Bass guitar from The Specials' Ghost Town could fetch £20,000 at auction
The instrument played by Horace Panter is being put up for sale
The iconic bass guitar that was used in The Specials' 1981 hit song "Ghost Town" is set to be auctioned, and it may sell for as much as £20,000.
Horace Panter, the band's bassist, is selling his 1971 blue Fender Precision, which he originally purchased for £200 in 1981.
Panter was seen in the music video driving the band around London with the instrument in hand.
He expressed a desire for the bass to have a fulfilling next stage, saying, "I'm not overly attached to the bass but it would be nice if it went to someone who'll play it rather than shut it in a vault. It plays really well."
"Ghost Town" is famously associated with the social unrest and riots in the UK in 1981, capturing a unique mood of the period.
The track topped the charts for three weeks and spent a total of 11 weeks in the UK top 40, earning critical acclaim and being named Single of the Year by the country's three major music magazines.
Auctioneer Luke Hobbs from Gardiner Houlgate auctions in Wiltshire spoke on the interest he expects the bass to stir up.
"This is a bass guitar that's going to stir up quite a lot of interest among fans and collectors," Hobbs said.
"Ghost Town is such an evocative track reflecting the social and political unrest of Britain at that time - and Horace Panter's bass is a big part of it."
Horace Panter continued to use the bass after The Specials disbanded in 1981 when he played with General Public, a supergroup that included former members of The Beat, Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Clash, and The Specials themselves.
He sold the bass in 1988 and later reacquired it in 2010, using it during The Specials' reunion.
The legendary group formed in Coventry in 1977 and became a key playing force in the British 2-Tone movement.
They made a profound commercial and cultural impact with a sound combining Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and the energy of punk, producing hits such as "Gangsters," "Too Much Too Young," and, of course, "Ghost Town."
The auction is set for March 10 when fans and collectors will have the chance to own a piece of music history.