Finding UB40’s debut LP ‘Signing Off’ in near mint condition (Italian import) at a flea market was the reward of months & months of hunting for that elusive great vinyl record. Over the years I was intrigued by this British reggae band with the odd name. The album cover is strikingly iconic, representing the front and back portion of the UK Unemployment Benefit form 40 or ‘Ubby.’ I have followed UB40’s career over the years, and casual music fans likely associate the band with ‘Red Red Wine,’ their break-out hit from ‘Labor of Love’ in 1983.
It was with eagerness that I listened to this entire LP for the FIRST time ever! What a GEM of a record! I had heard of a few ‘singles’ from this LP, but nothing prepared me for the aural assault and accomplished musicianship of this band, unsigned to any major label at the time. This LP is an excellent example of what fuels my passion for vinyl, with the entire record being greater than the sum of the individual songs.
This eight member multi-cultural band was formed in Birmingham UK in 1978, while they were struggling with unemployment, learning to play their instruments and performing local gigs. It was at such a pub that Chrissie Hynde saw UB40 perform and invited them to be an opening act for her band, the Pretenders.
Original Vinyl LP Recording
‘Signing Off’ was recorded on local independent label ‘Graduate records’ in three sessions (21-24Dec 79, 31Mar-10Apr 80 & 16June-1July 80). A bonus three song 12’ EP record was included and recorded 18-19-20 July 80. Musically the band incorporated a sophisticated combination of synthesizer, dub, reggae, psychedelic guitar and saxophone stylings to create a unique sound. Lyrically the songs are topical, political and reflective of the tough angry times the young band members grew up in.
Side 1 Song 1
Tyler opens with a bang (and reverb), setting the tone for the rest of the LP. The rhythm is pronounced, with abrupt false stops and the lyrics confront racial injustice. The song
was written about a young black American Gary Tyler, who was convicted of murdering a 13-year-old white boy. “Tyler is guilty, the white judge has said so / They show him no mercy, they won't let him go”
King was the band’s first single and a hit, cracking the UK Top 10 without backing of a major label. The music is dream-like and hypnotic, with chorus spoken as in a fog. The song was written about Martin Luther King, Jr., questioning the direction of his followers. ”King, where are your people now? / Chained and pacified”
12 Bar is a rocking, upbeat infectious dub instrumental with some vocal toasting from Astro. I dare anyone to sit still through this purely joyous tune.
Burden of Shame is a stunning admission of British guilt for past sins (ie colonization/imperialism). "I'm a British subject, not proud of it / While I carry the burden of shame". The music is downbeat and somber until the last several minutes where it kicks up in a frenzy of emotion. So ends Side 1, just as it began, with a bang!
Side 2 continues with Adella, a sweet sunny instrumental (homage to a girlfriend perhaps?) featuring smooth saxophone. One can hear birds at beginning of song, as it was recorded outdoors!!
I Think It’s Going to Rain Today written by Randy Newman was included as a second single. The tone is somewhat somber and the lyrics ironic; ”Human kindness is overflowing / And I think it's going to rain today“
25% is yet another instrumental, but more morose this time. Could the 25% refer to the high unemployment rate amongst the youth in the UK at that turbulent time? Recent fiscal measures in UK have led to highest youth unemployment rate not seen since 1977 when punk rock exploded!
Food for Thought was an attempt to raise awareness of the Ethiopian famine and criticize politicians for their role in allowing it to happen: “Ivory Madonna, dying in the dust / Waiting for the manna, coming from the west.” Remember this was four years before Band-Aids “Do They Know It’s Christmas.” Released as a double A-side single with King.
Little by Little is a direct affront on the inequality of the socio-economic class system, like other good reggae rebel music such as ‘Them Belly Full, But We Hungry’ by Bob Marley. The lyrics leave little to the imagination:
“Little by little by little
And stone by stone
Rich man’s mountain
Comes crumbling down
Poor boy sleeps on straw
The rich boy sleeps in bed
That fat boy fills his belly
My poor boy’s a dead”
Signing Off is a fourth instrumental, a fitting closing, with an incredible upbeat rhythm that punctuates the song. Each of the band musicians is cleverly given 10-25 sec solos to ‘sign off’ from the LP, in following sequence: dub/bass, drum, guitar, sax, synthesizer/keyboards. The tongue-in-cheek title may also refer to the band members no longer requiring unemployment benefits, or signing off on the UB40 form.
Extended Play 45 rpm Bonus Vinyl Record
After recording the 10 tracks for the LP, the band still had more material that they were anxious to record. Within less than a month, a bonus three track 12’ EP was completed.
Madam Medusa is a most damning indictment on Margaret Thatcher’s unpopular economic and political policies. In my mind, this song is as subversive as “Stand Down Margaret’ by the English Beat or even ‘God Save the Queen’ by Sex Pistols. Musically, the 12 min song expresses anger/anguish with a relentless reggae beat and dub echo punctuated by a prominent sax. The lyrics don’t mince words:
“Run for your life before she eat you alive.” The final 4-5mins shifts to dub with refrain
“Run for life…mash up the place” repeated as if in a trance.
Click
Madam Medusa Link for full lyrics.
Strange Fruit is a cover of the 1939 classic sung first by Billie Holiday about racism and lynching of African Americans. The tone is slower and more somber: “Blood on the leaves and blood at the roots / Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze.”
Reefer Madness is a fifth and final instrumental, a joyous up tempo tune with a repeated hook. An effective use of alternating percussion, sax and drum as well as horn/synthesizer inflections.
Assessment
In conclusion, I am extremely impressed with the unique sound and assured musicianship of young unemployed men who felt they had a better chance at success through music. The twist and turns, stops and starts and unrelenting trance-like groove of the music still sounds fresh and different today. And the angry blunt attacks on politics, poverty, unemployment are still heard today from angry protesters against Greece austerity measures, US housing crisis or more generally against the 1% that control the world’s wealth. Thirty years after UB40’s ‘Signing Off’ send off stark message of concern/warning, sadly not much has changed at all!
LP Rating: 5/5
Vinyl Rating: NM
