I heard a reggae/dancehall song recently whose chorus is, "Me don't
need / no blue suede shoes / me don't need no blue suede shoes".  I
have had no luck finding any info online.  Can you help me discover
the name and artist?  Thanks!

uc

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 18 Dec 2004 11:35 PST

Hi UC,

I have hunch that the song may have been "Nu Blue Suede Shoes" by a
group called Back to Base (collaborating with a poet named Benjamin
Zephaniah).

I haven't been able to locate lyrics, but one review describes the
song as featuring "declamations against a litany of consumer
products."   This would seem consistent with your recollection of the
singer asserting that he "don't need no blue suede shoes."

See:

"Nu Blue Suede Shoes? injects a rock-steady reggae rhythm into
Zephaniah?s persuasive declamations against a litany of consumer
products ? including those suede shoes."
http://www.newint.org/issue328/mix.htm

Another description:

"Back to Base featuring Benjamin Zephaniah: Heading for the Door
This 2000 release features UK-based dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah on
four of its 12 tracks, including the scorching openers "One Day" and
"Nu Blue Suede Shoes." Zephaniah has a similar tone to most of the
other familiar dub poets (Muta, Ras Mykkal, Ras Sam Brown, etc.), but
there's something about his style paired with Back to Base's rock-ish
reggae accompaniment that works really well. Perhaps it's that he uses
hooks, which give a different depth to the tracks, rather than your
standard spoken word poetry over dub tracks."
https://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3566/105031

The song is somewhat obscure but it seems to show up on various reggae play lists:
http://www.chataboutmusic.com/Play_I_Some_Music_w_Papa_Andy_-_WXXEInternet_-_82804-1398333-1094-a.html


What do you think?

Benjamin Zephaniah is a committed vegan, and thus opposed to the use of suede.