“Ghost Town” (1981) by the band ‘The Specials’ is an ironic take on the isolation and fall out in Britain at that current time. This song was the first British multi race production as it contained Jamaican ska brought over in the late 40’s creating a hybrid of styles of music which also contained elements of reggae and a two tone beat which was the trend at the time. This representation of Britain’s emerging multiculturalism, is reinforced through the eclectic mix of stylistic influences in both the music and the video. 

Using Todorov’s reception theory to follow the plot of the music video you can see the the Equilibrium begins in an empty city with deserted streets and buildings as the cinematography focus’ on establishing isolation. The reason the cities are deserted are because of the Handsworth and Toxteth riots which took place in Birmingham due to lack of employment and boredom. Shortly into the music video the disruption occurs with changes in pitch in the vocals, music and driving ability as they steer frantically to avoid potential supernatural beings which can be heard in the screams by the vocalist during the chorus as well as low sombre moments where the shadow of the car is projected which presents the opportunity to see a shadow of any being following them but of course ghosts supposedly don’t have shadows which can confuse the view as they attempt to connect to an invisible antagonist. Eventually they escape and make it to the beach leaving the grey bland and dull urban landscape where supernatural beings chase and scare the group.