With every record I’ve done, I’ve made reference to it,” says Hall, “but this is out-and-out. I was diagnosed with manic depression and schizophrenia about 11 years ago and that diagnosis made a big difference, because then I started taking medication. And the change in me, to be able to function… I couldn’t have done this 12 years ago. People used to say to me, ‘Why don’t you try yoga? Or St John’s wort?’ But there’s a massive difference when you’re in a deep depression and feeling shitty with the world, and the stage that I got to, where you want to give yourself a lobotomy, it’s that bad.” Terry: I get really bugged by this City of Culture thing. If you have to really search for the culture, you’re making it up. The landmark for me in Coventry is the cathedral. They embarked on a 30th anniversary tour in 2009 and performed at the 2012 London Olympics closing concert, but faced the death of drummer John Bradbury, and the departure of vocalist Staple and guitarist Roddy Radiation over the next few years.

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Ska is a combined musical element of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues.

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: I’m actually going to see Joe in a couple of weeks, his band. I don’t know. We get asked that a lot. “What are you listening to now?” And what I’m listening to now is a Grateful Dead album, because I never heard it first time round... A statement from the band released on Monday (December 19) said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing, following a brief illness, of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced.Describing the song in a previous interview, Hall said: "The only way I could deal with the experience was to write about it, in a song. It was very difficult for me to write, but I wanted to communicate my feelings."

Fun Boy Three disbanded after just two years, with Hall spending the next two decades moving between musical projects, including his bands Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas.We were nervous – of course we were,” Dave Wakeling, The Beat’s lead singer, would later tell me. “That afternoon two sets of skinheads came in – clearly different sets, because they wore different uniforms.” The Beat feared the worst. But the message was that they had nothing to worry about. “They told us they were ever so pleased we’d come to Belfast, as a lot of people weren’t. They appreciated it so much that one set of them would stay downstairs and the other up on the balcony, so there was no fighting.” They released their debut single, Gangsters (a reworking of Prince Buster’s Al Capone) in 1979, which reached No 6 in the UK singles chart. They would dominate the Top 10 over the next two years, peaking with their second No 1 single, and calling card, Ghost Town, in 1981. The lyrics, written by the band’s main songwriter, Jerry Dammers, dealt with Britain’s urban decay, unemployment and disfranchised youth. Traditional ska bands generally featured bass, drums, guitars, keyboards, and horns with sax, trombone and trumpet being most common.