Kingston Town (song)

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Not to be confused with "Jamaica Farewell" by Lord Burgess, made famous by Harry Belafonte.

"Kingston Town"
Single by Lord Creator
B-side"Holly Holly" (by The Fabulous Flames)
Released1970
GenreReggae
LabelClandisc
Songwriter(s)Kentrick Patrick
Producer(s)Clancy Eccles

"Kingston Town" is a 1970[1] song by Lord Creator about Kingston, Jamaica, released as a single on producer Clancy Eccles' Clandisc label. It was also recorded in 1989 by reggae group UB40 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 and Warner Chappell Music 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.[2]

UB40 version[edit]

"Kingston Town"
Single by UB40
from the album Labour of Love II
B-side"Lickwood"
Released19 March 1990 (1990-03-19)
GenreReggae
Length3:52
LabelDEP International, Virgin
Songwriter(s)Kentrick Patrick
Producer(s)UB40
UB40 singles chronology
"Homely Girl"
(1989) 		"Kingston Town"
(1990) 		"Wear You to the Ball"
(1990)

English reggae band UB40 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 for two weeks in May and the French Singles Chart for three weeks in October and November.

In Australia, the song did not reach the top 100 on the ARIA Singles Chart during its original release. In 1991, after a re-release of "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)" 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 radio on 17 October 1995,[3] in tandem with The Best of UB40 – Volume Two, but it failed to chart.

Critical reception[edit]

David Giles of Music Week described "Kingston Town" as a "pleasant but perfectory cover" less commercial than UB40's previous two singles, and deemed it was likely not to be a hit.[4]

Track listings[edit]

Charts[edit]

Certifications and sales[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[31] Gold 35,000^
France (SNEP)[32] Gold 400,000*
Germany (BVMI)[33] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Platinum 600,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Campbell, Howard (2012) "Lord Creator marks JA's Independence celebration", Jamaica Observer, 3 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012
  2. ^ "UB40 Press statement". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  3. ^ "Selected New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1116. 13 October 1995. p. 40.
  4. ^ Giles, David (31 March 1990). "Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 23. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  5. ^ Kingston Town (UK 7-inch single sleeve). UB40. DEP International, Virgin Records. 1990. DEP 35, 113 085-100.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Kingston Town (UK 12-inch single sleeve). UB40. DEP International, Virgin Records. 1990. DEP 3512, 613 085-213.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Kingston Town (UK CD single liner notes). UB40. DEP International, Virgin Records. 1990. DEPXT 35, 663 085-211.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Kingston Town (US CD single liner notes). UB40. DEP International, Virgin Records. 1990. V25F-38526, 7243 8 38526 2 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Kingston Town (US cassette single sleeve). UB40. DEP International, Virgin Records. 1990. 4KM-38526.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Kingston Town (Australian CD single liner notes). UB40. Virgin Records. 1991. VOZCD126.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  12. ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 44. 3 November 1990. p. IV. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  14. ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town" (in French). Les classement single.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Kingston Town". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – UB40" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  17. ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town". Top 40 Singles.
  19. ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town". Singles Top 100.
  20. ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town". Swiss Singles Chart.
  21. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – UB40 – Kingston Town" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  23. ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  24. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1990" (in German). Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  25. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1990" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 of 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. 60. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via World Radio History.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1990" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  28. ^ "Single top 100 over 1990" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  29. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  30. ^ "1990 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 2 March 1991. p. 41.
  31. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 288.
  32. ^ "French single certifications – UB 40 – Kingston Town" (in French). InfoDisc. Select UB 40 and click OK. 
  33. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (UB 40; 'Kingston Town')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  34. ^ "British single certifications – UB40 – Kingston Town". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
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