Rat in the Kitchen

Rat in the Kitchen is the seventh album by UB40, released in July 1986. This album contained two UK hits, "Sing Our Own Song" (UK No. 5 in 1986) and "Rat in Mi Kitchen" (UK No. 12 in 1987).^[11] The album itself reached 8 in the UK album charts in 1986 staying in the charts for twenty weeks.^[11] The album provoked a positive reception from critics.

Rat in the Kitchen
Studio album by UB40
Released	28 July 1986
Genre	Reggae
Length	43:06
Label	DEP / Virgin / A&M (US)
Producer	UB40
UB40 chronology
Baggariddim (1985) Rat in the Kitchen (1986) The Best of UB40 - Volume One (1987)
Singles from Rat in the Kitchen
"Sing Our Own Song" Released: 1986 "All I Want to Do" Released: 1986 "Rat in Mi Kitchen" Released: 1987

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
The Great Rock Discography	7/10[4]
MusicHound	3.5/5[5]
Los Angeles Times	favourable[6]
Record Mirror	4/5[7]
Rolling Stone	favourable[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
Smash Hits	6/10[10]

Reception

AllMusic said the album was "as usual, a tuneful collection of reggae"^[1] and later described the album as "edgy".^[12]

Track listing

All tracks composed by UB40

1. "All I Want to Do" – 5:33
2. "You Could Meet Somebody" – 4:52
3. "Tell It Like It Is" – 3:36
4. "The Elevator" – 3:25
5. "Watchdogs" – 4:18
6. "Rat in Mi Kitchen" – 6:58
7. "Looking Down at My Reflection" – 3:27
8. "Don't Blame Me" – 3:36
9. "Sing Our Own Song" – 7:21

Personnel

• The guest vocalists who appeared on the album were Mo Birch, Jaki Graham & Ruby Turner
• Herb Alpert (co-founder of A&M Records) played trumpet on "Rat in Mi Kitchen"

Charts

Weekly charts 1986–87 weekly chart performance for Rat in the Kitchen Chart (1986–87) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[13] 51 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[14] 37 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 3 European Albums (Music & Media)[16] 37 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 4 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 21 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 8 US Billboard 200[20] 53

Year-end charts 1986 year-end performance for Rat in the Kitchen Chart (1986) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 37 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 45 1987 year-end performance for Rat in the Kitchen Chart (1987) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 39

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[24]	Gold	50,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[25]	Gold	50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[26]	Gold	7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27]	Gold	100,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.