2 Tone Legends The Specials Added To Golden Plains Line-up

Excitement is already high for next year's eleventh annual Golden Plains festival — and that's just on the promise of seeing Neil Finn play under a full moon — but the organisers have managed to raise the bar even further already, with the inclusion of legendary 2 Tone ensemble The Specials.

The present incarnation of the band includes three founding members — guitarist/vocalist Lynval Golding, bassist Horace Panter and vocalist/co-songwriter Terry Hall — as well as an instrumental ensemble that includes trombone player Tim Smart, keyboardist Nikolaj Top Larsen and saxophonist/flutist Drew Stansall (all of whom joined in 2008, when the band most recently reunited), plus newer recruits Steve Cradock (lead guitar) and Pablo Mandleson (trumpet), both of whom joined in 2014, and drummer Gary Powell (of The Libertines), who was recruited to the band earlier this year following the death of beloved skinsman John Bradbury, who filled the role from 1979-84 and again from 2008 to his passing.

The group are renowned for their highly influential impact on the wider ska movement(s) and revival(s) of the past 35 years as well as their politically charged, musically memorable tunes, best-known cuts among which include the likes of A Message To You Rudy, Ghost Town, Too Much Too Young, Free Nelson Mandela, What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend and a whole slew of others. They're a truly legendary outfit, and the chance to see them in a setting as iconic as the Sup is a damn tantalising one indeed.

Golden Plains XI will be held at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre from 11-13 March. Time's running out if you're thinking about getting in on the ticket ballot; previous subscribers have until 10pm this coming Monday, 17 October, to enter, while non-subscribers have until the same time on Tuesday 25 October to join the second-round ballot.

See the festival's website for more information.