"Night Nurse" is a song by Jamaican

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 ...

artist

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

, released as a single in 1982 after signing to Island Records. It is the title track of his 1982 album of the same name, which was a top 40 hit on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. At the time, "Night Nurse" was hugely popular in the clubs and received heavy

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

. The song was later used in adverts for a GlaxoSmithKline cold and flu remedy of the same name on British TV and radio. A cover version in 1997 by Sly and Robbie featuring

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since th ...

became a hit single in the UK.

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

disc jockey

Chris Goldfinger Christopher Clarke, known professionally as Chris Goldfinger, is a former BBC Radio 1 disc jockey who presented the station's reggae dancehall show from 1996 to September 2009. His programme was produced by Tim Westwood's production company J ...

picked "Night Nurse" as one of his favourites in 1996, adding, "Gregory has a unique voice and singing style. I love the lyrics. Gregory is always my all-time favourite."

Certifications

Sly and Robbie version

"Night Nurse" was covered by Jamaican duo Sly and Robbie featuring English band

. It was released as a single in 1997 and appears on Sly and Robbie's album, '' Friends'' (1997), as well as Simply Red's sixth album, ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

'' (1998). The song reached No. 13 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 ...

in September 1997, and remained on the chart for 8 weeks. It is Sly and Robbie's second biggest hit in the United Kingdom, after 1987's " Boops (Here to Go)" at No. 12. It also became Simply Red's sixteenth non-consecutive top 20 hit in the UK. The song also reached No. 44 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, and No. 84 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Critical reception

Gene Armstrong from '' Arizona Daily Star'' described the cover as "a hip-hop interpration", "with heady strings striating the percolating

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

s." J.D. Considine from ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'' felt it finds Hucknall "assuming the soulful reggae cadences" of "Night Nurse". Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote that he "presents a great rendition of

' gem .. the first single from

Sly & Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separ ...

's latest set, '' Friends''." He added, "Still steeped in Isaacs' vivid lyrical imagery (the track still plays like a classic love story that never made it to the screen), the song will be opened up to newer, younger audiences by Hucknall's pop influence. Dedicated Isaacs fans will also appreciate the authenticity Sly & Robbie impose on the track, as well as the various updated slants." Pan-European magazine '' Music & Media'' commented, "Although the production is very much a state of the art high tech job, they have managed to retain the rootsy feel that made the original so great in the first place."

Track listings

* UK/Europe CD1 single # "Night Nurse" (Radio Mix) - 3:54 # "Night Nurse" (Dub with Vocal Mix) - 3:53 # "Night Nurse" (

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

Radio Mix) - 3:46 # "Night Nurse" (Jah Wobble 12" Mix) - 8:22 * UK CD2 single # "Night Nurse" (Sly and Robbie Radio Mix) - 3:53 # "Night Nurse" (Sly and Robbie Dub Mix) - 3:53 # "Night Nurse" ( On-U Sound 12" Mix) - 4:57 # "Night Nurse" (On-U Sound Dub the Patient Mix) - 4:56 # "Night Nurse" (Groove Corporation Intellectual Beauty Mix) - 6:43 # "Night Nurse" (Groove Corporation Zionic Man Mix) - 6:44 # "Night Nurse" (Delano Dancehall Mix) - 4:42

Charts

References

{{authority control 1982 songs 1982 singles 1997 singles Sly and Robbie songs Simply Red songs Song recordings produced by Sly & Robbie Mango Records singles Island Records singles East West Records singles Jamaican reggae songs