This song was originally by Neil Diamond in 1968. But if you ask me, his version of Red Red Wine was pretty terrible. It was kind of sad and depressing, and only ever made it as high as #62 on the Billboard Hot 100. Fifteen years later a British reggae band remade it, and the new rendition was light and happy and fun. But even then UB40’s take only reached #34 in 1984. However, in 1988 they gave it one more try, releasing it again as single with some “rap” lyrics in the middle (I feel weird calling it rap when we’re talking about a pop/reggae group from England), and this time it went all the way to #1. Here’s the first attempt minus the rap:
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About Mark Vandeusen