Labour Of Love Vol.1 - UB40

Being a Brummie I've got to love UB40, it was my dad who got me into them because he's a massive fan and he jokes sometimes that I became a fan even in the womb because he used to play their albums over and over again when my mum was pregnant! This is one of my fave albums by UB40 because I love all the songs off it and it's more cheerful than some of their other stuff. The best track on the album is Red Red Wine because it's not the plain song that is played on the radio and has got some dubbing in the middle by Astro who has got such a wicked deep voice that goes well with the weird way Ali sings this song. I like Johnny Too Bad for ...  Read the complete review

This is one of those albums which has just about stood the test of time, thanks to some beautiful melodies and the captivating voice of Ali Campbell. The Labour Of Love albums were some of the groups' most successful longplayers, spurning a selection of hits in the eighties and nineties. Who are they: Birmingham based UB40, have a strong reggae sound to their music. Lead vocals from Ali Campbell, who left the group a couple of years ago to pursure his solo career. He was replaced by Maxi Priest. On this album: The obvious choice would be to head for 'Red Red Wine' which is a slow and tender number with luscious vocals from ...  Read the complete review

The creation of entire albums of music from other artists is nothing new. It has been done to great effect by David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and many more. When UB40 followed up their first 2 albums which contained their own material with an album drawn from favourite reggae songs from their youth. Having established themselves as the conscience of 80s youth with their socially aware lyrics about unemployment and social injustice it could have been seen a s a commercial sell-out and perhaps ultimately it was. It was also, however, a very fine album. That it must have been a labour of love can be heard in the loving way the songs are crafted and every track ...  Read the complete review