"Kinky Afro" is a single by English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...

, produced by

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...

and

Steve Osborne Stephen John "Steve" Osborne (born 1963) is a British record producer, living in Bath, England. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Suede, the B-52s, A-ha, New Order, Elbow, U2, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Gregory Porter, Do ...

. It was the second single from the band's third album ''

Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches ''Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches'' is the third studio album by English rock band Happy Mondays, released on 5 November 1990 by Factory Records. DJ Paul Oakenfold and collaborator Steve Osbourne were previously enlisted by the band for remixe ...

'' on 8 October 1990. The song's chorus paraphrases the Labelle song "

Lady Marmalade "Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, originally for Nolan's disco group. The song is famous for the repeated refrain of " ''Voulez-vous coucher avec moi''?" in French as part of the chorus, a sexually suggestive line ...

". The song was originally going to be called "Groovy Afro", but was changed to "Kinky Afro" after The Farm released a similarly named song titled "

Groovy Train "Groovy Train" was the second single released by Liverpool-based group The Farm. It was released in 1990 as the first single from their debut album ''Spartacus'' (which would be in 1991), having been produced by Graham "Suggs" McPherson of M ...

" earlier in 1990.

Release

The song was the band's biggest hit in the United States, reaching number one on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. It reached number five in the United Kingdom, tied with "

Step On "He's Gonna Step on You Again" (also known as "Step On") is a song originally performed by John Kongos, co-written by Kongos and Christos Demetriou, and first released in 1971 by Fly Records. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 22 May 1971 and sp ...

" as the band's highest-charting single there. "Kinky Afro" was also the band's highest-charting single in

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

, peaking at number 63 on Australia's

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and number 34 on New Zealand's

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

(then RIANZ) chart. The music video was produced and directed by Keith Jobling of the Bailey Brothers.

Track listings

7-inch # "Kinky Afro" (3:55) # "Kinky Afro" (live) (4:36) 12-inch # "Kinky Afro" (12" mix) (5:07) # "Kinky Afro" (live) (6:38) CD # "Kinky Afro" (Radio Edit) (3:58) # "Kinky Afro" (12" Mix) (5:08) # "Kinky Afro" (live) (6:38) Australian 12-inch # "Kinky Afro" (Euromix) (7:26) # "Kinky Afro" (Euromix edit) (4:15) # "

" (US Dub mix) (5:55) "Kinky Groovy Afro" 12-inch # "Kinky Groovy Afro" (Peter Lorimer mix) (7:32) # "Kinky Groovy Afro" (live) (6:38) Source:

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1990 singles 1990 songs Factory Records singles Happy Mondays songs

Release

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

See also

References