As the biggest selling reggae band in the world, UB40 have invoked suspicion among cultists with their open romance of the mass market. Their Labour Of Love series is seen as a flagrant sell-out, but the music, lovingly crafted around Ali Campbell’s honeyed vocals, tells a different story. There’s no mistaking the warmth, sincerity and emotional commitment to the songs. So “Red Red Wine” may have reached karaoke overkill, but their mission to praise lost heroes like The Melodians, The Paragons and Slim Smith is as strong as ever on 1999’s third instalment. A fourth volume wouldn’t go amiss.
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