UB40 – Red Red Wine 1983

Details
Title | UB40 – Red Red Wine 1983 |
Author | Cal Vid |
Duration | 2:05 |
File Format | MP3 / MP4 |
Original URL | https://youtube.com/watch?v=NJCMNc3qNIA |
Description
UB40 recorded their rendition of Neil Diamond 1966 composition for their album of cover versions, Labour of Love. According to the band, they were only familiar with Tony Tribe's version (they apparently didn't realize that the writer, credited simply as "Diamond", was in fact Neil Diamond), and their version featured a lighter, reggae-style flavor compared to Diamond's somber, acoustic ballad.
The UB40 version adds a toasted verse by UB40 member Astro, opening: "Red Red Wine, you make me feel so fine/You keep me rocking all of the time", which was edited from the single that reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in August 1983 and number 34 in the United States in March 1984 but not from the version that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 a few months after being performed at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert in 1988. In September 2014, the Official Charts Company announced that sales in the UK had reached one million.
Songwriter Neil Diamond has stated that it is one of his favorite covers of his songs. Diamond frequently performs the song live using the UB40 reggae arrangement as opposed to the original version.