Terry Hall had already helped soundtrack the late 70s and early 80s with The Specials‘ brutal, wry social observations when he quit at the group’s peak to form his successful pop parody Fun Boy Three, before going on to found The Colourfield with Coventry neighbours Karl Shale and Toby Lyons to create haunting, orchestral pop.
1985’s debut album, Virgins and Philistines, collected together flopped singles The Colourfield and Take, both of which pinned emotional bile to delicious melodies, with their (only) Top 20 hit Thinking Of You and the mesmeric Castles In The Air.
The 1987 follow-up LP, Deception, sadly signalled the farewell of yet another Hall combo.
Terry Hall died in December 2022 from pancreatic cancer. He was 63.
Terry Hall
Vocals
Karl Shale
Bass
Toby Lyons
Guitar, keyboards
Pete De Freitas
Drums
Paul Burgess
Drums
Gary Dwyer
Drums