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Cover of Labour of Love II by UB40
Cover: Labour of Love II

Song · UB40

“The Way You Do The Things You Do” by UB40

From the album Labour of Love II (1989)

“The Way You Do The Things You Do” by UB40 appears on 22 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1990 and 2014. It was first released in 1989 on the album Labour of Love II. Its best result is #20 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #34 alternative song of 1990 and #1,654 alternative song of all time.

22countdowns
7stations
#20best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1990–2014years charted

Watch

UB40 - The Way You do The Things You Do (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (UB40.). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"The Way You Do the Things You Do" is UB40 doing what they did best on Labour of Love II in 1989: taking a soul classic and easing it into a warm, loping reggae groove. Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers of the Miracles wrote it, and it had been the Temptations' first hit on the Hot 100 back in 1964.

The British reggae band doesn't try to outsing the Temptations; they slow the strut to a sway, let the bass do the talking and hand the sunny horn lines to guest trumpeter John Thirkell. The result feels less like a cover than a lazy afternoon. American listeners bit hard: it climbed to number six in the US in 1990.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 22 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990 107
1990 20 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990 91
1990 52 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1990 105

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 309 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 310 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 307 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1996 357 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 285 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1998 376 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 1701 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 1701 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1701 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1693 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 1144 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1973 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2007 1351 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1287 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1298 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1339 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1399 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1452 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1508 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013

Also listed as: The Way You Do the Things You Do; The Way you do the things you do.

Charting alongside it in 1990

Best songs of 1990 →
  1. 1Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor
  2. 2The Only One I KnowThe Charlatans
  3. 3Blue Sky MineMidnight Oil
  4. 4Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
  5. 5Here's Where The Story EndsThe Sundays
  6. 6The Emperor's New ClothesSinéad O'Connor

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