"Kingston Town" is a 1970Campbell, Howard (2012)
Lord Creator marks JA's Independence celebration
, ''

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'', 3 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012 song by Lord Creator about

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, released as a single on producer Clancy Eccles' Clandisc label. It was also recorded in 1989 by reggae group

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

and was released as the second single from their album '' Labour of Love II'', reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart and number one in France and the Netherlands. In June 2007, the copyright holders of the song, Sparta Florida Music Group, started legal action against

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

and

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

for plagiarism due to alleged similarities between "Kingston Town" and Hilton's song " Stars Are Blind". It was wrongly stated that UB40 was the suing party, which the band later confirmed as being incorrect on their website.

UB40 version

English

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

band

covered "Kingston Town" in 1989 and released it as a single in early 1990. It became the group's sixth top-five hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four for three weeks in April 1990. Throughout the rest of 1990, the song charted in a number of countries, topping the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

for two weeks in May and the

French Singles Chart SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

for three weeks in October and November. In Australia, the song did not reach the top 100 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

during its original release. In 1991, after a re-release of "

Here I Am (Come and Take Me) "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)" is a 1973 song by Al Green, the second single released from his album '' Call Me''. The song reached number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Soul Singles chart. It was certified as a gold ...

" reached number three, "Kingston Town" was re-issued and peaked at number 17 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In the United States, the song was serviced to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

radio on 17 October 1995, in tandem with '' The Best of UB40 – Volume Two'', but it failed to chart.

Critical reception

David Giles of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' described "Kingston Town" as a "pleasant but perfunctory cover" less commercial than UB40's previous two singles, and deemed it was likely not to be a hit.

Track listings

7-inch single :A. "Kingston Town" :B. "Lickwood" 12-inch single :A1. "Kingston Town" (extended mix) :B1. "Lickwood" :B2. "Kingston Town" (7-inch version) CD single # "Kingston Town" (7-inch version) # "Lickwood" # "Kingston Town" (extended mix) US CD and cassette single # "Kingston Town" – 3:46 # "Superstition" – 5:18 Australian CD single (1991) # "Kingston Town" – 3:49 # "

Breakfast in Bed "Breakfast in Bed" is a soul–R&B song written by Muscle Shoals songwriters Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts for Dusty Springfield. It takes a knowing spin on the line " You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", the title of a song that had previousl ...

" – 3:15 # " If It Happens Again" – 3:42 # " Sing Our Own Song" – 4:05

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

* {{authority control 1970 songs 1990 singles 1991 singles UB40 songs SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Songs about cities Kingston, Jamaica Songs about Jamaica Virgin Records singles