My Way of Thinking

"My Way of Thinking"
Single by UB40
A-side"I Think It's Going to Rain Today"
Released6 June 1980 (1980-06-06)
GenreReggae
Length3:20
LabelGraduate
Songwriter(s)UB40
Producer(s)
  • Bob Lamb
  • UB40
UB40 singles chronology
"King" / "Food for Thought"
(1980) 		"My Way of Thinking" / "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"
(1980) 		"The Earth Dies Screaming" / "Dream a Lie"
(1980)

"My Way of Thinking" is a song by British reggae band UB40, released as their second single in June 1980. It was released as a double A-side with a cover of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today", and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart.[1]

Release and reception

After its release, guitarist Robin Campbell described the lyrics as "very sexist [and that] it's supposed to be tongue-in-cheek though. The lyrics were made up in two and a half minutes to go with a tune we had".[2] After the release of their debut album, Signing Off, lead singer Ali Campbell described the song as "awful" in comparison to the songs "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" and "Strange Fruit" which they had covered on the album.[3]

Interviewing UB40 for Smash Hits after the release of "My of Thinking", Mike Stand described the song as a "disappointment [and that] the weakness, I feel, comes from a lack of emotion in the words. It's very ordinary boy 'n' girl stuff – nothing wrong with that, but it's just not their style".[2] Reviewing "My Way of Thinking" for Record Mirror, Chris Westwood wrote that "UB40 reggae is barely unusually different to any other reggae; it's finely funnelled in the direction of chartland with pleasantly lilting rhythms and poking saxes [and that] it still isn't prepared to push itself hard enough to rock anyone's preconceptions, but that, of course, is hardly UB40's game".[4]

Track listings

7": Graduate / GRAD 8

  1. "My Way of Thinking" – 3:20
  2. "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" – 3:25

12": Graduate / 12 GRAD 8

  1. "My Way of Thinking" – 6:43
  2. "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" – 7:12

Charts

Chart (1980) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[5] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[1] 6
UK Independent Singles (Record Business)[6] 2

References

  1. ^ a b "UB40: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  2. ^ a b "Food 4 Thought" (PDF). Smash Hits. 26 June – 9 July 1980. p. 13. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  3. ^ Sutcliffe, Phil (27 September 1980). "Punch Someone in Authority, That's Our Motto...". Sounds. p. 24.
  4. ^ "Singles" (PDF). Record Mirror. 21 June 1980. p. 11. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  5. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – My Way of Thinking". Irish Singles Chart.
  6. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). "UB40". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 20 April 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2020.