Althea & Donna

Althea & Donna were the Jamaican reggae singing duo of Althea Rose Forrest and Donna Marie Reid. They are best known for their 1977 single "Uptown Top Ranking", which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom in 1978. The Jamaican teenage singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid - then 17 and 18 years old - caused a chart surprise when their reggae song "Uptown Top Ranking" became a UK No. 1 in February 1978. They released the album of the same name in 1978, on which they are backed by The Revolutionaries, on the Virgin Records subsidiary Front Line, and several more singles, but never met with any more tangible success thereafter. In 2001, Caroline Records reissued the album "Uptown Top Ranking".

Links To Peel
The record was played accidentally by Peel when he was supposed to play Mighty Two's 'Calico Suit' track, which was on the opposite side of Althea & Donna's Uptown Top Ranking single. The record resulted in him being inundated with requests for it to be played. At the end of 1977, Peel ranked 'Uptown Top Ranking' as his number 2 track of his personal favourite songs of 1977 in his own 1977 Festive Fifty.

Festive Fifty Entries

 * 1977 Festive Fifty: Uptown Top Ranking #02

Shows Played
1977 1978 2004
 * 16 November 1977: Uptown Top Ranking
 * 27 December 1977: Uptown Top Ranking (single) Lightning FF #02
 * 10 August 1978: Make A Truce (Version) (12” single) Rankin
 * 24 August 1978: Make A Truce (Riddim Style) (7") (Ranking)
 * 28 August 1978: Make A Truce (version) Ranking
 * 18 November 2004 (Rob Da Bank): 'Uptown Top Rankin' - (Soul Jazz)