"Man Next Door" (also known as "Quiet Place" or "I've Got to Get Away") is a song written by John Holt and first recorded by his group

The Paragons The Paragons were a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Kingston, Jamaica, initially active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was "The Tide Is High", written by band member John Holt. Career The Paragons were originally Garth "Tyrone" Eva ...

in 1968. The Paragons version was produced by

Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner. He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...

and first released on his Duke label as the B-side of "Left with a Broken Heart".Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 404 The song has been covered by numerous other reggae artists including

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

and

Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English t ...

who also sang on a more electronic version of the song for the

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was rele ...

album ''

Mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...

'', with samples of the drum break from

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

's cover of "

When the Levee Breaks "When the Levee Breaks" is a country blues song written and first recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. The lyrics reflect experiences during the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. "When the Levee Br ...

" and

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

's " 10:15 Saturday Night". The song was released as a single by

The Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma ...

in 1980, when it reached number 5 on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the re ...

, staying on the chart for 13 weeks.Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 209 Holt's version also formed the basis of L.E.G.A.C.Y.'s rap version, while Horace Andy's "Quiet Place" was used as the basis of

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

versions from Dr Alimantado ("Poison Flour" and "I Shall Fear No Evil"),

I-Roy Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1942 – 27 November 1999), better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s. Biography Born in 1944 in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical C ...

("Noisy Place") and The Dirty Heads ("Neighborhood").

U-Roy Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style ...

also recorded a deejay version of the song with "Peace and Love in the Ghetto" and later again in his album ''Solid Gold'', with the participation of

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. ''Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, Sa ...

.Fred Thomas
U-Roy - ''Solid Gold''
, AllMusic. Retrieved 19 December 2021. The song was used to introduce the "I Saw You Coming" sketches in '' Harry & Paul'' from series 2.

References

1967 songs 1980 singles The Slits songs Santigold songs {{1960s-song-stub