THE gig of 2013 in the Midlands has just been announced - The Specials are dusting down their trumpets and making a triumphant return.

The iconic Coventry ska band are playing Birmingham’s O2 Academy on May 21 and tickets are already selling fast.

Terry Hall and the gang have now been together longer since they reformed than they managed when they changed the face of music all those years ago.

It has helped that songs like Do Nothing, Too Much Too Young and Ghost Town are as relevant today as they were in the early 1980s.

The Specials reformed in 2009 for their 30th Anniversary and due their barnstorming live performances have played sold out concerts across the globe.

The absence of the genius behind The Specials Gerry Dammers has continued but the energy Lynval Golding, Horace Panter, Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Roddy Radiation perform with has meant their fans still turn up in droves.

Their acceptance into the busom of the British establishment was confirmed during the Summer when they were invited to perform at the closing show of the Olympics at Hyde Park. They of course would be horrified to think they were ever establishment but the band who even made Coventry cool are now acclaimed by rock royalty.

Yesterday (Wednesday) the band performed a special show for 6 Music at the world famous Madia Vale studios and their appeal to a new generation of fans has been secured.

Phone 0844 477 2000 for tickets for the O2 Academy gig on May 21.