Terry Hall (19 March 1959 – 18 December 2022) was the lead singer of The Sp… Read Full Bio ↴Terry Hall (19 March 1959 – 18 December 2022) was the lead singer of The Specials, the Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair and Anouchka and Vegas. He released his first solo album, Home, in 1995. He has also worked with The Lightning Seeds, Stephen Duffy, Dub Pistols, Gorillaz and Tricky.

Hall was an active member of the burgeoning Coventry music scene of the late 1970s, playing in local punk band Squad, and being credited as a composer on their single "Red Alert" / "£8 a Week". This scene also produced acts such as The Selecter and Hazel O'Connor.

As the frontman for The Specials (though initially called The Coventry Automatics), Hall primarily struck it big in Britain in 1979 when BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel played their single "Gangsters" on his show; the song was included in his Festive Fifty at #7 in that year. The Specials' first self-titled album features some of Hall's most recognizable and notable performances, including "Little Bitch", "Nite Klub", "Concrete Jungle", and "Gangsters".

In October of 1980, The Specials released their second album, More Specials. While singing such fan-favourites such as "Enjoy Yourself", "Rat Race", and "Hey, Little Rich Girl", Terry successfully helped the band recreate the upbeat music that the first album possessed. The next album The Specials recorded, 1984's In The Studio, did not include Hall.

After The Specials' last single with Hall, the UK #1 hit "Ghost Town", Hall left the band to start a new-wave group, Fun Boy Three, with two other Specials members, Lynval Golding and Neville Staples. Fun Boy Three's first hit single occurred in late 1981, entitled "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum)", then followed-up in early 1982 with "It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)", a duet with Bananarama. Fun Boy Three then provided guest vocals for Bananarama's single, "Really Saying Something". That same year, Hall and his bandmates appeared in the video for "Driving in My Car" by ska band, Madness. In February 1983, Fun Boy Three released Waiting. It consisted of the Top Ten hits "The Tunnel of Love" and the classic "Our Lips Are Sealed". The latter was a song Hall wrote with Jane Wiedlin, who had already made it into a hit the previous year with her group, The Go-Go's.

In 1984 Hall formed the Coventry based band The Colourfield, releasing the album Virgins & Philistines in 1985, which included the single "Thinking of You" (UK #12 hit single). This new musical direction would culminate in collaborations with the Lightning Seeds' Ian Broudie, contributing a number of songs to the Seeds' Sense (1992), Jollification (1994), Dizzy Heights (1996) and Tilt (1999) albums. Hall also co-wrote the song "Smoke Rings" for Broudie's debut solo album Tales Told. The track was subsequently released as the lead track on the Smoke Rings EP.

In 2001 he appeared as a guest on the Gorillaz-D12 single "911", which was a song about terrorist attacks in the U.S.

In 2007 he provided vocals for many tracks on the Dub Pistols album Speakers and Tweeters.

Hall was still struggling with his mental health. In 2003, he had begun self-medicating with alcohol. In the last decade of his life, he sought medication, having been wary of it since being put on Valium as a teenager, as well as taking up art therapy.

“It got to a point where I didn’t have a choice – and it’s done me so much good,” he said. “Talking about mental health problems is a conscious decision. It’s something I want to share with people.”

Terry Hall, an early singer in influential ska/new wave group The Specials, died on Dec, 18, 2022. He sang on the band's first two albums, The Specials and More Specials and, after rejoining when The Specials reformed in 2008, he sang on an additional two records.

No No No
Terry Hall Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The promises you set before me
are only put there to annoy me
But all they ever do is bore me
to tears
And as you try to make some money
Is it ok to call you honey?
No, I'm not trying to be funny
just clear

Oh no
Here comes that violin again

(let's call it love) Oh no, not love
(sealed with a kiss) Oh no, not a kiss
(it must be love) Oh no, not again
What is this game you're playing
The edges keep on fraying
That's why i keep on saying no no no

You offer transcendental moonshine
I'm only looking for a lifeline
Don't wash our dirty clothes in public
My dear
I've done the things that you've demanded
and still you're taking this for granted
Guess you've got both feet firmly planted
in the air (what do yo care?)

Oh no! Here comes that violin again

(let's call it love) Oh no, not love
(sealed with a kiss) Oh no, not a kiss
(it must be love) Oh no, not again
Can't stand the complications
Don't need the aggravation
That's why i keep on saying
No

(let's call it love) No no, not love
(sealed with a kiss) No no, not a kiss
(it must be love) Oh no, not again
What is this game you're playing
The edges keep on fraying
That's why I keep on saying no no no

Hey
I'll see you later!

(let's call it love) Oh no, not love
(sealed with a kiss) no no, not a kiss
(it must be love) Oh no, not again
Can't stand the complications
Don't need the aggravation
That's why i keep on saying
No

(let's call it love) Oh no, not love
(sealed with a kiss) No no, not a kiss
(it must be love) Oh no, not again
What is this game you're playing

The edges keep on fraying
That's why I keep on saying no no no

Overall Meaning

Terry Hall's "No No No" is a song about someone who is fed up with being manipulated and strung along by a lover who constantly makes empty promises and plays games. The song's protagonist is irritated by the lover's attempts to impress and win him over with grand gestures, which he sees as nothing but a mere act. He is tired of the complications and aggravation and just wants simplicity and honesty. Despite his protests and constant "no no no's," the lover keeps pushing their agenda, wearing down the singer's patience and causing their relationship to fray at the edges.

The sarcastic tone of the song and the use of a violin as a recurring motif create a sense of cynicism and disillusionment. The singer is seemingly uninterested in the grand production of love and would prefer something more genuine and practical. Additionally, the repetition of the phrase "no no no" reinforces his frustration and the refusal to give in to the lover's manipulative ways.

Line by Line Meaning

The promises you set before me are only put there to annoy me
You make empty promises which serve no purpose other than to bother me

But all they ever do is bore me to tears
Your promises never come true and are utterly uninteresting

And as you try to make some money, Is it ok to call you honey?
You're focusing on earning money, but can I still address you with a term of endearment?

No, I'm not trying to be funny, just clear
I'm not joking, I just want to be straightforward

Oh no Here comes that violin again
Here we go again, another emotional situation

(let's call it love) Oh no, not love
This feeling being portrayed is not love

(sealed with a kiss) Oh no, not a kiss
This action being taken is not a kiss

(it must be love) Oh no, not again
This is not love like I thought it was the last time

What is this game you're playing, The edges keep on fraying
What are you trying to do? Our relationship is falling apart

That's why I keep on saying no no no
I won't be taken advantage of anymore and must decline

You offer transcendental moonshine, I'm only looking for a lifeline
You offer non-realistic or meaningless support, I just want something that can actually help me

Don't wash our dirty clothes in public, My dear
Don't bring our problems out into the open

I've done the things that you've demanded and still you're taking this for granted
I've done everything you've asked, but you still don't appreciate my efforts

Guess you've got both feet firmly planted in the air (what do yo care?)
You're not grounded in reality, so you don't care about my feelings

Can't stand the complications, Don't need the aggravation
I can't handle the problems that come with this relationship anymore

Hey, I'll see you later!
I have to go now, goodbye

Contributed by Harper Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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