UB40 - King/Food For ThoughtAs the year draws to a close, just time to mention one that nearly got away. UB40 came onto the charts scene (ergo public awareness) back in March 1980 with this cracking double A side which actually reached number 4 a month later. Not bad for a record which one one side tackles the subject of famine in Ethiopia and on the other the late Martin Luther King, "questioning the lost direction of the deceased leader's followers and the state of mourning of a nation after his death". Not to mention the name of the band itself which came from the 'unemployment benefit' form used when signing up for the dole, an increasingly common thing in those early Thatcher years. Neat.
Actually I'm not quite sure whether understood the message behind Food For Thought which was a rather jolly danceable-reggae thing, whereas King is a lot more obvious, and thus was played much less (banned?) on Radio 1 and I personally prefer it with all that skanky dub thang going on.
Brum's UB40 were certainly one of the UK's first 'mix race' bands and came up with some damn good music with their first two albums (My Way of Thinking, The Earth Dies Screaming, One in
Ten..) combining social issues with a very pleasant bit of reggae, which could even get yer Granny's toes tapping. Pity they went too soft and commercial after that with the Red Red Wine kind of dross. (Why did that seem to happen with so many interesting bands back then?) Get their 1982 Singles Album for the better stuff (even though I am rather partial to 1986's Rat in Me Kitchen..)Totally pointless "video" for King here but just sit back a bit and enjoy da sound...
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