Nows and Forevers

Being a devoted BBC World Service listener, I already knew who Nelson Mandela was and apartheid before The Special AKA came out with “Free Nelson Mandela” in 1984. But what made this song was that a whole lot of people knew about Nelson Mandela after hearing it.

I have come back to “Free Nelson Mandela” time and again, including cranking it loud in my apartment in 1990 when, finally, Nelson Mandela was freed. But I hadn’t seen this version til now.

Yeah, I should be writing. But it’s worth eight minutes to see the early version of this song.

Loved The Specials. Even if I wish I hadn’t lived to see one of their earliest, “Ghost Town,” played out in real life in 2020.