Dub Be Good To Me

Album: Let Them Eat Bingo (1990)
Charted: 1 76
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "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.

Comments: 2

  • Kieron L Horler from RotherhamIf I'm not mistaken, there's a sample of the Harmonica from the spaghetti western "Once upon a time in the West."
  • Andy from Sheffield, EnglandLindy Layton is rumoured to have been the girl who appeared in the early 1980's OXO stock cube advertisments in the UK.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Female Singers Of The 90s

Female Singers Of The 90sMusic Quiz

The ladies who ruled the '90s in this quiz.

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. SchmitSongwriter Interviews

The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

Wolfgang Van Halen

Wolfgang Van HalenSongwriter Interviews

Wolfgang Van Halen breaks down the songs on his debut album, Mammoth WVH, and names the definitive Van Halen songs from the Sammy and Dave eras.

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")Songwriter Interviews

A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.