The Labour Of Love Box Set

Another fantastic compilation here for you today ladies and gentlemen, filled with fantastic tracks by some incredible artists.

One of the worlds biggest selling Reggae bands of all time is in fact not from Jamaica at all!
UB40, hailing from Birmingham, England, have sold well over 100 million albums worldwide with their infectious sound and well chosen cover songs selected for the bands four Labour of Love albums.

UB40 got together around 1978, a bunch of mates who grew up in the multi-racial Balsall Heath district of England's second biggest city, Birmingham. After being inspired by the music brought to the area by the West Indian communities that had sprung up since the 50's, Reggae was THE music of the 60's and 70's in many parts of England but especially in the Midlands where late night 'blues' dances would go on in basements and clubs around the city.

UB40's first couple of albums were completely original, albeit with a couple of early cover songs including Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going To Rain" and a fine version of the blues related "Strange Fruit". But by 1984 the band decided to release an entire album of covers, songs that had inspired them to form a band and play reggae in the first place, an album perfectly entitled "Labour Of Love".

 UB40's first Labour Of Love album is also notable for the bands shift from the hard-hitting, politically charged, rockers sound of their debut "Signing Off" to a more radio friendly, lover's rock style of reggae that was hugely popular in the UK at the time.

UB40 scored big hits with covers of Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby", Winston Groovy's "Please Don't Make Me Cry", Jimmy Cliff's unforgettable "Many Rivers To Cross" and of course Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine" which gave the band their first number one single, although the band themselves didn't even know it was a Neil Diamond song, only having heard Tony Tribes reggae hit of the mid-sixties!

Labour of Love proved a commercial success for UB40 and the original songwriters must have earned themselves a tidy payout courtesy of UB40's promotion.

UB40 would go on to record further albums of their own material including the massive hits "Rat In Mi Kitchen" and "If It Happens Again" before returning to the series with Labour Of Love II in 1989.
Another massive selling album, the band again chose well with songs by John Holt, The Heptones, Honey Boy and Ken Boothe all getting the UB40 treatment but probably the best and most well-known hit on the record was "Kingston Town", a number by calypsonian artist Lord Creator (real name Kendrick Patrick).

Labour of Love II was again well received by critics and fans and sold in big numbers, again giving some much needed royalties to the Jamaican songwriters who created them.

It would be over 10 years before UB40 would finally finish the trilogy and release Labour Of Love III in 1998. The bands most adventurous in the series, it's song selection much more varied and the sound expressing that of the modern Reggae era of the late 90's.

Ragga and Dancehall was the sound of the day and Labour of Love III certainly tried to incorporate that, despite the songs being 'golden oldies' by then, they are given a modern updating.

Rarities by The Flames, The Diamonds, The Ethiopians and Cornel Campbell are covered but the biggest hits on the album were takes of Ken Boothe's "Train Is Coming" and Johnny Osbourne's "Come Back Darling".

By 2010, some 12 years after the bands last Labour of Love album, UB40 had undergone some crucial line-up changes. Keyboardist Micky Virtue and lead singer Ali Campbell had chosen to leave the group to pursue solo careers. Ali would eventually hire a new backing group known as the DEP band and he would continue to play Labour of Love material in his live shows as well as to cover vintage reggae hits on his solo albums including Johnny Nash's "Hold Me Tight", Jimmy Cliff's "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" and John Holt's "My Heart Is Gone".

UB40 themselves would continue with Ali Campbell's older brother Duncan taking over on lead vocals, his vocal style very similar to that of Ali's in the groups early years and he would make his first full album debut on Labour Of Love IV released in 2010.

Due to the album being released in the era of music downloads it failed to sell in huge quantities having received over 100,000 illegal downloads when it leaked a week before it's official release.
It was however a return to form in the series, some great choices of songs and one of the bands best albums in the Labour Of Love quadrilogy.

UB40 include fine covers of Dennis Brown's "Man Next Door" (originally a Paragons tune), John Holt's "A Love I Can Feel", Theo Beckford's "Easy Snapping" and the soul standard "Bring It On Home To Me" on this edition as well as adding some great rarities and also a possible dig at their former bandmates in the form of "Get Along Without You Now".

It has to be said here that although UB40 have had some enormous success from covering other people's songs, (another number one single for the band was the Elvis Presley associated "Can't Help Falling In Love") the band have created over 20 albums of original material. They have worked with some of Jamaica's biggest names including Lady Saw, Ken Boothe, John Holt, Freddie McGregor, Beenie Man, Pinchers and many others and collaborated with Chrissie Hynde, Robert Palmer and Maxi Priest amongst others.

Their contribution to Reggae music is crucial, they have played concerts to sell-out crowds all around the world including Russia where they were the first western band to play gigs!

