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This 7inch single is the first reissue ever of the super rare original 1968 Jamaican & British single The Pioneers’ “Don’t You Know” / “Me Naw Go A Believe” produced by Joe Gibbs.
The single was first issued in Jamaica in 1968 on the Pressure Beat label, using the alternate title spelling “Me Na Go A Bellevue” on some pressings. Later the same year, it was released in the United Kingdom on Amalgamated Records (catalogue AMG 833).
These singles showcase two popular Pioneers tracks and are now extremely rare and highly collectible, with prices reaching hundreds of dollars for clean copies…
The tracks have appeared only on later compilations, but no standalone vinyl reissue has existed until this edition. This is the first ever reissue on 7inch vinyl since its 1968 releases.
A quintessential 1968 Amalgamatedera performance, this killer up-tempo early Reggae track (Don't You Know) is extremely popular for its cool harmonies allied to a punchy heavily syncopated rhythm and lyrics that blend romantic themes with the emerging language of early reggae.
This mid-tempo sweet sounding song is in fact more tragic than it seems at first… The mistitled "ME NAW GO A BELIEVE" really means “Me Not Go To Bellevue”, Bellevue being Jamaica's premier mental health institution where Don Drummond spent time and died in 1969. The song impregnated of Jamaican patois, seems to be about a man refusing to go the infamous psychiatric hospital, maybe a reference to Don Drummond life and death… Nevertheless, this is another top song by The Pioneers and a perfect fit for the more frantic A side…
Tracklist
A: Don’t You Know
B: Me Naw Go Believe