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

Penny Ford of Snap!

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."

AC/DC

AC/DCFact or Fiction

Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."