Gangsters

This song is about a tour in France where The Specials were held responsible for damage in a hotel that another English band caused. The hotel manager even took one of their guitars as a deposit. The Specials had to pay the damage, and the situation escalated when the French police came around.

Written by Specials keyboard player Jerry Dammers, "Gangsters" is a reworking of Prince Buster's 1964 ska classic "Al Capone." It samples the car sound effects that open the original song. Madness also paid tribute to Prince Buster by using the title of his single "Madness" for their name and on their first single "The Prince," which was released a month after "Gangsters" on the same label. Prince Buster was Jamaica's first international star and one of the most important figures in the history of Ska. He was the one who originally made "Oh Carolina" a hit, a song later covered by Shaggy. He was renowned for often using mouth-clicks for rhythm tracks.

"Gangsters" was The Specials' first single. Its success ignited the two-tone craze that spawned bands such as Madness, UB40 and Selecter.