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. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person who finds that drinking red wine is the only way to forget his woes.

"Red Red Wine"
Single by Neil Diamond
from the album Just for You
B-side"Red Rubber Ball"
Released1967 (1967)
Genre
Length2:42
LabelBang
Songwriter(s)Neil Diamond
Producer(s)
Neil Diamond singles chronology
"New Orleans"
(1968)		 "Red Red Wine"
(1967)		 "Brooklyn Roads"
(1968)

UB40 recorded a cover version in 1983 that went to No. 1 in the UK and was moderately successful in the United States. It was rereleased in 1988 and went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Neil Diamond version

When Diamond left the Bang Records label in 1968, the label continued to release his singles, often adding newly recorded instruments and background vocals to album tracks from his two albums for Bang. For the "Red Red Wine" single, Bang added a background choir without Diamond's involvement or permission. Diamond's version reached No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968. Billboard described the single as a "compelling, original folk-flavored ballad."[3] Cash Box called it a "softie featuring a melancholy tale by a figure drowning his sorrow" with "dramatic vocal performance in a neatly styled arrangement."[4]

A live version was released on Diamond's The Greatest Hits (1966–92), but the 1968 single version has never been issued on a vinyl album or CD. However, according to the liner notes in the booklet included in the 1996 box set In My Lifetime, the version of "Red Red Wine" erroneously indicates it is “from Bang single 556” but it is really the original, non-overdubbed mono album master of the track. A review of the original 1996 release of this box set show Diamond also released a live version on Hot August Night (but not as a single.)

Several artists covered the song shortly after Diamond's recording was released:

  • In 1968, Dutch singer Peter Tetteroo (from the band Tee-Set) had a hit with a version that reached No. 6 on the Dutch Top 40 chart.
  • Jamaican-born singer Tony Tribe recorded a reggae version of the song in 1969 that reached No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] It became Trojan Records' first chart hit.[6]
  • Vic Dana's cover became his last Hot 100 hit, peaking at No. 72 in June 1970.

Charts
Chart (1968) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7] 62

UB40 version
"Red Red Wine"
Single by UB40
from the album Labour of Love
B-side"Sufferin'"
ReleasedAugust 8, 1983 (1983-08-08)
Recorded1982
GenreReggae
Length
  • 5:20 (album version)
  • 3:01 (short version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Neil Diamond
Producer(s)
UB40 singles chronology
"I've Got Mine"
(1983)		 "Red Red Wine"
(1983)		 "Please Don't Make Me Cry"
(1983)

UB40 recorded a version of "Red Red Wine" for their album of cover versions, Labour of Love. According to UB40 member Astro, the group's former vocalist and trumpet player, the band was only familiar with Tony Tribe's version and did not realize that the writer and original singer was Neil Diamond. Astro told the Financial Times, "Even when we saw the writing credit which said 'N Diamond,' we thought it was a Jamaican artist called Negus Diamond."[8]

UB40's version features a lighter, reggae-style flavor compared to that of Diamond's somber, acoustic ballad. The UB40 version adds a toasted verse by Astro, opening: "Red Red Wine, you make me feel so fine/You keep me rocking all of the time," which was edited from the single that reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1983 and No. 34 in the U.S. in March 1984.

In 1988, UB40 performed the song at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert. Soon after, program director Guy Zapoleon of Phoenix-based KZZP[9] placed the full version, including Astro's "rap", on the station's playlist, and it soon became the station's most popular song. With UB40 ready to release Labour of Love II, A&M Records promotion man Charlie Minor asked UB40 to hold off on releasing the album so that the label could reissue and promote "Red Red Wine." On the Billboard Hot 100 chart of October 15, 1988, the song hit No. 1.[10] In September 2014, the Official Charts Company announced that sales in the UK had reached one million.[11]

Neil Diamond has stated that UB40's "Red Red Wine" is among his favorite covers of his songs.[12] He frequently performs the song live using the UB40 reggae arrangement rather than that of the original version.

Weekly charts
Chart (1983–2001) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] 2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] 5
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 1
Denmark (Hitlisten)[16] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[20] 10
South Africa (Springbok Radio/Radio Orion)[21] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 14
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 8
UK Singles (OCC)[24] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 1
West Germany (Official German Charts)[26] 12

Year-end charts
Chart (1983) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[27] 32
Chart (1988) Position
United States (Billboard)[28][29] 39

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Gold 50,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[31] Gold 45,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] 2× Platinum 1,245,324[34]
United States (RIAA)[35] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other cover versions

References
  1. Molanphy, Chris (April 28, 2017). "The Rogue DJ Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  2. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Neil Diamond". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 233-234. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  3. "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. March 16, 1968. p. 78. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  4. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 16, 1968. p. 16. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 565. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. "History - Trojan Records".
  7. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 237.
  8. Lisi, Brian (January 16, 2017). "The untold story behind UB40's hit reggae song 'Red Red Wine' - NY Daily News". New York Daily News.
  9. Molanphy, Chris (April 28, 2017). "Hit Parade: The Rogue DJ Edition". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  10. "35 Years After 'Red Red Wine,' UB40's 'Labour of Love' Continues". Billboard. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  11. Moss, Liv (September 22, 2014). "Now That's What I Call A Million tracklisting revealed!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  12. "Singer/songwriter Neil Diamond here, AMA!". Reddit. October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  13. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 316. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and June 19, 1988.
  14. "UB40 – Red Red Wine" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  15. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4468." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  16. "Danish Charts Archive?". November 11, 2009.
  17. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Red Red Wine". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  18. "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 39, 1983". Archived from the original on September 14, 2008.
  19. "UB40 – Red Red Wine". Top 40 Singles.
  20. "UB40 – Red Red Wine". VG-lista.
  21. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (U)". Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  22. "UB40 – Red Red Wine". Singles Top 100.
  23. "UB40 – Red Red Wine". Swiss Singles Chart.
  24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  25. "UB40 Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  26. "Offiziellecharts.de – UB40 – Red Red Wine" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  27. "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  28. "1988 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 52. December 24, 1988. p. Y-20.
  29. "Billboard Top 100 – 1988". Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  30. "Canadian single certifications – UB40 – Red Red Wine". Music Canada.
  31. "Danish single certifications – UB40 – Red Red Wine". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  32. "New Zealand single certifications – UB40 – Red Red Wine". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  33. "British single certifications – UB40 – Red Red Wine". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  34. Copsey, Rob (September 19, 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company.
  35. "American single certifications – UB40 – Red Red Wine". Recording Industry Association of America.
  36. "JIMMY JAMES & THE VAGABONDS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
  37. "TONY TRIBE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
  38. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 70.
  39. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 110.
  40. "Duke & Jones & Louis Theroux Capitalize On A Viral Trend With New Song "Jiggle Jiggle"". Genius. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
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