UB40 – Red, Red Wine

“Red Red Wine” – Single by UB40 from the album Labour of Love
Released: August 8, 1983
Recorded: 1982
Songwriter: Neil Diamond

“Red Red Wine” is a song originally written, performed and recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967 that appears on his second studio album, Just for You. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person who finds that drinking red wine is the only way to forget his woes.

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.”

UB40’s “Red Red Wine” was revived in America in the summer of 1988 when the Phoenix radio station KKFR put it in rotation after featuring it on their “Most Popular Request Of The Week” segment. UB40’s promotion man, Charlie Minor, was miffed because the band was set to release their Chrissie Hynde collaboration “Breakfast In Bed” – already a hit in the UK – as a single in America, and he wanted that to be the focus.

As reported in the Los Angeles Times, the rival Phoenix station KZZP also started playing the song, which then spread to other stations around the country like a contagion. Accordingly, UB40’s label issued it as a single, and it climbed to #1 in October. “Breakfast In Bed” did get a single release but was buried under the wave of “Red Red Wine.”

In the music video, lead singer Ali Campbell is actually drinking beer, and not red wine. The video was filmed in a local Birmingham, England pub where you wouldn’t want to be caught drinking wine.

To avoid hiring extras, the band invited guys from a nearby factory to join them at the pub, graciously paying the bar bill in exchange for their services. It was shot in the morning, and by noon, most of these hired hands were blotto. According to various accounts, when they staggered back to work, they were fired on the spot, although later given their jobs back.

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.

Versiunea originală a fost scrisă de Neil Diamond în 1967 și a apărut pe albumul acestuia “Just For You”.
UB40 a înregistrat acest cântec că piesă reggae, fără să știe cine l-a compus. Deși, creditul pentru compoziție era pentru N. Diamond, ei au crezut că este vreun compozitor jamaican. Versiunea reggae, a ajuns pe locul 46 în UK.

În 1984 au mai înregistrat încă odată melodia, cu o durata de 3 minute, care a ajuns până pe locul 34 în US.

În 1988 au re-înregistrat din această melodie, într-o versiune mai lungă (5:16), cu un rap a lui Terence “Astro” Willimas, și în sfârșit a ajuns pe locul 1 în top-uri.
Acest video este versiunea din 1983.

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03:24

Lyrics:

[Hook:]
Red, red wine goes to my head
Makes me forget that I
Still need her so
Red, red wine
It’s up to you
All I can do, I’ve done
Memories won’t go
Memories won’t go
Red, red wine goes to my head
Makes me forget that I
Still need her so
Red, red wine
It’s up to you
All I can do, I’ve done
Memories won’t go
Memories won’t go

[Bridge]
I just thought, that with time
Thoughts of you would leave my head
I was wrong, now I find
Just one thing makes me forget

[Hook:]
Red, red wine
Stay close to me
Don’t let me be in love
It’s tearing apart
My blue, blue heart

[Bridge]
I just thought, that with time
Thoughts of you would leave my head
I was wrong, now I find
Just one thing makes me forget

[Hook:]
Red, red wine
Stay close to me
Don’t let me be in love
It’s tearing apart
My blue, blue heart

[Astro:]
Red red wine, you make me feel so fine
You keep me rockin’ all of the time
Red red wine, you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dollar when you’re just in my hand

Red red wine, you make me feel so sad
Any time I see you go, it make me feel bad
Red red wine, you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him Rizla pon the sweet Dep line

(Red red wine)
Red red wine, you give me whole heap of zing
Whole heap of zing, you make me do my own thing
(It’s up to you)
Red red wine, you really know how fi love
Your kind of lovin’ like a blessing from above

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