The song, “The Tide Is High”, was originally recorded by The Paragons in 1967
Reggae classic “The Tide Is High” was written by John Holt (1947-2014) of the Jamaican group The Paragons and recorded and released by them in 1967, although it brought no instant commercial success to them.
A number of versions of the song exist with the first charting version coming from the band Blondie in 1980. The song was recorded for their album “Autoamerican”, released as the lead single in October, it peaked at No.1 in the UK and America and was a top ten success in more than twenty other countries worldwide.
In 2002, British girl group Atomic Kitten recorded their version for the album “Feels So Good” and released it as the second single. Once again, this new version topped the UK chart as well as being a top five smash across Europe and ‘down under’, being Platinum certified for a second time.
But whose version is the best? THE PARAGON’s original, BLONDIE’s cover or ATOMIC KITTEN’s chart topper?