It’s no surprise that founding member of UB40 Robin Campbell still loves listening to reggae music.

“It’s the music that was the soundtrack to our lives from when we were teenagers,” said Campbell.

He told Sammy J about how a kid from Birmingham fell in love with reggae music, and how UB40 keeps their vibe going after 30 years.

UB40’s Labour Of Love IV – track by track by Robin Campbell

Consisting of 14 of UB40’s favourite reggae classics, and featuring new singer Duncan Campbell, we asked vocalist/ guitarist Robin Campbell to guide us through the tracks.

 

 

1. DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU CRY. A classic Rocksteady tune, written by Bob Andy for, I believe, Ken Boothe, but the version I love is sung by John Holt. Andy was a founder member of the wonderful vocal group The Paragons and was later joined by John Holt as lead vocalist.

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2. GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU NOW. Written by Milton Kellen, originally sung by Teresa Brewer in 1952 and later covered by The Vibrations, Skeeter Davis and Viola Wills among many others. But the version we covered is the Rocksteady one by The Melodians with different verse lyrics and melody. We also added a rap by Astro.

3. BRING IT ON HOME TO ME. Written and recorded in 1961 by the brilliant Sam Cooke, who’s singing style was a massive influence on the Rocksteady vocalists of Jamaica. Sung as a duet with Lou Rawls, who wasn’t even credited on the original version.

4. CREAM PUFF. An African-American singer born in Texas, Johnny Nash travelled to Jamaica in ’68, where he fell in love with Rocksteady. Over the next seven years he had hits in the UK & US, and was the first non-Jamaican artist to record Bob Marley tunes, one of which was Stir it Up in 1972. The B-side was the self-penned Cream Puff.

5. EASY SNAPPIN’. The original boogie version was written and recorded in 1959 by Theophilus Beckford for Coxone Dodd’s first commercial release, but has been re-recorded in different styles, many times, by the same artist. An enduring classic.

6. HOLIDAY. A Rocksteady classic by The Paragons, written by lead vocalist John Holt and recorded for Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label. Wonderful.

The Rule of Three with UB40's Robin Campbell - ABC listen

7. CLOSE TO ME. A child star of the Ska period, Delroy Wilson had even greater success in the Rocksteady era with one of the first Rocksteady records, Dancing Mood, in 1966 followed by Close to Me in the same year. Both songs record on Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One Label.

8. MAN NEXT DOOR. You may have gathered by now that UB40 are massive Paragons fans! Another classic Rocksteady tune written by lead vocalist John Holt & Garth ‘Tyrone’ Evans.

9. TRACKS OF MY TEARS. We didn’t only listen to Rocksteady and Reggae in the sixties. We also loved Tamla Motown, and Smokey Robinson as singer, writer and producer, was the king (and Vice President) of Motown. Recorded in ’65 with The Miracles, this is certainly one of his most enduring hits.

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10. TRUE TRUE TRUE. One of the many Curtis Mayfield-influenced Jamaican singers, the sweet voiced Ken Parker wrote and recorded this tune on the Treasure Isle label. Another Rocksteady classic.

11. BOOM SHACKA LACKA. Another Rocksteady star, Hopeton Lewis, had one of the earliest Rocksteady hits with Take it Easy in ’66. The song we’ve covered is his 1970 Jamaican Festival Song Winner, Boom Shacka Lacka, recorded with the chosen few on the Treasure Isle Label.

12.YOU’RE GONNA NEED ME. Written and recorded by Errol Dunkley in 1967 when he was only 15 or 16 years old. We had to drop the key by several semi-tones to enable Duncan to record it.

 

 

13. A LOVE I CAN FEEL. This was one of the first songs written and recorded by John Holt after he had left The Paragons to pursue a solo career. Another Studio One classic.

14. BABY WHY. An essential selection for any Rocksteady collection. Written and recorded by the excellent, but under-recorded, vocal group The Cables. Yet another nugget from the vaults of Studio One.