Carl Douglas – ‘Kung Fu Fighting’

3 October 1974

Well now. Whatever this record’s motivation at the time—perhaps mere cultural appropriation to cash in on the martial arts movie craze of the era—it’s now to our ears full of the sort of sonic tags that would get thrown at anyone of Asian heritage, or fuel “hilarious” depictions of their community in light entertainment, for years afterwards. The image above is the only version of the single cover I could find that doesn’t have the singer, a Jamaican, kitted up in martial arts-wear and giving it the accompanying actions.

I won’t be posting a score or the video, and I’ll give this one a miss.