Kingston Town (song)
- "Kingston Town" is usually believed to be the name of the song Jamaica Farewell by Lord Burgess and made famous by Harry Belafonte
"Kingston Town" | |
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Song | |
B-side | "Lickwood" |
"Kingston Town" is a 1970 song by Lord Creator. It was recorded in 1989 by reggae group UB40 and was the second single from their album Labour of Love II, reaching #4 on the UK singles chart.
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 had been wrongly stated that UB40 was the suing party, which the band later confirmed as being incorrect on their website.[1]
In France, the cover by UB40 peaked at #1 for three weeks from October 20 to November 3, 1990. It remained on the chart for 25 weeks, and was certified Gold disc by SNEP in 1991. Infodisc Website estimates it is the 426th best selling single of all time in France with 581,000 copies sold.[2]
The song was also covered by Jamaican group The Mighty Red.
Track listing
5" CD
Virgin / DEPX 35
- "Kingston Town" (7" Version) – 3:52
- "Lickwood" – 5:04
- "Kingston Town" (Extended Mix) – 5:16
7" vinyl, 3" CD and Cassette
Virgin / DEP 35 (7"), DEPX 35 (CDS), DEP C35 (CS)
- "Kingston Town" – 3:52
- "Lickwood" – 5:04
15" vinyl
Virgin / DEP 35-12
- "Kingston Town" (Extended Mix) – 5:16
- "Lickwood" – 5:04
- "Kingston Town" (7" Version) – 3:52
Charts and sales
Peak positions
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End of year charts
Certifications
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Chart successions
References
- "UB40 Official Website discography entry". Retrieved November 15, 2008.
- ^ "UB40 Press statement". Retrieved November 15, 2008.
- ^ a b "Best selling singles of all time in France". Retrieved November 15, 2008.
- ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town" (in French). Les classement single.
- ^ "irishcharts.ie search results for "Kingston Town"". Retrieved November 15, 2008.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – UB40" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "UB40 – Kingston Town". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Single top 100 over 1990" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
- ^ "French certifications for singles, database". Retrieved November 15, 2008.