Gangsters (song)

"Gangsters"
Single by Special A.K.A.
B-side The Selector[1]
Released May 4, 1979 (1979-05-04)[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
1979
A Message to You, Rudy
1979

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. 1 2 "Special AKA Vs The Selector - Gangsters/The Selector - Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  2. "Gangsters, NZ release - Discogs". discogs.com. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  3. "Special A K A - full official charts". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  4. "Gangsters - song facts". songfacts.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
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