He wrote the Specials favourites "Concrete Jungle", "Rat Race" and "Hey, Little Rich Girl", later covered by Amy Winehouse.

"Hey Little Rich Girl" was released as a single in Japan by Chrysalis Records in 1980, and covered by Amy Winehouse on her album Back to Black.

Byers sang the lead vocal on "Concrete Jungle" and "Braggin' and Tryin' Not to Lie", which was released as a free single with initial copies of More Specials.

The band released a self-titled album on Rimshot Records the following year with a rawer, hard-edged rockabilly sound.

The Bonediggers consisted of Roddy Radiation (vocals/guitar), David West (vocals/guitar), Sam Smith (bass), and Gary Muldoon (drums), later replaced by Jim Pryall.

After the Specials 2, Byers worked with the acoustic project, Three Men & Black, which consisted of Jean Jacques Burnel (The Stranglers), Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), Pauline Black (The Selecter), Bruce Foxton (The Jam) and Dave Wakeling (The Beat, General Public) and Nick Welsh (Skaville UK).