Amigo (Black Slate song)

Last updated
"Amigo"
Amigo (Black Slate song).jpg
Single by Black Slate
from the album Amigo
B-side "Black Slate Rock"
ReleasedSeptember 1980
Recorded1980
Studio Gooseberry Sound Studios
Genre Reggae
Length
  • 4:05 (7")
  • 5:33 (original album version)
  • 6:44 (12")
Label Ensign
Songwriter(s)
  • Anthony Brightly
  • Chris Hanson
  • Cledwyn Rogers
  • Desmond Mahoney
  • Elroy Bailey
  • Keith Drummond
Producer(s) Black Slate
Black Slate singles chronology
"Mind Your Motion"
(1979)
"Amigo"
(1980)
"Boom Boom"
(1980)

"Amigo" is a 1980 reggae song by UK band Black Slate. It reached No.9 in the UK [1] [2] and New Zealand [3] charts. Its success emphasized Black Slate's prominence as one of the few UK-grown reggae bands. [4] [5] It was followed with international tours that included Europe and New Zealand. [6]

Contents

Track listings

7"

  1. "Amigo" – 4:05
  2. "Black Slate Rock" – 3:14

7" (Vertigo, Canada)

  1. "Amigo" – 3:33
  2. "Live Up to Love" – 4:15

12"

  1. "Amigo" – 6:44
  2. "Black Slate Rock" – 4:38

Charts

Chart (1980–81)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [7] 21
Ireland (IRMA) [8] 12
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [9] 15
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [10] 20
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [11] 9
UK Singles (OCC) [12] 9

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrington Levy</span> Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician (b. 1964)

Barrington Ainsworth Levy is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy Little Thing Called Love</span> 1979 single by Queen

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track is included on their 1980 album The Game, and also appears on the band's compilation album Greatest Hits in 1981. The song peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1979 and became the group's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US in 1980, remaining there for four consecutive weeks. It topped the Australian ARIA Charts for seven weeks. It was the band's final single release of the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Selecter</span> British two-tone ska band

The Selecter is an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Stand So Close to Me</span> 1980 single by the Police

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" is a hit song by the British rock band the Police, released in September 1980 as the lead single from their third studio album Zenyatta Mondatta. It concerns a teacher who has a sexual relationship with a student, which in turn is discovered.

"Rivers of Babylon" is a Rastafari song written and recorded by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians in 1970. The lyrics are adapted from the texts of Psalms 19 and 137 in the Hebrew Bible. The Melodians' original version of the song appeared on the soundtrack album for the 1972 movie The Harder They Come, which made it internationally known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Red Wine</span> 1967 single by Neil Diamond

"Red Red Wine" is a song originally written, performed and recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967 that appears on his second studio album, Just for You. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person who finds that drinking red wine is the only way to forget his woes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atomic (song)</span> 1980 single by Blondie

"Atomic" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fourth studio album, Eat to the Beat (1979). Written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released in February 1980 as the album's third single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tide Is High</span> 1967 single by the Paragons

"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover version by the American band Blondie became a US and UK number one hit. The song topped the UK Singles Chart again in 2002 with a version by the British girl group Atomic Kitten, while Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall had a minor hit with his interpretation in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9 to 5 (Dolly Parton song)</span> Original song written and composed by Dolly Parton; theme song from the film "9 to 5"

"9 to 5" is a song written and recorded by American entertainer Dolly Parton for the 1980 comedy film of the same name. In addition to appearing on the film's soundtrack, the song was the centerpiece and opening track of Parton's album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, released in late 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Start Me Up</span> 1981 single by The Rolling Stones

"Start Me Up" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album Tattoo You. Released as the album's lead single, it reached number one on Australian Kent Music Report, number two in Canada, number two on the Billboard Hot 100, number seven on the UK Singles Chart, and the top ten in a handful of European countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megalomaniac (Incubus song)</span> 2003 single by Incubus

"Megalomaniac" is a song by the American rock band Incubus, from their 2004 album A Crow Left of the Murder... It was released as a single in December 2003, and eventually reached the top of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks, where it stayed for a six-week period. Outside the United States, the song reached the top 30 in Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celebration (Kool & the Gang song)</span> 1980 single by Kool & the Gang

"Celebration" is a 1980 song by American band Kool & the Gang. Released as the first single from their twelfth album, Celebrate! (1980), it was the band's first and only single to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2016, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master Blaster (Jammin')</span> 1980 single by Stevie Wonder

"Master Blaster (Jammin')" is a 1980 song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released as the lead single from his nineteenth studio album, Hotter than July (1980). It was a major hit, spending seven weeks at number one on the US Billboard R&B singles chart, reaching number five on Billboard's pop singles chart in the fall of 1980 and peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and number one in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woman in Love</span> 1980 single by Barbra Streisand

