January, 1982.

Well, they do say that the urge to sing this song is only ever a whim-away. Yeah, moving swiftly on…

This was first written and recorded by South African composer and songwriter Solomon Linda in 1939 under the title Mbube. The original lyrics were written in Zulu with US songwriter George David Weiss later providing the English lyrics.

During the 1950s and 1960s the song would be covered by a variety of folk acts, including the Weavers, Jimmy Dorsey and the Kingston Trio. It was in 1961 though that this became a hit record, when it was released by doo-wop group the Tokens and reached number one in the US, making it the most popular version of the song up to that point. It has also earned them millions in royalty fees from cover versions and film licensing over the years.

Then, in 1982, came this version from Tight Fit. By far the most successful version of the song, reaching the top ten in nine countries across the world – including here in the UK where it spent fifteen weeks on the chart including three weeks at number one.

Seriously, as a nation, just what were we thinking?!