Ali Campbell Adds Reggae Spin To Some Great British Classics
Friday, 17 September 2010
Written by Jon Stickler
Ali Campbell, the legendary voice of UB40, releases his fourth solo album ‘Great British Songs’ a collection of iconic British hits reinterpreted in a reggae style.
Ali has reworked hits from the 60s and 70s starting with 1964’s ‘You Really Got Me Going’ by The Kinks and The Beatles’ ‘Hard Day’s Night' and including songs by Rolling Stones, The Hollies, Rod Stewart, Free, and The Who and, last but not least, 1978’s 'Baker Street' by Gerry Rafferty.
Arguably a brave move, but one that appealed to the man whose distinctive voice has graced over 40 top 40 UK singles and 4 number 1 world-wide singles: “It’s always daunting taking on classic songs of this nature as you want to do them justice and at the same time give them a new feel – a reggae feel in this case. I chose songs that were iconic but they are not “obvious” choices that you would assume would work in a reggae style. How do you make ‘Paint it Black’ reggae? That is the appeal in some ways – that it’s not something you can imagine before you hear it.” he explains.
The track-listing for 'Great British Songs' can be seen below.
1. 'Got To Get You Into My Life' – The Beatles
2. 'Paint It Black' - Rolling Stones
3. 'He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother' – The Hollies
4. 'Love Is The Drug' – Roxy Music
5. 'Honky Tonk Women' – Rolling Stones
6. 'Carrie Anne' – The Hollies
7. 'You Wear It Well' – Rod Stewart
8. 'Squeeze Box' – The Who
9. 'All Right Now' – Free
10. 'You Really Got Me' – The Kinks
11. 'A Hard Day’s Night' – The Beatles
12. 'Baker Street' – Gerry Rafferty
“This album feels a lot like the ‘Labour of Love’ series that I did with UB40 – except instead of covering old reggae songs, these are hits from British popular music culture. I really enjoyed making it and loved the challenge of taking iconic songs by artists like the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Kinks and putting reggae and dancehall beats to them.”
Recorded in Jamaica and London, Ali had just completed mixing the album when he collapsed and was taken to hospital. Having originally believed that he had flu, Ali was diagnosed with the Epstein Barr virus and advised by doctors to rest for two months. Subsequently all gigs in September and October have been postponed while he recuperates.
‘Great British Songs’ by Ali Campbell is release on October 18th. For more info check out Ali's official website www.alicampbell.net
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