Neville Staple facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Neville Staple
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Staple performing in 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Neville Eugenton Staple |
| Born | 11 April 1955 Manchester Parish, Jamaica |
| Origin | Coventry, England |
| Genres | 2 Tone, ska, new wave |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | 2 Tone, Chrysalis, Cleopatra |
| Associated acts | The Specials Fun Boy Three The Neville Staple Band Special Beat |
Neville Eugenton Staple (born on April 11, 1955) is a British singer who was born in Jamaica. He is famous for being part of the 2 Tone ska band called The Specials. He also sang with the pop group Fun Boy Three and later with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. Neville also performed with Ranking Roger in a music group called Special Beat.
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Neville Staple's Early Life
Neville Staple was born in Manchester, Jamaica. When he was five years old, he moved from Jamaica to live in the English town of Rugby, Warwickshire. Later, he moved to Coventry.
Neville often visited the Locarno Ballroom in Coventry. There, he met Pete Waterman, who was the DJ. Pete Waterman briefly managed The Specials. He also wrote the introduction for Neville's book, Original Rude Boy, which came out in 2009.
Neville's early singing style was mostly "toasting". This means chanting over a rhythm, which was an early form of rapping. Jamaican musicians brought this style to Britain in the 1960s. Neville practiced his toasting skills in the sound system scene in Coventry during the 1970s. He first performed with his cousin's "Messenger Sound" and later with his own system called "Jah Baddis".
Neville Staple's Music Career
Joining The Specials
Neville Staple first joined The Specials when they were known as the Coventry Automatics. He started as their roadie, helping with equipment. Later, he joined the band on stage during a concert where they were opening for The Clash.
At that time, the band already included Jerry Dammers, Horace Panter, and Silverton Hutchinson on drums. Terry Hall then became the lead singer, replacing Tim Strickland. Roddy Radiation joined as the lead guitarist. Later, John Bradbury took over on drums from Silverton.
In The Specials, Neville sang lead vocals on some songs. He also provided extra and backing vocals with Terry Hall. He helped write many of their songs, but he was not always given credit for his work.
The Clash's manager, Bernard Rhodes, managed The Specials for a while. Neville Staple mentioned him in the famous phrase "Bernie Rhodes knows don't argue" at the start of The Specials' hit song "Gangsters".
Forming Fun Boy Three
When The Specials first broke up, Neville Staple left with Terry Hall and Lynval Golding. They formed a new band called Fun Boy Three. This group had many hit songs. Some of their hits were made with the all-female group Bananarama.
The Third Wave of Ska Music
In 1990, Neville Staple teamed up with Ranking Roger from The Beat. They formed a group called Special Beat. This group played hit songs from both The Specials and The Beat. This happened because there was a huge new interest in ska music in the United States. People called this new interest the "Third Wave" of ska.
Neville moved to California in the 1990s. There, he worked with many new American ska and punk bands. These included No Doubt, Rancid, and Unwritten Law. Neville also sang on the song "Explosive" by the Canadian ska band The Planet Smashers.
Neville Staple was part of a reunion of The Specials from 1993 to 2001. He joined them again from 2009 to 2012. After that, he left the band for personal reasons and some health concerns.
In 2000, Neville re-recorded some hit songs by The Specials and Fun Boy Three. These were released as The Very Best of the Specials and Fun Boy Three. However, the album was not clearly marked as a solo work by Neville Staple.
Neville Staple's Solo Career
For many years, Neville Staple worked in the US with different bands. One of these was The Hitmen, who created the music for the 2003 movie Vampires Anonymous. Since 2004, he has toured in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand with his own band. He also had successful tours and shows with Ranking Roger of The Beat and Pauline Black of The Selecter. These shows were called Special Beat and Legends of Ska. He also helped start the career of Johnny Zee (also known as Taz of Stereo Nation), a famous Bollywood music artist. Neville managed and produced him early on.
In 2004, Neville Staple came back to the UK. He formed the Neville Staple Band. They released an album called The Rude Boy Returns, which received good reviews. Mick Jones, the guitarist from The Clash, and Rat Scabies, the drummer from The Damned, helped with the album.
The band included former members of the British ska band Bad Manners. Warren Middleton played trombone, later replaced by Spencer Hague. Stephen Armstrong played bass guitar, Matty Bane played drums, and Andy Perriss played guitar. Joe Atkinson from Flipron played keyboards and organ. Sometimes, Patrick Pretorius from The Talks played drums.
Neville Staple's Biography
In April 2009, Neville Staple went on a reunion tour with The Specials. In the same month, his biography, Original Rude Boy, was released by Aurum Press. The book tells about Neville's childhood in Jamaica. It also covers his early involvement with the sound system scene in the 1970s. Of course, it also talks about his work with The Specials and Fun Boy Three. Neville worked with former BBC journalist Tony McMahon on the book.
Later Career and Collaborations
In December 2013, Andy Perriss decided to leave the Neville Staple Band after more than 12 years. Billy Shinbone replaced him on guitar.
In May 2014, Neville Staple released Ska Crazy with his band. This album included classic ska cover songs and brand new music. His wife, Christine Staple, and his long-time friend Daddy Woody, a Jamaican DJ, also sang on the album.
Neville Staple has also worked with other artists. He collaborated with The Mutants, helping to write four songs on their album Rhythm and Punk Review. One of these songs was co-written with his wife, Christine. He also worked with The Talks, Flipron, Dub Pistols, and Duplex. In 2015, Neville produced his wife Christine's EP called Rudegirl Sounds. Christine started performing with the Neville Staple Band that same year.
From 2016 onwards, Neville Staple continued to work with other artists. These included Save Ferris, The Rifffs, Jessy Greene, and Ed Rome. He has toured a lot across the UK, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and the US.
His album Return of Judge Roughneck & Dub Specials was released in February 2017. Neville and his wife Christine co-produced it with Tom Lowry from Planet Studios. Christine also helped write and perform songs on the album. The music video for the main song was first shown by Vive Le Rock magazine. The album received good reviews. Neville brought back his famous Judge Roughneck character, who was first heard in the song "Stupid Marriage" on The Specials' first album. The second half of the album features dub music.
In 2018, another album with Christine Sugary Staple, called Rude Rebels, was released. It included songs with his former Specials bandmate Roddy "Radiation" Byers.
Neville Staple toured with his band to celebrate "40 Years of Ghost Town." The current Neville Staple Band includes Christine "Sugary" Staple on vocals. It also features former Specials member Drew Stanshall on saxophone. Former Bad Manners members Matty "Bingo" Bane on drums and Stephen "Sledge" Armstrong on bass are also in the band. Billy Shinbone plays guitar, Joe Atkinson plays keyboards, and Pete New plays trombone.
In January 2024, Neville Staple announced that he had a serious heart problem. Because of this, he canceled all his future live performances.
Neville Staple's Solo Albums
- 1994 – Skanktastic (a 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 – From the Specials & Beyond (Cleopatra)
