Horace Panter (born Stephen Graham Panter, 30 August 1953, place of birth Croydon, raised in Kettering, Northants), also known as Sir Horace the Gentleman Panter, was the bassist for the Coventry ska band, The Specials. is the 242nd day of the year (243rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Croydon (disambiguation). ... This article is about Kettering in England. ... Northamptonshire (abbreviated Northants or Nhants) is a landlocked county in central England with a population of 629,676 (2001 census). ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... For other uses, see Coventry (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see SKA (disambiguation). ... In music, a band is a company of musicians, or musical ensemble, usually popular or folk, playing parts of or improvising a musical arrangement on different musical instruments. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Horrace Panter started a one year course at Northhampton School in 1971, in Art. This is where he met many influential musicians. He then studied Fine Art at Coventry's Lanchester Polytechnic, now know as Coventry University, which he started in 1972. Fine art refers to arts that are concerned with beauty or which appealed to taste (SOED 1991). ... Coventry University is a post-1992 university in Coventry, UK. Under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, the institutions name was changed from Coventry Polytechnic to Coventry University. ...

It was in his second year he met Jerry Dammers, and from this point "The Specials" formed. The group started playing in some Conventry bars and pubs, including The Hammersmith Odeon.

Following the break-up of The Specials in 1981, Panter went on to play with General Public, and the Specials reincarnation in the 1990s. The band General Public formed after the 1983 break-up of The Beat (see 1983 in music). ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

Most recently Panter has been playing in the blues bands Box of Blues, and Blues To Go, and he leads the Coventry Ska-Jazz Orchestra. “Blues music” redirects here. ...

He has written an autobiography called "Ska'd for Life", in which he shares how he became introduced into the genre, and his experiences since the band's creation.