Labour Of Love

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As Ansell recounted to Classic Pop magazine in 2017, "We pitched the idea to Virgin of creating an illustration for each song so that as and when they were released as singles we would have ready-made images. He was fairly disappointed in us starting a reggae band, but he was happy that we were writing lyrics that said something. On the back of Labour of Love 's huge international success, UB40 became reggae's world ambassadors and their focus shifted; they'd make political records again but never anything as potent as Signing Off or Present Arms, instead relying on the surefire hit potential of further cover albums". The album and 12" version of "Red Red Wine" included a toasted verse by Astro, later copied and included by Diamond in his live performances of the song. We used to stand on beer crates because whenever Brian had a bath the water would come pissing down the walls.

A Real Labour of Love - Wikipedia A Real Labour of Love - Wikipedia

In 1989, it was ranked number 98 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Albums of the Eighties". He said of his brother Duncan's singing, "I sat back for five years and watched my brother Duncan murdering my songs.The film featured songs from the album as its soundtrack, and the music videos for the singles "Red Red Wine", "Please Don't Make Me Cry" and "Cherry Oh Baby" were lifted directly from the film.

UB40 - Labour of Love Lyrics and Tracklist | Genius

Ian Harrison of Q said of the album, "It's still quality, but it's hard not to mourn the earlier militancy". Robert Christgau professed his initial dislike of an album of cover versions, before revising his opinion after repeated listens, admitting that "it hit me once again that reggae tunes can take a long, long time to hook in". The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. The mission prompted the band to release a dub version of Present Arms, the superb follow-up to Signing Off.We jammed in a basement underneath where [bass player] Earl [Falconer] and [saxophonist] Brian [Travers] lived. We did Madam Medusa about Thatcher and got it played on the radio because DJs didn’t know what we were talking about,” says Ali. In another interview with Melody Maker, drummer Jim Brown explained that the band were being pressured to deliver a new album, but didn't have enough original material completed, so it seemed an ideal time to revisit the idea of making an album of cover versions. In 2008, Ali Campbell unceremoniously quit UB40 after 30 years as their lead singer; he was soon followed by founding member, keyboardist Mickey Virtue. Championed by Chrissie Hynde, who took UB40 on tour with the Pretenders, both the album and debut single, Food for Thought, became top five hits – “and we never really looked back,” says Astro.