A Real Labour of Love

This article is about the UB40 album. For the Hue and Cry song, see Labour of Love (song). For the stage play, see Labour of Love (play). For other uses, see Labor of Love.

A Real Labour of Love is the second studio album by UB40 featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey.^[2] It peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, making it the highest-charting UB40 album since Promises and Lies, which reached number-one in 1993.^[3]

A Real Labour of Love
Studio album by UB40 featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey
Released	2 March 2018 (2018-03-02)
Recorded	2017
Genre	Reggae
Length	72:39
Label	Universal
Producer	Ali Campbell[1]
UB40 featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey chronology
Getting Over the Storm (2013) A Real Labour of Love (2018) For the Many (2019)

Background

In 2008, Ali Campbell unceremoniously quit UB40 after 30 years as their lead singer; he was soon followed by founding member, keyboardist Mickey Virtue. Trumpeter and toaster Astro left the band in 2013. In August 2014, Campbell announced that the trio had reunited to record a new album, Silhouette, under the name "The Legendary Voice of UB40 Ali Campbell reunited with Astro & Mickey".^[4] He said of his brother Duncan's singing, "I sat back for five years and watched my brother Duncan murdering my songs. We're saving the legacy".^[5] They record under the name 'UB40 featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey' after legal action preventing them from calling the band UB40.

Their first release was The Hits of UB40 Live in 2015. In 2016, their Unplugged album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart.^[6]

A Real Labour of Love was released in March 2018, an album much in the vein of UB40's Labour of Love series of albums.^[7] It reached number two on the UK Albums Chart, and entered the Billboard Reggae Albums chart at number one.^[6][8]

Track listing

1. "Making Love" (Lou Ragland, Norman E. Scott) – 4:13
2. "She Loves Me Now" (Willie Lindo) – 4:31
3. "Strive" (Edmund Carl Aiken, Jr.) – 4:42
4. "Here I Come" (Barrington Levy) – 3:41
5. "Telephone Love / Rumours" (Medley) (Pt.1 - Carlton Hines, Mikey Bennett, Hopeton Lindo, Pt. 2 - Hines) – 7:52
6. "How Could I Leave" (Dennis Brown) – 6:01
7. "Ebony Eyes" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) – 3:39
8. "Hush Darling" (Gregory Isaacs) – 4:41
9. "Hard Times" (Pablo Gad, Jeb Loy Nichols) – 4:42
10. "Moving Away" (Ken Boothe) – 3:35
11. "International Herb" (Joseph Hill) – 3:23
12. "A Place in the Sun" (Ronald Miller, Bryan Wells) – 4:51
13. "Tune In" (Calvin Scott) – 4:21
14. "Once Ago" (Isaacs) – 3:45
15. "In the Rain" (Anthony Hester) – 4:13
16. "Under Me Sleng Teng" (Ian Smith, Lloyd James, Noel Davey) – 4:23

Personnel

• Astro – vocals
• Ali Campbell – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Don Chandler – bass
• Winston Delandro – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Colin Graham – trumpet
• Matthew Hoy – backing vocals
• John Johnson – trombone
• Michael Martin – keyboards
• Winston Rose – saxophone
• Paul Slowley – drums
• Mickey Virtue – keyboards

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9]	152
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10]	199
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11]	67
UK Albums (OCC)[12]	2
US Reggae Albums (Billboard)[13]	1

References

1. "UB40 (2) Featuring Ali*, Astro* & Mickey* - A Real Labour Of Love". Discogs. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
2. "UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey 'A Real Labour Of Love' The New Album Released March 2nd On UMe". PR Newswire. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
3. "Soundtrack The Greatest Showman matches Ed Sheeran's chart run". Irish Examiner. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
4. "Ali Campbell – The Legendary Voice Of UB40 Reunited with Astro & Mickey release new album "Silhouette" ahead of Australian tour in December". Cooking Vinyl. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
5. "Rival band remains true to its roots in reggae". Yorkshire Post. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
6. "UB40 FT ALI/ASTRO/MICKEY", Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2018
7. Campbell, Howard (2018) "Ali Campbell, friends put twist on classics", Jamaica Observer, 22 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018
8. Jackson, Kevin (2018) "UB40 spin-off tops reggae chart", Jamaica Observer, 13 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018
9. "Ultratop.be – UB40 feat. Ali, Astro & Mickey – A Real Labour of Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
10. "Ultratop.be – UB40 feat. Ali, Astro & Mickey – A Real Labour of Love" (in French). Hung Medien.
11. "Dutchcharts.nl – UB40 feat. Ali, Astro & Mickey – A Real Labour of Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
12. "UB40 ft Ali/Astro/Mickey | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
13. "UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey Chart History (Reggae Albums)". Billboard.