"Chinatown" is a song performed by

The Move The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their car ...

. Released in 1971, the song reached number 23 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Recorded at the same time as the band's alter-ego Electric Light Orchestra were laying down tracks for their first album. Former Move vocalist

Carl Wayne Carl Wayne (born Colin David Tooley; 18 August 1943 – 31 August 2004) was an English singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead singer of The Move in the 1960s. Early days Wayne was born in Winson Green, Birmingham, and grew up in ...

claimed it was his favourite song by the band. '' Record World'' said that the Move "sound ready to move with this artfully crafted side of Anglo-pop." The B-side was a

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...

-penned song "Down on the Bay". In the US, the single (with an edited version of "Chinatown") was issued on

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, but quickly withdrawn (probably before regular stock copies were pressed, although yellow label promos have been seen). The single with the same edit was almost immediately issued on

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

References

1971 songs Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Song recordings produced by Roy Wood The Move songs Songs written by Roy Wood Harvest Records singles United Artists Records singles {{1970s-rock-song-stub