Ub40’s eighth studio album, released in the US on A&M (It was on DEP International in the UK). Includes the Dusty Springfield cover “Breakfast In Bed” with Chrissie Hynde. At this point they were mega stars, not the early political unknown band I’d loved in the early 80s, but I still think this album sounds great and is peak pop UB40.

The cover are is a series of paintings from “Surrogate Memorial Heads” by Steve Masterson:

Steve Masterson’s SURROGATE MEMORIAL HEADS are eight anonymous portraits. The paintings don’t depict individuals. Instead they are surrogates for all the nameless victims of the catalogue of avoidable disasters which makes up human history. . . . The substitute for all those who have died in other people’s battles fought for other people’s profits

Dick Hebdige, in the liner notes

They also cite Walter Benjamin on the Angel of History in the liner notes, so I guess they still were the intellectual / activist / political band even after the massive success of Red Red Wine. I’d go on to be a PhD in literature but turns out I’d read (some) Walter Benjamin in high school – so to speak.

My copy via Beverly Coin & Jewel