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Cover of Specials by The Specials
Cover: Specials

Song · The Specials

“Concrete Jungle” by The Specials

From the album Specials (1979)

“Concrete Jungle” by The Specials appears on 18 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1989 and 2023. It was first released in 1979 on the album Specials. Its best result is #163 on the 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,685 alternative song of all time.

18countdowns
6stations
#163best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1989–2023years charted

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The Specials - Concrete Jungle (2015 Remaster)

Video from YouTube (The Specials). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Roderick James Byers wrote "Concrete Jungle", words and music, and it's one of the originals on Specials, the debut album the English ska revival band released on 19 October 1979 through Jerry Dammers' 2 Tone label. Elvis Costello produced it along with the rest of the record, which sets the band's own songs next to covers of old Jamaican ska tunes, and some hear that album as the moment the UK ska scene came into its own.

The song's title is the phrase that hangs over the whole LP. "Concrete jungle" came from Bob Marley's 1973 album Catch a Fire, and on Specials it stands for the bleak, violent inner cities of '70s Britain and the anger and disaffection of the kids stranded in them.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1989 163 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1991 394 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1999 526 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 1037 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 437 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1037 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1044 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1044 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 1029 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 1708 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1029 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 1029 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 1842 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1793 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1827 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1873 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1956 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2023 754 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800

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