With their new album ‘A Real Labour Of Love’ debuting at No.2 in the charts last Friday, their highest chart position in 25 years, UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey have announced details of their new single ‘How Could I Leave’.
The follow-up to their Radio 2 playlisted single ‘She Loves Me Now’, ‘How Could I Leave’ – which impacts at radio on April 27 - is a fresh interpretation of a 1977 classic from the Crown Prince of reggae Dennis Brown. “It's a standard because of the hook,”' says Ali. “It's a real ear-worm, a bit like Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire.”
With ‘The Greatest Showman’ Soundtrack and Ed Sheeran’s ‘Divide’ holding the top spot all year, ‘A Real Labour Of Love’ is one of only four albums to debut at No. 2 in 2018 and is the second highest Universal chart placing this year. The new album, the legendary reggae band’s highest chart entry since 1993’s No.1 ‘Promises And Lies’, was Radio 2’s Album Of The Week and received 4-star reviews in the Daily Mail and Daily Star who said it “crackles with the energy of their classics.”
UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey will headline the Royal Albert Hall this coming Monday March 19 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust series of gigs. For ‘An Evening Celebrating The Very Best In British Reggae’ they will be joined by Hollie Cook, Three The Hard Way - Brinsley Forde MBE (Aswad), David Hinds (Steel Pulse), Dennis Bovell (Matumbi) - and special guest David Rodigan MBE.
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’ they give us a fresh take on the legendary series of albums, putting the focus primarily on reggae tracks from the 1980s.
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 revitalising 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. Recorded and mixed at Dean Street and RAK Studios, ‘A Real Labour Of Love’ was produced by Ali, whose instantly recognisable 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 shortly after the recording. The album is dedicated to him.
