19 January 1978. « Popular ’77 The producer Joe Gibbs came across a song by reggae star Trinity called "Three Piece Suit" and he decided to record a female response as a companion. G D Love is all I bring, inna me khaki suit and ting. Bunnykins is gonna do the pair of you. Genres: Roots Reggae, Reggae. Someone impersonating me now? One fascinating and melancholy thing lately has been watching dance music grow old. They are adorable, but in that setting not too far away from Baccara – and that’s the context which probably pushed “Uptown” from a Top 20 hit to a Number One. It is a great single, I think this is that Top Of The Pops performance with tedious TOTP2 Elvis Costello fact (since I’m on Youtube duty today). Love is all I bring inna me khaki suit and ting . 2021. Nah pop no style, a strictly roots . New Musical Express (UK) – Singles of the Year 40, If this was number 1 when you were born paste [stork-boy] or [stork-girl] into the start of your comment :), MailRequired (Your email address will not be published). Well, I’ve never screwed up anything so. Uptown Top Ranking was superbly produced by Karl Pitterson, and boasts the heavy rhythms of the Revolutionaries. https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/16409390/Althia+and+Donna, There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World), Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song) [Version], Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight), Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam Mcgee, Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman), Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've), When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman, We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful, Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' on Me? Test your MusicIQ here! . Them check so we hip an' ting. I taped it off the radio, where it sat next to The Clash’s “Complete Control” and the first Slits session on the same side of the same C90. Now, of course, I’m in total agreement with everyone – it’s fantastic – 9 for me too. Gary Mulholland (UK) – This Is Uncool: The 500 Best Singles Since Punk Rock (2002) ", “Jump, don’t ever stop”. "See me in me heels and ting ..." means that the girls are observed dressed to go out - uptown top ranking means going to town to show off. Chorus 1: Am Shoulda see me and the ranking dread, check how we jamming and ting. ). "Uptown Top Ranking" is a song and single by the Jamaican teenage singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid, recorded when they were 17 and 18 years old respectively. True you see mi inna pants and ting. What’s remarkable about UTR is the way that the “Three Piece Suit” backing track (featuring an early outing for Sly and Robbie) sounds tailor-made for Althea & Donna’s vocals: as if it had been expressly recorded with the girls in mind. BROTHERHOOD OF MAN – “Figaro” ». Uptown Top Ranking, an Album by Althea & Donna. Predictably, A&D’s misfortunes started with their new label Virgin’s disastrous choice of follow-up single “The Puppy Dog Song”: a banal reggae-fication of the “frogs and snails and puppy dogs’ tails” nursery rhyme, complete with an introductory piano figure lifted directly from “Chopsticks”. But I knew these records before the songs and artists they ‘ripped off’ and there are emotional ties born of ignorance that can’t (and in most cases needn’t) be shaken. Mobb Deep should never have followed up ‘Shook Ones’ with that cover of ‘The Puppy Dog Song’, As soon as this song comes on, everyone is overcome with an irresistible desire to sing the words to one another, but no one knows what they actually are! It samples Trinity [JM]. Happy days. Watch how we chuck it and ting . Radio 2 and Capital Gold don’t like black music unless it’s Dock Of The Bay or Move On Up. You gotta give Paul Nicholas props for inventing the Scissor Sisters on “Dancing With The Captain” though. Sey mi gi' you heart attack. Althea & Donna were a Jamaican reggae vocal duo, consisting of Althea Rose Forrest and Donna Marie Reid. My comprehension might be off, and those enemies might be straw men, but it still sounds like the most joyful put-down on record. The music is a wonder to behold, driven by the Riddim Twins' fat rhythms and accompanied by Scully's inspired percussion. Released in 1978 on Front Line (catalog no. As Brotherhood Of Man could have told them, it’s really never a good idea to follow a Number One single with a song about a cute little puppy dog. It is taken from their 1977 debut album of the same title. except “that one about black and white people living together on pianos” SB yellow card etc. by moving their sound closer towards it, getting Lee Perry to produce, involving Mikey Dread etc. Not too long after this one, Althea herself (sans Donna) put out “Downtown Thing”, sounding much more, er, “experienced”, even talking about “me drink up de Heineken”. Uptown Top Ranking was released by Frontline Records, a subsidiary of Virgin Records. (And even if they do, they can’t remember what order they come in – the ostensible verses and chorus wind around each other like fractals.). I find that in most cases I prefer the results of this process to what the bands sounded like before. Gimme likkle bass, make me wine up me waist. Althea and Donna originally released Up Town Top Ranking written by Donna Reid, Althea Forrest, Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson and Althea and Donna released it on the single Up Town Top Ranking in 1977. Althea who now lives in New York, is originally from Hughenden in St Andrew, and is a Queens School old girl. Legs & Co. on Top of the Pops, dancing to Althea & Donna's infectious hit "Uptown Top Ranking". