King / Food for Thought

"King / Food for Thought" is the debut single by British reggae band UB40. It was released as a double A-side in early 1980 and reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and number one in New Zealand.

For other uses, see Food for Thought (disambiguation) § Songs.
"King / Food for Thought"
Single by UB40
from the album Signing Off
Released1 February 1980
GenreReggae
Length4:10
LabelGraduate
Songwriter(s)UB40
Producer(s)Bob Lamb
UB40 singles chronology
"King" / "Food for Thought"
(1980)		 "My Way of Thinking" / "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"
(1980)
Official video
"Food For Thought") on YouTube
Official audio
"King" on YouTube

"King" is a song written about Martin Luther King Jr.,[1] questioning the lost direction of the deceased leader's followers and the state of mourning of a nation after his death.

According to Robin Campbell, the lyrics of "Food for Thought" relate to "the hypocrisy of Christmas, the fact that there are starving people in Africa and here we are all sat around eating our Christmas dinner and praising the Lord".[2] Campbell regards the song as a Christmas song.[2]

The original single version of "Food for Thought" is slightly shorter compared to the Signing Off album version, with the album version including a break using a synthesiser reverb (an early example of their mixing techniques that can be found on their album Present Arms in Dub).

"King / Food for Thought" was the first release of a new record label, Graduate Records, a company based, like the band, in Birmingham.[3] It was the first single to reach the UK top 10 without the backing of a major record company.[3]

Charts
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 36
Ireland (IRMA)[5] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] 46
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 4

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[9] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Silver 250,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. p. 3605. ISBN 9780857125958
  2. "How I wrote... 'Food For Thought' by UB40's Robin Campbell", Songwriting, 15 September 2013
  3. "UB40 – Strength in Numbers" by Chris Salewicz, SPIN, June 1985, pp. 60–61
  4. 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.
  5. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Food for Thought". Irish Singles Chart.
  6. "UB40 – Food for Thought" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  7. "UB40 – Food for Thought". Top 40 Singles.
  8. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. "New Zealand single certifications – UB40 – Food for Thought". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  10. "British single certifications – UB40 – Food for Thought". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 9, 2021.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.