King (UB40 song)

"King" is a song by British reggae band UB40, released as their debut single in February 1980 from their album Signing Off. It peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart as a double A-side single with "Food for Thought".[3]

"King"
Single by UB40
from the album Signing Off
A-side"Food for Thought"
Released1 February 1980
Recorded21–24 December 1979[1]
StudioBob Lamb's "Home of the Hits", Moseley, Birmingham
Genre
Length4:31
LabelGraduate
Songwriter(s)UB40
Producer(s)
  • Bob Lamb
  • UB40
UB40 singles chronology
"King" / "Food for Thought"
(1980)		 "My Way of Thinking" / "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"
(1980)

Background and release

"King" is about Martin Luther King Jr.,[4] questioning the lost direction of the deceased leader's followers and the state of mourning of a nation after his death. It was written by the group after having watched a documentary on King.[5] It was the first song UB40 played to producer Bob Lamb, with Lamb recalling that "it just blew my mind basically, to realise a bunch of kids could make a sound like that... it blew me away. And that was it for me, I was hooked, it was a bit like Elvis walks in or something, you know, it was one of those moments".[6] The band were unable to afford to record in a studio, so they used Lamb's bedsit in Moseley to record the entire Signing Off album.[7]

"King" was released as the main A-side with "Food for Thought" as the AA-side. It was therefore intended to be the side promoted; however, radio disc jockeys saw "Food for Thought" as the better radio track and as such it gained more airplay than "King" and became the hit.[6] The song was positively received, with Simon Ludgate for Record Mirror describing "King" as "superb, spacy reggae. Best crossover reggae / pop I've come across in months. It has a soothing, cool effect that is very therapeutic".[8]

Charts
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 36
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[3] 4
UK Independent Singles (Record Business)[11] 1

References
  1. Signing Off (sleeve). Graduate Records. 1980. GRADLP 2.
  2. Harrington, Jim (2016). "UB40 - Signing Off". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 468.
  3. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  5. Ryan, Gary (13 August 2020). "UB40's Ali Campbell: "There will never be a reunion between me and my brother"". NME. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  6. Coley, Sam (producer) (2010). UB40: The 30th Anniversary of "Signing Off" Documentary (radio documentary). Birmingham City University. Between 6:10–10:30. Retrieved 6 May 2023 – via Soundcloud.
  7. Lewis, Pete (5 October 2010). "UB40: One in a Million". Blues & Soul. No. 1036. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  8. "Singles" (PDF). Record Mirror. 9 February 1980. p. 8. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 316. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Food for Thought". Irish Singles Chart.
  11. Lazell, Barry (1997). "UB40". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 20 April 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
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