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"Stereotype" is a song by ska/2-Tone band The Specials, released in September 1980 by 2 Tone Records as the first single from More Specials. The single peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.[1]

"Stereotype"
Cover of the single released in France
Single by The Specials
from the album More Specials
A-side"International Jet Set"
Released12 September 1980 (1980-09-12)
Genre
  • Ska
  • 2 Tone
Length
  • 3:50
  • 7:24 (extended album version)
Label
  • 2 Tone
  • Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)Jerry Dammers
Producer(s)
  • Jerry Dammers
  • Dave Jordan
The Specials singles chronology
"Rat Race" / "Rude Buoys Outa Jail"
(1980)		 "Stereotype" / "International Jet Set"
(1980)		 "Do Nothing" / "Maggie's Farm"
(1980)

Release and reception


"Stereotype" was released as a double A-side single with "International Jet Set". Representing a change in style, which has since been described as a "post-ska" sound,[2] "Stereotype" details the so-called stereotypical life of a man, while noting that people who exactly fit such a generic description do not actually exist in real life. This is shown in the opening verse: "He's just a stereotype, he drinks his age in pints, he has girls every night, but he doesn't really exist".[3] The More Specials album features an extended dub version of the song, titled "Stereotypes/Stereotypes Pt. 2", with the second part being written by Neville Staple.[4]

The man described in the song likes to spend his nights drinking in pubs with his friends and stays out as late as possible, frequently driving home while intoxicated and having sex with one or more women. When he contracts a sexually transmitted disease, his doctor prescribes a course of medication and orders him not to drink for 17 weeks. Once cured, he goes on a drinking binge, gets into a fight, and winds up in a car chase with the police that ends with him crashing into a lamppost.

Reviewing for Record Mirror, Daniela Soave wrote that "Stereotype" "reminds me of a Dashiell Hammet [sic] film theme. Far more adventurous than usual. It has more depth and consequently will probably take more getting used to. It'll be interesting to see if it goes as high in the charts as its predecessors".[5]


Track listing


7": 2 Tone / CHS TT 13

  1. "Stereotype" – 3:50
  2. "International Jet Set" – 4:12

Charts


Chart (1980) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 12
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 41
UK Singles (OCC)[1] 6

References


  1. "Specials: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  2. Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571215696.
  3. "The Specials - Stereotype Lyrics". SongMeanings. Retrieved 13 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "The Specials: 10 of the best". the Guardian. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  5. "Singles" (PDF). Record Mirror. 13 September 1980. p. 12. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  6. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Stereotype". Irish Singles Chart.
  7. "The Specials – Stereotype" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.


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