Hitsville U.K.

"Hitsville U.K." is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash from their 1980 album Sandinista!. A duet between lead guitarist Mick Jones and his then-girlfriend Ellen Foley, it is the second single released from the album.

Composition

The song's title is a nod to Motown Records, which used the moniker "Hitsville U.S.A." in its advertising and to refer to the label's first headquarters in Detroit.

The lyrics refer to the emerging indie scene in British music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which is held in contrast to the "mutants, creeps and musclemen" of the major labels with their "expense accounts" and "lunch discounts", making "AOR" and using "chart-hyping" to sell their records. References are made to a number of UK independent labels (Lightning, Small Wonder, Rough Trade, Fast Product and Factory).

Release

The original UK single release included "Radio One" by Mikey Dread as the B-side. A second issue, released later in 1981 in the US, replaced "Radio One" with "Police on My Back" as the B-side.

Like all other Clash singles, the song is available on the 1991 compilation The Singles and the 2013 remastered compilation The Clash Hits Back.