Jerry Dammers
| Jerry Dammers | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers |
| Born |
22 May 1955 Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Origin | Coventry, England |
| Genres | Ska, 2 Tone |
| Occupation(s) | Keyboardist, songwriter, DJ |
| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | 2 Tone Records (as per The Specials) |
| Associated acts | The Specials The Special AKA The Spatial AKA Orchestra |
Jeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers, (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who is a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A. and The Spatial AKA Orchestra. He also founded 2 Tone Records.
Dammers was born in Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu, South India, the son of Horace Dammers who was later Dean of Bristol Cathedral from 1973 to 1987. Jerry Dammers attended King Henry VIII School, Coventry.
Dammers was a Mod in the 1960s, then became a hippie, before becoming a skinhead. He had been a member of The Cissy Stone Soul Band, and studied art at Coventry's Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University), where he met Horace Panter.
He founded 2 Tone Records, which helped develop the 1970s/1980s ska revival. He became an anti-apartheid campaigner, helping to create Artists Against Apartheid in the U.S., and writing the song "Free Nelson Mandela" about the jailed African National Congress leader in South Africa. In 1985, in the wake of the Band Aid single, he organised the recording and release of the "Starvation" single, a version of The Pioneers' 1969 song, in aid of famine relief in Africa, featuring members of The Special AKA, UB40, Madness, The Pioneers, and The Beat. In early 1986, he took part in the Red Wedge tour that also featured The Style Council, The Communards, Junior Giscombe, Lorna Gee and other special guests. He also introduced Simple Minds to producer Tony Hollingsworth and they became the first major act to agree to perform at Hollingsworth's Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert, which was broadcast worldwide from London's Wembley Stadium, on 11 June 1988. That same year, he briefly played with the re-formed Madness on their single "I Pronounce You" and its attendant album, The Madness.
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