Althea & Donna were a Jamaican reggae singing duo, best known for their 1977 single "Uptown Top Ranking" which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom in 1978.
The young Jamaican singers Althea Forrest (17), and Donna Reid (18), caused a surprise with their one-off reggae hit single, "Uptown Top Ranking". It was produced by Joe Gibbs using a re-recording of the riddim of the 1967 Alton Ellis' song "I'm Still In Love", which had already been re-popularised in the 1970s by Marcia Aitken's cover "I'm Still In Love With You Boy" and the deejay track "Three Piece Suit" by Trinity, to which "Uptown" was an 'answer record'. The single's UK release was on the Lightning record label.
"Uptown Top Ranking" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in February 1978, after early championing by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, but had only one week at the chart summit. The lyrics were written by the duo and Errol Thompson. Althea & Donna thus became the youngest female duo to reach the pinnacle of the UK chart.
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.