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iD_qZ3hTDo. Q (UK) – The 1010 Songs You Must Own (2004) “Reggae Like It Used To Be” is a seminal Joe Gibbs classic and Paul Nicholas the most important reggae artist to emerge…er…to emerge…er…in fact a pioneer…yes, that’s it – a PIONEER… “Let Your Yeah Be Yeah”…that was him! There was nothing wrong with the TOTP appearance!!! The flow of talent and money between Kingston and London was starting to open up world markets to reggae, with Marley a superstar and punk drawing social (and increasingly musical) inspiration from roots and dub. See mi in mi Benz and ting. The lyrics were written by the duo and Errol Thompson. (2003) 52 notes. And then sneaking past the Kintyre titan for a week in the wintry sun was this, the most wondrous of one-hit wonders. sit so light and fresh within the context of the tune, transcending the restrictions of their convention. Jamaican singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid were just 17 and 18 when they cut the track in 1977. Nobody resents it, in other words. A page about what he's up to can be found, Required (Your email address will not be published), Dancehall stars have found many routes into the UK mainstream - cover versions and ads; tie-ups with hot producers; hardcore or controversial lyrics; or just basic novelty. What’s remarkable about UTR is the way that the “Three Piece Suit” backing track (featuring an early outing for Sly and Robbie) sounds tailor-made for Althea & Donna’s vocals: as if it had been expressly composed and recorded with the girls in mind. “Uptown Top Ranking” is an infectious hit single that knocked Wings’ Christmas blockbuster “Mull of Kintyre” off the #1 spot on the British pop charts in February of 1978. Pitchfork (USA) – The Pitchfork 500 (2008) Donna singles chronology Uptown Top Ranking (1977) Puppy Dog Song (1978) Uptown Top Ranking is a song by Jamaican teenage singer Althea Forrest and Donna Reid, recorded at 17 and 18 g. [1] The song was released in 1977. “I don’t feel like dancin with the captain”, its just a matter of time…. By “Go Let It Out”, the lead single from its follow-up, the crisis had become material.…, OXIDE AND NEUTRINO - "Bound 4 Da Reload (Casualty)", “Certain guys can’t face the fact of what we’ve done Sold over a quarter of a million Casualty went straight to number one And still they wanna cuss come on…, You’re in the car with the radio on and no expectations, and suddenly you hear it: a song that stops everything around it, breaking through the playlist and announcing itself…, Popular Crystal Ball: 2014 - The Arse End, Back in July I had a quick listen and rate of the first half of 2014's number ones. Sean Paul found…, A question that haunts a project like Popular is how you review things that have a very specific context – no, more than a context, a specific use – when…, Be Here Now was a triumph that turned, with rapid hindsight, into a crisis. well after her chart breakthrough). The song climbed to number two on the Irish charts, and peaked at number 23 in Belgium and 24 in the Netherlands. Check how we jamming and ting . Popular is funded by the generosity of my Patreon patrons. Wander around in the archives, or join in with the marvellous bunch of commenters we've managed to attract - new voices always very welcome! Althea and Donna's pop reggae classic pokes gentle fun at the more orthodox attitudes of Rastafarianism, whilst confirming that they are still "strictly roots" - true to their origins. Certainly this is true with all of the acts we’ll be talking about on Popular who set about this (some more successfully than others, from an artistic pov), including those who jumped on the disco bandwagon as opposed to the reggae one. [Verse 1:] See me in mi heels an' ting. [1] It was produced by Joe Gibbs,[1] with the Lyrics.com. Songfacts®: The title "Uptown Top Ranking" describes what a country Jamaican does when he goes to the city to show off. The appeal of Althea and Donna is double-edged. See me pon the road I hear you call out to me. The Guardian (UK) – 1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear (2009) #Scout Niblett #Uptown Top Ranking #Althea And Donna #1977 #audiopost. Uptown top ranking See me 'pon the road, and you no call out to me True you see me in me pants and ting See me in my halter back Say, me give you heart attack Give me little bass, make me whine up mi waist Give me little bass, make me whine up mi waist Love is all I bring inna me khaki suit an' ting Nah pop no style I strictly roots Nah pop no style Deezer: free music streaming. Think you know music? "Uptown Top Ranking" is a song and single by the Jamaican teenage singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid, recorded when they were 17 and 18 years old respectively. Hervé Bourhis (France) – Le Petit Livre Rock: The Juke Box Singles 1950-2009 i think it may be a while before mobb deep are playlisted. The song was initially recorded as a joke. The song reached number two in Ireland, number 23 in Belgium and number 24 in the Netherlands. ah now you have pointed out something I did not. Here are a couple of the more, erm, singular comments made by readers of my blog, when this cropped up on this year’s Which Decade Is Tops For Pops: “Obviously it’s jumping on the bandwagon of Reggae Like It Used To Be by Paul Nicholas.”, “I recognise that this is regarded by some as a seminal track, but I’ve never really liked it very much. "Uptown Top Ranking" is a song by Jamaican teenage singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid, recorded when they were 17 and 18 years old respectively. With The Ladybirds, Pan's People, Jimmy Savile, Legs & Co. A rundown of the latest chart hits, featuring in-studio performances from popular music artists. In London, the sweeter sound of Lovers Rock was scoring occasional, deathless pop hits. So, I sacked the idea before using it. Popular Lucky Dip (a random post), Tom invented Freaky Trigger on a bus journey in the mid-90s.   Even a dilettante like me is aware that the late 70s were a storied age for Jamaican music. Am G Dem no know sey we top ranking, Uptown Top Ranking. Listen to Uptown Top Ranking by Black Box Recorder, 529 Shazams. Althea & Donna were a Jamaican reggae vocal duo, consisting of Althea Rose Forrest and Donna Marie Reid. Here's the sequel, picking up where that left off. "Uptown Top Ranking" is a song andsingleby the Jamaican teenagesingersAlthea Forrest and Donna Reid, recorded when they were 17 and 18 years old respectively. FAVORITE 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die, and 10,001 You Must Download (2010) Are no heels an ' ting Ranking '' on Discogs the girls ad-libbing to track! For the 1978 Vinyl release of `` Uptown Top Ranking was superbly produced by Karl Pitterson and... Considering I am the real Malice Cooper, I sacked the idea before it. 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