A Message to You Rudy

"A Message to You, Rudy" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone. Originally entitled "Rudy, A Message to You", the song later achieved broader success when, in 1979, The Specials' cover reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart.[2] The recording was produced by Elvis Costello.

"A Message to You, Rudy"
Cover of the single released in the Netherlands
Single by The Specials featuring Rico
from the album The Specials
A-side"Nite Klub" (double A-side)
ReleasedOctober 1979 (October 1979)[1]
GenreRocksteady, ska, 2-Tone
Length2:54
Label2 Tone
Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)Dandy Livingstone
Producer(s)Elvis Costello
The Specials singles chronology
"Gangsters"
(1979)		 "A Message to You, Rudy"
(1979)		 "Too Much Too Young"
(1980)

Veteran trombonist Rico Rodriguez played on both Livingstone's and The Specials' versions,[3] and trumpeter Dick Cuthell played on the latter version as well.

Chart performance (Specials version)
Chart (1979) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[4] 10
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 29
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 7
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 22
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 29

Other cover versions

The song has also been covered by a number of other artists besides The Specials, including The Mescaleros, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Judge Dread, Barenaked Ladies, Dead Milkmen, Madness, Amy Winehouse, and Army of Juan.[9] The Specials performed the song on the BBC2 television show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1979.[10]

Sublime included a brief cover of "A Message to You, Rudy" at the end of their song "D.J.'s" off their 1992 debut album 40oz. to Freedom. Propagandhi, a Canadian punk band, used the melody and partial lyrics in their song "Ska Sucks", featured on their album How to Clean Everything (1993).

Pete Doherty, at the Eurockéennes de Belfort, also performed the song in 2009.

British hip hop band the Bogus MC's recorded an unofficial cover of the song for England ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[11] Rather than "A Message to You, Rudy", the Bogus MC's sing, "A Message to You, Rooney".

Crawley Town F.C. and musician Mike Dobie recorded a cover of the song ahead of their clash with Manchester United.[12] Rather than "A Message to You, Rudy", the Crawley Town fans sing, "A Message to You, Rooney" or "A Message to You, Fergie."

Dubmood created a chiptune cover of the song titled "A Message to You, Mom". The song was featured in the Razor 1911's keygen for Command and Conquer 3.[13]

Sheffield based rock band Reverend and The Makers have also been known to cover the song live, outside after gigs.

In Austria, the Lottery company Österreichische Lotterien has been using the song as the tune for the commercials of their Break Opens called Brieflos since at least 1991. Some versions replaced the lyrics of "A message to you, rudy" with the pseudo-english "A Brieflos for you and me", while others are simply instrumental.[14][15]

References
  1. https://www.45cat.com/record/tt5
  2. "A Message To You Rudy/Nite Klub", Chart Stats; retrieved 2010-08-26.
  3. "Rico Rodriguez". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  4. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 286. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. "Austriancharts.at – The Specials – A Message To You Rudy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  7. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 5, 1980" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  8. "Charts.nz – The Specials – A Message To You Rudy". Top 40 Singles.
  9. "Amy Winehouse - A Message to you Rudy..best pics". YouTube. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  10. The Old Grey Whistle Test (DVD). Warner Home Video. 2003.
  11. "England World Cup Song 2010 Message to you Wayne Rooney!". YouTube. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  12. "Mike Dobie - Crawley FA Cup Song - A Message From All Crawley". YouTube. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  13. "[KeyGen Music] Dubmood - A Message to you, Mom". YouTube. 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  14. "TV Werbung Österreich 1991: Brieflos, Humanic". YouTube. 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  15. "Brieflos Werbung Sommer 2015". Youtube. 2015-06-21. Retrieved 2018-12-14.



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