"Lip Up Fatty" is a single released by British 2 Tone and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band Bad Manners in June 1980, which reached No. 15 in 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 ...

. It is one of a number of

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

s by Bad Manners about 'being fat', (a reference to the round figure of frontman, Buster Bloodvessel). According to Bloodvessel "Lip Up Fatty" was an expression used at his school "to tell people to shut up". Its signature melodic lines were a simple but careful blend of brass instruments and lead harmonica theme, played by Alan Sayag (Winston Bazoomies). During early live gigs and in the film

Dance Craze ''Dance Craze'' is a 1981 American documentary film about the British 2 Tone music genre. The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness, whom he met during their first US tour. Massot later ...

, Alan Sayag sometimes played the harmonica part on a Hohner Echo Tremolo instrument. Harmonica player David Turner took up the instrument as a result of hearing the song in early 1980 and credits the melody line as the first tune he ever taught himself. In November 2012,

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. ...

recorded a version as a part of his

Tim Timebomb ''Tim Timebomb'' is a music project by Tim Armstrong, best known as a member of the punk rock band Rancid (band), Rancid. Armstrong has recorded a large number of songs – a mixture of cover versions, including Rancid (band), Rancid covers, and o ...

and Friends project.

References

1980 singles 1980 songs Magnet Records singles Bad Manners songs {{1980s-single-stub