Peak
76
Weeks
5
Score
229
Chart Year
1990
"Dub Be Good To Me" is a mashup of "The Guns Of Brixton" by The Clash and "Just Be Good To Me" by the American R&B group The S.O.S. Band, with a bit of composer Ennio Morricone's "Once Upon A Time In The West" sprinkled in to create a lively dance banger. It was the first single from Beats International, and it was a huge hit in the UK, where it went to #1. It also topped the American dance chart. Beats International was formed by Norman Cook, who went on to fame as Fatboy Slim after the group broke up in 1993. "Dub Be Good To Me" is by far the biggest hit for Beats International, but they did reach #9 in the UK with their follow-up single, "Won't Talk About It," co-written by the singer Billy Bragg. The vocalist on this song is Lindy Layton, who was a child actress on the BBC children's TV series Press Gang. She went on to record as a solo artist, and had a #22 UK hit with a cover of Janet Kay's "Silly Games." Norman Cook explained in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: "It was Lindy's idea to do a cover of SOS's band's 1984 hit 'Just Be Good To Me.' I knew it would go well with other beats because I'd tried it as a DJ. I used the bassline from The Clash song 'Guns Of Brixton,' which was me tipping my hat off to The Clash as I was such a big fan. I also wanted to do something slower than the current house music, yet something funky you could get into to." The spoken rap, "Tank fly boss walk jam nitty gritty, you're listening to the boy from the big bad city, this is jam hot" is by the group's rapper, David John-Baptiste, interpolated from a 1983 song called "Jam Hot" by Johnny Dynell.
Friends tell me I am crazy That I'm wasting time with you You'll never be mine That's not the way I see it 'Cause I feel you're already mine Whenever you're with me People always talk about reputation I don't care about your other girls Just be good to me Friends are always telling me You're a loser I don't care what you do to them Just be good to me Friends seem to always listen To the bad things that you do You never do them to me You may have many others But I know when you're with me You are all mine People always talk about reputation I don't care about your other girls Just be good to me Friends are always telling me You're a loser I don't care what you do to them Just be good to me Love is a game of chances So I'll take my chance with you And you boy won't ever change We talk about it and I'd Rather have a piece of you Than all or nothing Just be good to me In the morning Just be good to me In the afternoon all evening Just be good to me The time is calling I won't tie you down When you need me I'll be around I'll be good to you We could be together Be together (Tank fly boss walk jam nitty-gritty, you're listening to the boy from the big bad city, this is jam hot. This is jam hot.)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 14, 1990 | 95 | 31 |
| 2 | Apr 21, 1990 | 86 | 40 |
| 3 | Apr 28, 1990 | 76 | 50 |
| 4 | May 5, 1990 | 79 | 47 |
| 5 | May 12, 1990 | 90 | 36 |