Fun Boy Three were released as The Very Best of the Specials and Fun Boy Three, without being prominently labelled as a solo work by Staple.

In April 2009, Staple set out on a reunion tour with the Specials.[11][12][13] The same month also saw the launch of his biography, Original Rude Boy, published by Aurum Press. The book covers Staple's childhood in Jamaica and early involvement with the 1970s sound system scene, as well as his work with the Specials and Fun Boy Three. Neville collaborated with former BBC journalist Tony McMahon on the book and both are registered with the Blake Friedmann literary agency.[14]

In December 2013, Perriss decided to leave the Neville Staple Band after more than 12 years, replaced by Billy Shinbone on guitar.

In May 2014, Staple released Ska Crazy with his band, which included classic ska covers and brand new material. His wife Christine Staple and long-time friend Daddy Woody, a Jamaican DJ/artist, also provide vocals on the album.

Staple has also worked on various collaborations with the Mutants, including co-writing four tracks on the album Rhythm and Punk Review (one of them co-written with his wife Christine), as well as with the Talks[15] Flipron, Dub Pistols and Duplex. In 2015, Staple produced his wife Christine's EP Rudegirl Sounds. Christine began performing with the Neville Staple Band that same year.

From 2016 onward, Staple has continued to collaborate with other artists, including Save Ferris, the Rifffs, Jessy Greene and Ed Rome, and has toured extensively across the UK, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong and the US. Return of Judge Roughneck & Dub Specials was released in February 2017 and was co-produced with Tom Lowry from Planet Studios and Staple's wife Christine, who also co-writes and performs songs with him. The lead track video was premiered by Vive Le Rock magazine and the album received positive reviews. Staple recreated his famous Judge Roughneck character, first heard as part of the "Stupid Marriage" song on the Specials' debut album on 2-Tone Records. The second half of the album consists of dub music.

In 2018, another joint album with Christine Sugary Staple, Rude Rebels, was released, including collaborations with former Specials bandmate Roddy "Radiation" Byers.

Staple toured with his band celebrating '40 Years of Ghost Town'. The current Neville Staple Band line-up consists of Christine "Sugary" Staple on vocals, ex-Specials member Drew Stanshall on saxophone, ex-Bad Manners members Matty "Bingo" Bane on drums and Stephen "Sledge" Armstrong on bass, as well as Billy Shinbone on guitar, Joe Atkinson on keyboards and Pete New on trombone.[16]

• 1994 – Skanktastic (Six-song EP) (Moon Records)
• 2000 – Ghost Town: 13 Hits of the Specials and Fun Boy Three (Anagram – Cherry Red Records)
• 2001 – Neville Staple from the Specials (525 Music Production)
• 2002 – Ska Au Go-Go (as "Special Skank Ft. Neville Staple") (Cleopatra)
• 2004 – The Rude Boy Returns (Rude Boy Records)
• 2005 – The Rude Boy Returns: Neville Staple Live (DVD) (Asian Man Records)
• 2006 - The Specials: Greatest Hits (Fantastic Price Records)
• 2014 – Ska Crazy (Cleopatra)
• 2017 - Return of Judge Roughneck & Dub Specials (Cleopatra)
• 2018 - Rude Rebels (as "Neville & Sugary Staple Featuring Roddy Radiation") (Cleopatra)
• 2021 - Fromthe Specials & Beyond[17] (Cleopatra)