In this Week's "Music of the Week Series", Elsie breathes new life into the classic Reggae song, Red Red Wine.


Artist: UB40
Album: Labour Of Love (1983)
Genre: Reggae Pop
Arranger: Elsie Honny
Performer: Elsie Honny


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Song Facts:

This was written and first recorded by Neil Diamond. His original version first appeared on his 1967 album Just For You (Bang 217) and was produced by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich (a.k.a. The Raindrops of "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget" fame). Neil's version of the song (Bang single 556) peaked at #62 over a three-week run in April 1968.

In the UK, two versions of the song charted in 1969: a soul cover by Jimmy James & The Vagabonds hit 36 (it also made 127 in the US), and a reggae rendition by Tony Tribe hit #46. UB40, whose members grew up listening to these versions, took it to #1 UK with their 1983 cover.
The lyrics sing the praises of wine, and its ability to make you forget your problems. Diamond wrote another song about red wine in 1970 with Cracklin' Rosie.
UB40 recorded this as a cover of the Tony Tribe 1969 reggae version, which reached #46 in the UK charts. The band did not realize until after it topped the charts that Neil Diamond wrote it and originally recorded it. Lead singer Ali Campbell recalls in the book 1000 UK #1 Hits: "The funny thing about the song is we only knew it as a reggae song. We had no idea that Neil Diamond wrote it." Terence "Astro" Wilson, confirmed: "Even when we saw the writing credit which said N. Diamond, we thought it was a Jamaican artist called Negus Diamond or something."
This was re-issued in the States after DJ Guy Zapoleon at KZZP-FM in Phoenix, Arizona included the song on his "Would've Been, Should've Been" feature. There was such a positive response that he urged the record company to re-issue the single. Within a few weeks the song had climbed to the top of the charts.
UB40's original recording reached #34 in the US in March 1984 when it was released on A&M 2600. This version clocked in at 3:00. In 1988, it was reissued as a longer version (5:16) with a rap by Terence "Astro" Wilson, and finally hit #1.
The 1969 Tony Tribe version caught on in England with a hooligan crowd known as "bovver boys." These guys typically sported shaved heads, heavy boots, and cropped pants held up by suspenders (or as they're called in England, "braces").

Tribe performed the song in September 1969 at a reggae festival held in London at Empire Pool; other acts on the bill included Desmond Dekker, Johnny Nash and Max Romeo. To show his support for the bovver boys who bought his record, Tribe wore suspenders for his performance. His cover of the song would later find its way onto various "skinhead reggae" playlists.

The black-and-white clip was directed by Bernard Rose, who worked on many of UB40's videos and also directed the original, bacchanalian "Relax" clip for Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
In America, a slower, string-laden version of the song made #70 Vic Dana (Liberty 56163) in 1970.
UB40's next #1 UK hit came in 1985 with another reggae-tinged cover of a song by an American artist: "I Got You Babe." They recorded the song with Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, who brought them on tour early in their career. This cover also made #28 in America.
Though Neil Diamond once said this is one of his favorite covers, he has, according to Ali Campbell, never expressed this to UB40.

"I'm sure it annoys Neil no end that people think it's our song," Campbell surmised to Billboard: "Of course he did make a lot of money out of it, but he's never sent us a card saying thanks or anything like that."
UB40's version has such an upbeat tone many listeners may overlook the melancholic lyrical content. "It's actually a very sad song," Campbell pointed out. "It's all about a bloke drinking his sorrows away."

Despite this, the reggae beat makes for an uplifting experience. "It's the drum and the bass that says it all," the UB40 singer added. "The thing about reggae music is that it is elating. It elates me when I'm listening to it, whether old reggae or new reggae. That's why I love it. It changes the mood of everything."


Info obtained from songfacts.com

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