This 9 CD set contains all of Siffre’s albums – LABI SIFFRE (1970), THE SINGER AND THE SONG (1971), CRYING LAUGHING LOVING LYING (1972), FOR THE CHILDREN (1973), REMEMBER MY SONG (1975), HAPPY (1975), SO STRONG (1988), MAN OF REASON (1991), and THE LAST SONGS (1998) – all in CD wallet facsimiles of the original album sleeves. Amongst 146 tracks are 44 bonus tracks, many making their debut on CD, and the “Happy” album is reissued here for the first time ever.

Celebrated singer-songwriter Labi Siffre released his self-titled debut album in 1970, issuing a further five albums during the 70s, scoring hit singles with “It Must Be Love”, “Crying Laughing Loving Lying” and “Watch Me”. Madness took their cover version of “It Must Be Love” to # 4 in 1981, and it’s been a staple ingredient of celebrations ever since. “Crying Laughing Loving Lying” was covered by both Olivia Newton-John and Rod Stewart.

After a break in the early 80s, Labi returned in 1987 with the anti-apartheid anthem “(Something Inside) So Strong” (UK # 4), a song perennially appreciated around the world, and a favourite of Nelson Mandela. The song was covered by a gospel choir as a tribute to Rosa Parks. The “So Strong” album was followed by “Man Of Reason” and Labi’s last album “The Last Songs”. He remastered this album for this package, and also included two new versions.

Labi’s music has been sampled many times. Most notably, “I Got The…” was sampled by Eminem 1998 for his worldwide hit “My Name Is”, as well as by Jay-Z the year before. “My Song” was sampled by Kanye West for “I Wonder” in 2007, and “The Vulture” by Jazz Liberatorz featuring Aloe Blacc in 2003. More recently Labi’s original recordings have been featured in ads, including “Bless The Telephone” (Tesco Mobile), “My Song” (Puma, Superbowl LIV, and the University of Arizona) and “It Must Be Love” (Co-Op recycling ad).

The 32-page booklet contains a new 7000-word note based on interviews with Labi in 2020, as well as photos from his own collection, plus all the credits for the albums.

Labi was recently the subject of a major BBC TV documentary, part of Alan Yentob’s celebrated “Imagine…” series. Filmed in Spain at Labi’s house, the documentary attracted a lot of acclaim from all quarters, and also featured this box set, which Yentob described as “fantastic”.

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