"No Coke" is a song recorded by

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

-based musician and producer

Dr Alban Alban Uzoma Nwapa (born 26 August 1957), better known by his stage name Dr. Alban, is a Nigerian-Swedish recording artist and producer with his own record label, Dr. Records. His music can best be described as Eurodance/ hip-hop reggae in a dan ...

. It was originally released as the B-side of the 12" version of his debut single " Hello Afrika" and became the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

off his debut album, '' Hello Afrika'' (1990). Released in November 1990, the song was a hit in several European countries and reached number-one in Sweden. To date, it is one of Dr Alban's most successful songs, along with " It's My Life" and " Sing Hallelujah". It was produced by

Denniz Pop Dag Krister Volle (26 April 1963 – 30 August 1998), better known as Denniz Pop (stylized ''Denniz PoP''), was a Swedish DJ, music producer, and songwriter. He co-founded the recording studio Cheiron Studios in Stockholm in 1992. Life and car ...

, who recorded the song's signature

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

using a Roland Juno-106 synthesizer. The song is performed in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and the lyrics describe a tragic event outside Alban's nightclub Alphabet Street in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. In November 2017, it was the topic at SVT:s ''Hitlåtens historia''.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

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 ...

'' viewed the song as a "cleverly written anti-drug anthem", "particularly potent and U.S. club-friendly." He added that "pure (and clever) toasting is woven into a fabric of accessible hip-hop and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

threads" and concluded that the song is "a brilliant piece of work".

Chart performance

"No Coke" was very successful on the charts in Europe, peaking at number-one in Sweden. It spent two weeks at the top spot and 5 weeks within the top 10. The single made it to the top 10 also in Austria, Germany, Greece (#3), the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. In Austria, it peaked at number two, being held off reaching number-one by

Roxette Roxette was a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough second a ...

's " Joyride". It spent four weeks at that position. Additionally, "No Coke" was a top 20 hit in Finland and Italy, and a top 30 hit in Belgium. It didn't chart 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 ...

, but reached number 59 on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record s ...

. The single earned a gold record in Sweden, where the song broke all records by staying for five consecutive weeks at number-one in national radio SR's popular show "Tracks". That's a feat not even achieved by

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was produced to promote the single, directed by Scottish director Paul Boyd. He also directed the video for " Hello Afrika". "No Coke" received

heavy rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely sh ...

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initially, MTV serve ...

and was later published on Dr. Alban's official

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channel in December 2011. By December 2022, it had generated more than 18 million views.

Track listings

* 7" single # "No Coke" (radio mix) — 3:43 # "No Coke" (swe-flow-mix) — 3:50 * CD single # "No Coke" (radio mix) — 3:43 # "No Coke" (swe-flow-mix) — 3:50

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1990 singles Dr. Alban songs Dancehall songs Number-one singles in Sweden Songs written by Denniz Pop Song recordings produced by Denniz Pop Songs written by Dr. Alban 1990 songs English-language Swedish songs Songs about cocaine Reggae fusion songs Music videos directed by Paul Boyd