'A Real Labour Of Love' is the new album from
UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey, to be released March 2nd on UMe. As
founding members of Britain's biggest reggae band UB40, singer Ali Campbell,
second vocalist Astro and keyboardist Mickey Virtue topped the UK singles chart
on three occasions and sold 70 million records as they took their smooth yet
rootsy musical blend to all corners of the globe. Now with 'A Real Labour Of
Love' the trio give us a fresh take on the legendary series of albums, putting
the focus primarily on reggae tracks from the 1980s.
"The
first three albums featured the songs we grew up listening to," says Ali.
"This one is built around the records we were listening to once UB40 were
on the road."
Between 1983
and 1998 UB40 produced three 'Labour Of Love' albums, bringing hits such as
Eric Donaldson's 'Cherry Oh Baby', Lord Creator's 'Kingston Town' and Johnny
Osbourne's 'Come Back Darling' to a new, global audience. They also topped the
charts on both sides of the Atlantic with their reggae cover of Neil Diamond's
'Red Red Wine'.
And now 20
years later Ali, Astro and Mickey are revitalizing the concept by exploring the
tunes of a later golden age, 'A Real Labour Of Love' sees the group explore the
songs that defined reggae in the Eighties. The concept isn't a rigid one:
Stevie Wonder's 'A Place In The Sun' is a Motown classic from 1966, and there
are numbers from the late Seventies in Dennis Brown's sublime 'How Could I
Leave' and Culture's 'International Herb'. But most of the tracks on 'A Real
Labour Of Love' are from the Eighties, a decade that saw dancehall reggae enter
the mainstream.
"We
were spending more time in Jamaica and some of these numbers are the ones we'd
hear on the radio and out in the streets," says Astro. "The singers
of these songs were our heroes. They are quintessential reggae artists."
The new
album builds confidently on the momentum gathered in the five years since Astro
rejoined singer Ali and keyboardist Mickey in 2013. They have released two
acclaimed albums, 'Silhouette' (2014) and 'Unplugged' (2016), their first
acoustic album and their first release with UMG.
Recorded and
mixed at Dean Street and RAK Studios, 'A Real Labour Of Love' was produced by
Ali, whose instantly recognizable voice is augmented by the 'sing-jay' vocal
style of Astro. The latter takes the lead on six of the album's 16 tracks,
placing the two singers at the helm of an 11-piece band. Sadly, 'A Real Labour
Of Love' also marks the passing of long-serving trombonist John Johnson. A
former member of Simply Red who joined forces with Ali seven years ago, John
played on the album but passed away the night before the rest of the group were
due to play a benefit concert to raise money for his cancer treatment. The
album is dedicated to him.
The unique
artwork for 'A Real Labour Of Love' by celebrated American contemporary artist
Mark T Smith was specially commissioned for the release. A first edition print,
signed by the artist and the band, is being auctioned with proceeds going to
the Teenage Cancer Trust, details to follow soon.
The group
are now looking forward to taking their new album on the road, with UK festival
appearances lined up for the summer and a UK arena tour in the pipeline for
2019. Given the massive success of the trio's last 'Labour Of Love' outing, a
2016 tour that featured sold-out shows at the O2 Arena in London and the
Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, there is bound to be a huge appetite for 'A
Real Labour Of Love'.
"The
reaction to that tour was fantastic, and every show was a sell-out," says
Ali. "Now we're ready to do it all again. We knew most of these songs back
to front before we began recording A Real Labour Of Love, so the challenge was
to make them our own rather than copying the originals."
'A Real
Labour Of Love' Track Listing:
1.Making
Love
2.She Loves
Me Now
3.Strive
4.Here I
Come
5.Telephone
Love/Rumours
6.How Could
I Leave
7.Ebony
Eyes
8.Hush
Darling
9.Hard
Times
10.Moving
Away
11.International
Herb
12.A Place
In The Sun
13.Tune
In
14.Once
Ago
15.In The
Rain
16.Under Me
Sleng Teng
Official
website: http://ub40.org
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