"As they say", recording that difficult second album... you have four years to get your first album together song wise... the second your lucky if you get 4 month's!
Jerry had been hanging out with John Shipley (Swinging Cat's) and John was really into sound track music - Mantovani, John Barry and all thing's musak!
(By the way, I had taught John to play guitar after his girlfriend had left him for the other guitar player in my band, The Wild Boy's. He thought by playing guitar she would fancy him again?. He later took over my job in the Special AKA. anyway...)
Little did we know what direction the Specials music was now heading. We recorded more specials at Horizon Studio's in Coventry, by the railway station - it's been knocked down now! - so at least we could go home after work.
Jerry wanted the new album to be a radical change musically... drum machines... lounge music and very little ska! When questioned about this, he said he wanted to do songs which people could'nt tell whether they were good or bad!
My first disagreement with Jerry was over "Hey little rich girl", a song I'd written about a girlfriend I went out with in the early seventies, who came from a posh area just outside Coventry. Jerry's new sound included the use of robotic drum machines. I thought this would ruin my skabilly / rock'n'roll song, but after a long chat, and by letting Jerry admire my new "James Dean flick knife", he left the studio while we got on with the song. He put his part on later, along with a "sha-doobie" backing vocal which he thought was hilarious.

Then I put the lyrics to one of my other tunes on the studio wall...

    Why Argue With Fate. (1981)
    ---------------------------
    There are no perfect people, and if you're looking for revenge,
    Thought I'd found the answer, but it was just another dead end.
    But I wait and wait and wait and wait.
    Why argue with fate.

    There are two kind's of people, some wrong some right,
    Thought I'd found the answer, but all I got was sleepless nights.
    But I wait and wait and wait and wait.
    Why argue with fate.

    Thought I'd found the answer, a cause for me to fight,
    But you can't believe false prophets, with hearts as cold as ice.

    (repeat first verse. end.)

The next thing I know is "Why Argue With Fate" has become "Holiday Fortnight", and has also become an instrumental.

It's a funny old world!!