"Sing Our Own Song" is a song written and performed by British

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 ...

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 ...

. It features backing singers

Jaki Graham Jacqueline Graham (born 15 September 1956) is a British singer-songwriter. Following her hit version of " Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" with David Grant in 1985, Graham scored a further five UK top 20 hits over a two-year period. In 1994, he ...

, Mo Birch and

Ruby Turner Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North Ameri ...

and appeared as the ninth and final track on their seventh album, ''

Rat in the Kitchen ''Rat in the Kitchen'' is the seventh album by UB40, released in July 1986. This album contained two UK hits, " Sing Our Own Song" (UK No. 5 in 1986) and "Rat in Mi Kitchen" (UK No. 12 in 1987). The album itself reached 8 in the UK album charts ...

'' (1986). Released in 1986, it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and became a number-one hit in the Netherlands. The song was written as an anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

song and was

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Featuring the ANC rallying cry of ''" Amandla Awethu",'' it is considered a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for protest and social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. ...

of the time.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1986 singles 1986 songs Protest songs Songs about racism and xenophobia UB40 songs {{1980s-UK-single-stub