A Message to You, Rudy

"A Message to You, Rudy"
Single by The Specials featuring Rico +
from the album Specials
B-side	"Nite Klub"
Released	1979 (1979)
Format	7" vinyl
Genre	Rocksteady
Length	02:54
Label	2 Tone
Writer(s)	Dandy Livingstone
Producer	Elvis Costello
The Specials chronology
"Gangsters" (1979) "A Message to You, Rudy" (1979) "Too Much Too Young" (1980)

"Rudy, A Message to You" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone. The song later achieved broader success when in 1979, The Specials cover, titled "A Message to You, Rudy", reached Number 10 in the UK chart.^[1]

Veteran trombone player Rico Rodriguez played on both Dandy's and The Specials' versions.^[2]

Chart performance

Chart (1979)	Peak position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[3]	10
Chart (1980)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[4]	7
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[5]	22
New Zealand (RIANZ)[6]	29

Other cover versions

The song has also been covered by a number of artists including The Mescaleros, Judge Dread, Barenaked Ladies, Dead Milkmen, Madness, Amy Winehouse,^[7] Pete Doherty at the Eurockéennes de Belfort in 2009 and the band Sublime featured lyrics borrowed from "A Message to You, Rudy" in their song "D.J.s." on their debut album. Propagandhi, a Canadian punk band used the melody and partial lyrics in their song "Ska Sucks" featured on their album How to Clean Everything.

Crawley Town F.C. and musician Mike Dobie recorded a cover of the song ahead of their clash with Premier League giants Manchester United. The cover can be found here. Rather than "A Message to You, Rudy," the Crawley Town fans sing, "A Message to You, Rooney," or "A Message to You, Fergie."

References

1. ^ "A Message To You Rudy/Nite Klub", Chart Stats, retrieved 2010-08-26
2. ^ "Rico Rodriguez". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p219669. Retrieved 12 June 2011. 
3. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company.
4. ^ "The Specials – A Message To You Rudy – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
5. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 5, 1980" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Stichting Nederlandse Top 40.
6. ^ "Charts.org.nz – The Specials – A Message To You Rudy". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYuqHVNCdfY&NR=1