Gangsters (song)
| "Gangsters" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Special A.K.A. | ||||
| B-side | The Selector[1] | |||
| Released | May 4, 1979[1] | |||
| Format | 7" Vinyl, 45 RPN | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Ska | |||
| Length | 02:47 | |||
| Label | 2 Tone | |||
| Writer(s) | Jerry Dammers[2] | |||
| Producer(s) | Special A.K.A. | |||
| Special A.K.A. singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Gangsters is the debut single by the Special A.K.A. (The Specials).
Release
After a limited 5,000 copies of the track were distributed by the fledgling 2 Tone record label in May 1979, as a double A-side along with The Selecter by label mates The Selecter, it was given a full release two months later, when it went on to reach no. 6 in the UK charts in the summer of 1979,[3] becoming both The Specials' and the 2 Tone label's first hit record.
History
The song is about an incident that happened to the band while on tour in France where they were held responsible for damage in a hotel that another English band had caused, where the hotel manager held one of their guitars as a deposit. The Specials were made to pay for the damage, and the situation escalated when the hotel called the French police.
The song is a reworking of Prince Buster's 1964 Ska classic "Al Capone", sampling the car sound effects that opened that song. [4]
Despite being a smash hit, the song hasn't appeared on any non-compilation album by the band, although it was chosen as track 1 on the definitive 2008 compilation The Best of The Specials
References
- 1 2 "Special AKA Vs The Selector - Gangsters/The Selector - Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ↑ "Gangsters, NZ release - Discogs". discogs.com. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ↑ "Special A K A - full official charts". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ↑ "Gangsters - song facts". songfacts.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.