Labour Of Love (National Album Day 2024)

The first album to take UB40 to the top of the UK charts, 1983’s Labour of Love followed a stunning run that had seen the group’s previous three albums go Top 5 alongside eight UK Top 40 singles. With their cover of Neil Diamond’s ‘Red Red Wine’ making the No.1 spot ahead of the album’s release, the group had perfectly set the stage for their first-ever collection of cover versions. Spawning a further three UK hits in the shape of ‘Please Don’t Make Me Cry’ (UK No.10), ‘Many Rivers to Cross’ (UK No.16) and ‘Cherry Oh Baby’ (UK No.12), Labour of Love also inspired four sequels: 1989’s Labour of Love II (UK No.3), 1998’s Labour of Love III (UK No.8), 2010’s Labour of Love IV (UK No.24) and 2018’s A Real Labour of Love (UK No.2), the latter of which was credited to UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey. A crucial part of British reggae history, the original Labour of Love saw all the hard work pay off for this much-loved outfit, and it now returns to vinyl in an exclusive blue pressing.