'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.
"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.
Official website: http://ub40.org
