I've got mine - UB40

UB40 was between albums when they released 'I've got mine' in 1983. It was just months before they hit the big time with their smash hit 'Red red wine', but while it was still very much a UB40 track -  reggae rhythm and all - it was more dynamic than songs like 'Love is all is alright' and 'Food for thought'.

I picked up this single at work, oddly enough. In the 'little white library' colleagues exchange books, but sometimes cd's and vinyl pop up as well. It's the newest way to add to my collection, I guess!

My collection: 7" single no. 5876
Found: Little white library, November 2016
Cost: 0
Tracks: 'I've got mine' / 'Dubmobile'

Listen to the song

Kingston town - UB40

'Kingston town' was originally released in 1970 by Lord Creator, a calypso and soca artist from Jamaica. In 1989, the song was covered by UB40 on their album 'Labour of love II', another album filled with covers in their familiar reggae stylee.

The UB40 version reached number 1 in France and the Netherlands, and was a top 10 hit in many other European countries. I never really liked the song until very recently, and so I decided to snap up a copy after all.

My collection: 7" single no. 5480
Found: Kringloop Hebbes, Den Haag, July 25, 2014
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Kingston town' / 'Lickwood'

If it happens again - UB40

'If it happens again' is one of my favourite tunes by UB40, and a lot of that has to do with the last few minutes of the track. So I was hoping that the 12" version would offer more of that. Well it doesn't, but that's okay because this dub mix is quite interesting too.

It was the seventh top 10 hit in the UK for UB40. It peaked at number 9 in the UK singles chart, but did even better in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 7 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 12" single no. 375
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 1999
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'If it happens again (12" version)' / 'Nkomo a gogo'

Don't break my heart - UB40

This is not the best 12" remix in the history of mankind - in fact, it's rather lame. It features the single version of UB40's 'Don't break my heart', which fades out at the end while a different track fades in: it's an instrumental roughly based on the tempo and key of the song but doesn't really belong here. I think many people must have felt a bit cheated when they played this record after buying it.

My collection: 12" single no. 376
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 2000
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Don't break my heart (12" version)' / 'Mek ya rok (12" version)'

Food for thought - UB40

'Food for thought' was the first single release by British reggae band UB40. The song was an attempt to publicize and condemn the Ethiopian famine in Africa, comparing it with the Western over-indulgent celebration of Christmas, a full five years before Band Aid brought the subject to widespread attention.

It was released as a double A side along with 'King', which was a song written about the late Martin Luther King, questioning the lost direction of his followers and the state of mourning of a nation after his death. The single reached number 4 in the UK singles chart early in 1980 and number 1 in New Zealand a few months later.

My collection: 7" single no. 4813
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Food for thought' / 'King'

Red red wine - UB40

'Red red wine' was originally written and recorded by Neil Diamond in 1968. Tony Tribe, a Jamaican singer, recorded a reggae version in 1969. It was this version, apparently, that inspired UB40 to record a cover version of the song for their 1983 album 'Labour of love'. Their version featured a lighter, reggae-style flavor compared to Diamond's somber, acoustic ballad.

UB40's version of 'Red red wine' reached number 1 in the UK singles chart and the Dutch Top 40 in the summer of 1983.

My collection: 7" single no. 4110
Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, October 17, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Red red wine' / 'Sufferin''

Where did I go wrong - UB40

'Where did I go wrong' was another single by UB40 from their 1988 self-titled album. The track was written and produced by the band.

While it reached number 26 in the UK singles chart, it was a bigger hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 4.

My collection: 7" single no. 688
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1988
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Where did I go wrong' / 'Where did I go wrong (instrumental)'

I would do for you - UB40

'I would do for you' was a 1989 single by UB40. As they continued to make music well into the Nineties and Noughties, the band became increasingly uninspired, and personally I think this is one of their last great songs.

It was not particulalrly successful, considering it only made number 45 in the UK singles chart and number 33 in the Dutch Top 40. They opted for cover versions to keep their career going: their next album was 'Labour of love II', a second collection of covers with a few hit singles drawn from it.

My collection: 7" single no. 928
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, July 1, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'I would do for you' / 'Hit it'

Don't break my heart - UB40

After UB40 scored a massive hit with 'I got you babe' (a duet with Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders), they released a song that I thought was about a thousand times better than that piece of outdated drivel. 'Don't break my heart' was composed by the band, as opposed to the aforementioned cover version.

They managed to reach number 3 in the UK singles chart with this, plus number 13 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 349
Found: 1985
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Don't break my heart' / 'Mek ya rok'

If it happens again - UB40

'If it happens again' was the seventh top 10 hit in the UK for UB40. It peaked at number 9 in the UK singles chart, but did even better in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 7 in the Dutch Top 40.

The song may be one of the most catchy ones in the whole UB40 catalogue. The brass section excels while the refrain is instantly recognisable. Not so the sleeve: I wanted to have this song fo a few years until finally one day I turned over the sleeve (the title of the song is listed on the back only) and finally realised that this was it.

My collection: 7" single no. 952
Found: All that music, Leiden, August 18, 1989
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'If it happens again' / 'Nkomo a gogo'

Please don't make me cry - UB40

After UB40 had a big success with their cover version of 'Red red wine' (originally recorded by Neil Diamond), they released 'Please don't make me cry'. Both singles were taken from the group's 1983 album 'Labour of love', a collection of covers. The B-side of this single is a cover of Bob Marley's 'Keep on moving'.

This single peaked at number 10 on the UK singles chart and number 4 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 817
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, May 13, 1989
Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Please don't make me cry' / 'Keep on moving'

Love is all is all right - UB40

Although this track sounds slightly rudimentary, it is the seventh single by UB40, released in 1982. 'Love is all is all right' is one of the most laidback reggae songs I ever heard in my life, which was part of the appeal.

The single reached number 29 in the UK singles chart and number 22 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2405
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Love is all is all right' / 'One-a-penny'

Food for thought - UB40

'Food for thought' was originally the debut single of UB40 in 1980. It was an attempt to publicize and condemn the Ethiopian famine in Africa, comparing it with the Western over-indulgent celebration of Christmas, a full five years before Band Aid brought the subject to widespread attention.

This live version was released in early 1983 and taken from the album 'UB40 live'. It was a big hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 4. It was their first top 5 hit in the Netherlands. A few months later, their next single 'Red red wine' would become a charttopper.

My collection: 7" single no. 3690

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 5, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Food for thought (live)' / 'The piper calls the tune (live)'