So now to this collection, The Labour Of Love Box Set, a huge 5 disc set that contains all of the original songs UB40 have covered from Labour Of Love I to Labour Of Love IV, we have also included tracks UB40 added to other albums along the way including The Paragons' "Sparkle Of My Eyes" and Lorna Dean's "Since I Met You Baby" from the bands 'Cover Up' album of 2001. Matumbi's "After Tonight", John Holt's "Kiss And Say Goodbye" and The Jamaicans' "Things You Say You Love" from 'Who You Fighting For?' released in 2005.

A rare gem was recorded by UB40 alongside The Pioneers and various 2-Tone bands including members of Madness and The Beat called "Starvation" which was a tuned penned by The Pioneers back in the 70's.

"Summertime" was a track UB40 used to play in their very early years, usually associated with Billie Holiday, their version can be found on "The Lost Tapes" album. "Breakfast In Bed" was a hit for UB40 in collaboration with long time friend Chrissie Hynde of rock band The Pretenders, it was featured on the bands self titled album of 1988 but most Reggae fans will best remember Lorna Bennett’s cut of the ‘70’s.

In 2010 Ali Campbell released an album of Reggae covers called "Great British Songs" and a few original Reggae covers of those songs appear on this collection alongside other songs Ali covered on his solo projects including The Wailers "Hallelujah Time", Paulette And The Lovers' "Don't Go (Please Stay)" and The Equals' "Baby Come Back" which was a huge hit for Ali alongside fellow Birmingham based artist Pato Banton.

Ali also joined up with members of The Fun Lovin' Criminals on a Radio Riddler production that would present the entire Prince album "Purple Rain" in Reggae. Ali sang the title track but after some delays the U.S based Denver Dub Collective recorded and released the same album effectively beating them to the punch.

In 2013 UB40 released their latest album entitled "Getting Over The Storm", an album that blends Reggae with American Country. A mixture of covers and original material the band also wanted to include their duet with Robert Palmer of the country classic "On The Other Hand".
Other covers from this album include Paul Davidson's "Midnight Rider" and "He'll Have To Go" another country standard that has been ‘Reggaefied’ many times.

In 2014 another longtime UB40 member, Trevor “Astro” Wilson, also left the original lineup to reunite with Ali Campbell and Micky Virtue for the album ‘Silhouette’ which features versions of The Maytones’ ‘Sha La La’, Ernie Smith’s ‘Ride On Sammy’ and the title track best remembered by Dennis Brown.

The trio followed up ‘Silhouette’ with their own full covers album entitled ‘A Real Labour Of Love’ which was released in 2018 and features takes on songs by Gregory Isaacs, Beres Hammond, Culture, Wayne Smith and Cocoa Tea amongst others.

In 2019 UB40 released the album ‘For The Many’, it’s a really good return to form and features their take of ‘Moonlight Lover’, a song previously recorded by the likes of Joya Landis and Barrington Levy.

In 2022 Ali Campbell and Astro (who sadly passed away the year before) released the album ‘Unprecedented’ which contains a number of cover songs including Ernie Smith’s ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ (written by Kris Kristofferson), The Kingstonians’ ‘Sufferer’, Gappy Ranks’ ‘Heaven In Her Eyes’ and Louisa Mark’s ‘Caught You In A Lie’.

Whether or not you enjoyed what UB40 did to these songs is irrelevant here, these are the originals (or earlier cover versions of songs) that inspired a whole new generation of musicians to embrace the music of Jamaica and to continue to spread Reggae throughout the globe.


Tracklisting:

Disc One - Labour Of Love I And II:


1) Eric Donaldson - Cherry Oh Baby
2) Bob Marley And The Wailers - Keep On Moving
3) Winston Groovy - Please Don't Make Me Cry
4) The Melodians - Sweet Sensation
5) The Slickers - Johnny Too Bad
6) Tony Tribe - Red Red Wine
7) Tiger - Guilty
8) Ray Martell - She Caught The Train
9) Boy Friday And Dennis Lowe - Version Girl (What's Your Name?)
10) Jimmy Cliff - Many Rivers To Cross

11) Al Brown - Here I Am (Come And Take Me)
12) Teddy Davis - Tears From My Eyes
13) Ken Parker - Grooving Out On Life
14) Eric Donaldson - The Way You Do The Things You Do
15) U-Roy And The Paragons - Wear You To The Ball
16) The Heptones - Baby
17) Delroy Wilson - Wedding Day
18) The Kingstonians - Singer Man
19) Lord Creator - Kingston Town
20) Honey Boy - Sweet Cherrie
21) John Holt - Stick By Me (I'll Stick By You)
22) Linval Thompson - Just Another Girl
23) Jackie Robinson - Homely Girl
24) Honey Boy - Impossible Love


Disc Two - Labour Of Love III:


1) The Flames - Holly Holy
2) The Melodians - It's My Delight
3) Johnny Osbourne And The Sensations - Come Back Darling
4) Cornel Campbell - I Will Never Let You Go
5) Bob Marley And The Wailers - Soul Rebel
6) John Holt - My Best Girl
7) The Ethiopians - Good Ambition
8) Ken Boothe - Train Is Coming
9) Niney The Observer - Blood And Fire
10) Winston Francis - Mr. Fix It
11) Delano Stewart - Stay A Little Bit Longer
12) The Mighty Diamonds - Someone Like You
13) Slim Smith - The Time Has Come
14) Ken Boothe - Crying Over You
15) Peter Tosh - Legalize It


