The output of Fun Boy Three — formed by Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staple after they left The Specials — will be collected in a new 5CD/DVD box set.

The British Film Institute has released a trailer for its dazzling new 4K restoration of the classic 2 Tone-era document “Dance Craze: The Best of British Ska… Live!”

Legendary 2 Tone ska act The Specials this week released its first single with original lead frontman Terry Hall since 1981’s “Ghost Town,” a lilting new song called “Vote For Me” that is the first cut to surface off the band’s forthcoming reunion album Encore. Listen to the full track right here.

Ten years into their current reunion, The Specials have announced they’ll release a new album titled Encore next year, the band’s first collection of original material in two decades and its first recordings with original lead singer Terry Hall since the 1981 single “Ghost Town.” Full details, including tracklist, right here.

Reunited U.K. indiepop outfit The Darling Buds have recorded a cover of The Go-Go’s 1981 hit “Our Lips Are Sealed” — written by Jane Wiedlin and The Specials’ Terry Hall — that will be released on the Neon Maniacs compilation on Cassette Store Day this October. Stream the full song right here.

The Specials return to North America this June for a 12-date run of concerts that will take the band to Canada and the east and west coasts of the United States. The tour opens with two shows in Toronto on June 6 and 7, then plays a few East Coast dates, followed by a West Coast run, before ending at a Quebec festival on June 24.

This week’s new releases include new 2CD best-of sets from synthpop masters Heaven 17 and The Specials’ Terry Hall, plus The Wedding Present’s archival 2CD release ‘Live 1990’ and a new 2LP, heavyweight 180-gram audiophile vinyl reissue of the Red Hot Chili Peppers breakthrough smash ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik.’

Reformed 2 Tone-era ska act The Specials this morning announced a lengthy tour of Europe and the band’s native U.K. next fall, a trek that puts the band’s reunion well into a third year.

The Specials will continue their reunion in 2011 with a ‘lengthy tour’ that will feature the band performing its self-titled 1979 debut and its 1980 follow-up ‘More Specials’ back-to-back, frontman Terry Hall told a Manchester, England, audience last Friday.

The ABC News web music series Amplified today posted a nearly eight-minute segment on The Specials, presumably filmed last week while the reunited ska legends were in New York City for a pair of shows to cap off their very brief U.S. tour.

This week’s new releases include new albums from David Byrne & Fatboy Slim (‘Here Lies Love,’ about Imelda Marcos) and Robyn Hitchcock (‘Propellor Time’), plus expanded reissues from David Bowie, The Colourfield and Squeeze.

Tweet Reformed 2 Tone ska legends The Specials will commemorate last year’s string of sold-out U.K. reunion concerts with the March release of a 24-track […]

The 1982 self-titled debut from Fun Boy Three — which spun off from ska revivalists The Specials — will be reissued in expanded form next […]