"Woman in Love" is a song performed by Barbra Streisand and taken from her 1980 album Guilty. The song was written by Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who received the 1980 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. It is her fourth of four Platinum records, and is considered her greatest international hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby, Come Back (The Equals song)</span> 1966 single by the Equals

"Baby, Come Back" is a song by English band the Equals from their 1967 album Unequalled Equals. Written by Eddy Grant, the song was originally released as a B-side in 1966 and was later released as a single in continental Europe before being released as a single in the UK in 1968. "Baby, Come Back" charted in multiple countries, including number one on the Belgian, Rhodesian and UK charts in 1967 and 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One in Ten</span> 1981 single by UB40

"One in Ten" is a song by British reggae band UB40, released in July 1981 as a single from their second album Present Arms. It became the band's fourth top-ten hit, peaking at number seven on the UK Singles Chart.

Black Slate are a reggae band based in the United Kingdom, formed in 1974. They toured heavily around London and backed Jamaican musicians such as Dennis Brown, Delroy Wilson, and Ken Boothe when they played in the UK. They toured the UK in their own right for the first time in 1978, and released four albums between 1979 and 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Could You Be Loved</span> 1980 single by Bob Marley and the Wailers

"Could You Be Loved" is a 1980 song by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released as the first single from their twelfth and last album, Uprising (1980), and is also included on their greatest-hits album Legend (1984). It was written in 1979 on an aeroplane while The Wailers were experimenting on guitar. In the middle of the song, background singers quote a verse from Bob Marley's first single "Judge Not": "The road of life is rocky; And you may stumble too. So while you point your fingers, someone else is judging you". Instruments used on the original record of this song are guitars, bass, drums, acoustic piano, the Hohner clavinet and an organ, as well as the Brazilian cuíca. "Could You be Loved" was very successful on the charts in Europe, peaking within the top 10 in Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Additionally, it was a top 20 hit in Sweden and West Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)</span> 1994 single by Dawn Penn

"You Don't Love Me " is a song by Jamaican recording artist Dawn Penn, released in February 1994 by Big Beat as the first single from her first studio album, No, No, No (1994). The song's lyrics are credited to Penn, Bo Diddley and Willie Cobbs, and production was handled by Steely & Clevie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casanova (LeVert song)</span> 1987 single by LeVert

"Casanova" is a 1987 single by American R&B vocal group LeVert, written and produced by Reggie Calloway. It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number nine on the UK Singles Chart, LeVert's only Top Ten on either chart. It was the first new jack swing song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart. It topped the chart for two weeks, becoming the group's second number-one. It has become a standard number for New Orleans brass bands following its popularization by the Rebirth Brass Band. The song is featured in 1987's The Pick-Up Artist, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Molly Ringwald, and appears on the soundtrack album of the Whoopi Goldberg movie Fatal Beauty, released the same year.

References

  1. Billboard - 3 oct. 1981 "Black Slate is one of the very few home-grown reggae bands to have cracked the market in the U.K., the single "Amigo" charting in the Top 10 and emphasizing a career spurt which has taken in extensive European and U.K. tours.
  2. The new Rolling stone record guide - Dave Marsh, John Swenson - 1983 -Page 43 "BLACK SLATE * Amigo / Alli. (1980) ☆ * * Rasta Festival / Alli. (1981) British reggae (that made by West Indians in the U.K.) reflects the British West Indian experience and cannot be judged by Jamaican standards. Black Slate's ..."
  3. "The Official New Zealand Music Chart".
  4. Billboard - 3 Oct. 1981 "Black Slate is one of the very few home-grown reggae bands to have cracked the market in the U.K., the single "Amigo" charting in the Top 10 and emphasizing a career spurt which has taken in extensive European and U.K. tours. The band ...
  5. Caribbean Popular Music: An Encyclopedia of Reggae, David Vlado Moskowitz - 2006 "BLACK SLATE Black Slate was formed in London in 1974 through the efforts of musicians from several countries. The two ... In 1980, they had two charting singles with "Boom Boom" and "Amigo." "
  6. Bob Marley: The Man and His Music : a Selection of Papers 2003 "In 1981 English Rasta reggae band, Black Slate, toured New Zealand to promote their local hit, "Amigo"."
  7. "Black Slate – Amigo" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Amigo". Irish Singles Chart.
  9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Black Slate" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  10. "Black Slate – Amigo" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  11. "Black Slate – Amigo". Top 40 Singles.
  12. "Black Slate: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.