Disc Three - Labour Of Love IV:


1) Delroy Wilson - I Don't Want To See You Cry
2) The Melodians - Get Along Without You Now
3) George Faith - Bring It On Home To Me
4) Johnny Nash - Cream Puff
5) Theo Beckford - Easy Snapping
6) Ruddy Thomas And Trinity - Holiday
7) John Holt - Close To Me
8) Dennis Brown - Man Next Door
9) Pat Kelly - Tracks Of My Tears
10) Ken Parker - True True True
11) Hopeton Lewis - Boom Shacka Lacka
12) Errol Dunkley - You're Gonna Need Me
13) John Holt - A Love I Can Feel
14) The Jamaicans - Baby Why?
15) Gregory Isaacs - Loving Pauper
16) The Melodians - Come On Little Girl
17) The Paragons - Happy Go Lucky Girl
18) Hopeton Lewis - Take It Easy
19) Alton Ellis - Breaking Up


Disc Four - The Further Origins Of UB40 & Ali Campbell:


1) B.B Seaton - Summertime
2) The Pioneers - Starvation
3) Lorna Bennett - Breakfast In Bed
4) Ornel Hinds - Can't Help Falling In Love With You
5) The Equals - Baby Come Back
6) Jimmy Cliff - Let Your Yeah Be Yeah
7) Jackie Mittoo - Somethin' Stupid
8) Hopeton Lewis & U-Roy - Drive It Home
9) Stevie And Jay - Superstition
10) The Paragons - Sparkle Of My Eyes
11) Paula Dean - Since I Met You Baby
12) Desmond Dekker - Swing Low Sweet Chariot
13) Matumbi - After Tonight
14) Derrick Harriott - Good Situation
15) John Holt - Kiss And Say Goodbye
16) The Jamaicans - Things You Say You Love
17) Desmond Dekker - Israelites
18) The Now Generation - You Never Know (I'll Be Back)
19) The Hippy Boys - All In The Game
20) Bob Marley & The Wailers - I Shot The Sheriff
21) Johnny Nash - Hold Me Tight
22) Jimmy London - I'll Be Standing By
23) Paulette And The Lovers - Don't Go (Please Stay)
24) Aswad - Would I Lie To You
25) Dobby Dobson - Seems To Me I'm Losing
26) Los Pericos - I'm Waitin' (For Your Love)

Disc Five - The Further Origins Of UB40 & Ali Campbell:  

1) The Wailers - Hallelujah Time
2) Smokey Robinson & Ernest Ranglin - Being With You
3) Trevor & Liz - Devoted To You
4) Chris Morris - Village Ghetto Land
5) Lizzard - Milk And Honey
6) John Holt - My Heart Is Gone
7) Donna Hinds - My Happiness
8) Chalice - Paint It Black
9) Pat Kelly - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
10) Phoenix City All-Stars - Honky Tonk Woman
11) Toots And The Maytals - Squeezebox
12) Pat Kelly - A Hard Day's Night
13) Thriller U - Baker Street
14) Paul Davidson - Midnight Rider
15) King Flowers - Crying Time
16) Dennis Brown - How Could I Leave
17) David Isaacs - He'll Have To Go
18) Winston Groovy - On The Other Hand

19) Dennis Brown - Silhouette
20) The Maytones - Sha La La
21) Ernie Smith - Ride On Sammy
22) The Denver Dub Collective - Purple Rain

Disc Six - A Real Labour Of Love : 

1) Barry Boom - Making Love

2) Beres Hammond - She Loves Me Now

3) Shinehead - Strive

4) Barrington Levy - Here I Come

5) J.C. Lodge - Telephone Love

6) Gregory Isaacs - Rumours

7) The Heptones - How Could I Leave

8) The Chosen Few - Ebony Eyes

9) Gregory Isaacs - Hush Darling

10) Pablo Gad - Hard Times

11) Dennis Brown - Moving Away

12) Culture - International Herb

13) David Isaacs - A Place In The Sun

14) Cocoa Tea - Tune In

15) Gregory Isaacs - Once Ago

16) The Chosen Few - In The Rain

17) Wayne Smith - Under Me Sleng Teng

18) Joya Landis - Moonlight Lover

19) Ernie Smith - Sunday Morning Coming Down

20) The Kingstonians - Sufferer

21) Gappy Ranks - Heaven In Her Eyes

22) B.B. Seaton - Lean On Me

23) Louisa Mark - Caught You In A Lie

  
The Labour Of Love Box Set   -    Please be aware that all download links are currently unavailable as of January 2023.

UPDATE 2016:

This compilation has been re-released with numerous additional songs and much improved sound quality and is now available in 320kbps mp3.

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