UB40 – Red Red Wine
“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” – reaching #62 on Billboard’s Hot100 Chart. UB40’s version was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, “Labour of Love” in August 1983 with “Sufferin” on the B-side.
UB40’s version of “Red Red Wine” reached the top of the charts in several countries, including the UK, US, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. It has since become one of the band’s signature songs and a classic of the reggae genre. In 1988, UB40 performed the song at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert. In September 2014, the Official Charts Company announced that sales in the UK had reached one million. Neil Diamond has stated that UB40’s “Red Red Wine” is among his favorite covers of his songs. He frequently performs the song live using the UB40 reggae arrangement rather than that of the original version
