Guns in the Ghetto

Guns in the Ghetto
Studio album by UB40
Released	30 June 1997[1]
Genre	Pop[2] reggae[3]
Length	38:38
Label	DEP International
Producer	UB40
UB40 chronology
Promises and Lies (1993) Guns in the Ghetto (1997) Labour of Love III (1998)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Chicago Tribune	[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[6]
NME	5/10[3]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]

Guns in the Ghetto is the eleventh studio album by UB40.^[8] It was released in 1997 on the DEP International label.

Critical reception

NME wrote that the band "play reggae with the edges filed off, made anodyne and palatable for people who aren't that interested in music any more."^[3] The New Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that the album "has good instincts and solid playing but generally weak material."^[7]

Track listing

All tracks composed by UB40

1. "Always There"
2. "Hurry Come Up"
3. "I Love It When You Smile"
4. "I've Been Missing You"
5. "Oracabessa Moonshine"
6. "Guns in the Ghetto"
7. "Tell Me Is It True"
8. "Friendly Fire"
9. "I Really Can't Say"
10. "Lisa"

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9]	147
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10]	20
French Albums (SNEP)[11]	36
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12]	75
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13]	16
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14]	16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	20
US Billboard 200[16]	176
US Top Reggae Albums[16]	1

References

1. "Ad Focus" (PDF). Music Week. 28 June 1997. p. 23. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "UB40 – Guns in the Ghetto". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
3. Udo, Tommy (5 July 1997). "UB40 – Guns in the Ghetto". NME. Archived from the original on 5 May 1998.
4. Knopper, Steve (18 July 1997). "UB40 Guns In the Ghetto (Virgin) (star) (star..." Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
5. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. Muze. p. 332.
6. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p. 1178.
7. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "UB40". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Fireside (Simon & Schuster). p. 835. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
8. Grant, Matthew (2003). "UB40". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. pp. 1114–1115. ISBN 1-85828-457-0.
9. "UB40 ARIA Chart History (July 1988 to August 2025)". ARIA. Retrieved 24 August 2025 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
10. "Austriancharts.at – UB40 – Guns in the Ghetto" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
11. "Lescharts.com – UB40 – Guns in the Ghetto". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – UB40 – Guns in the Ghetto" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – UB40 – Guns in the Ghetto" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
14. "Charts.nz – UB40 – Guns in the Ghetto". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
15. "Swisscharts.com – UB40 – Guns in the Ghetto". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
16. "Guns in the Ghetto – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 May 2014.