In 1984, The Special AKA released a song written by Jerry Dammers, with one message - 'Free Nelson Mandela'. With a lead vocal by Stan Campbell, the song was upbeat and drew on the merry musical influences of South Africa, but was nonetheless emphatic in its agenda - that the revolutionary be freed after what was then 20 years in jail.
The song was one of the most memorable symbols of a sustained international campaign that finally helped create a sea-change in South Africa, and the release of Mr Mandela in 1990. Listen again, and remember...