1970-1971

Description

Singer, songwriter, humanitarian, activist, poet, philosopher, artist... As music legend Labi Siffre releases his first album of new songs in 28 years, Demon celebrates his beginnings with this 3-CD box set tracing his meteoric rise. To say Labi is experiencing a kind of renaissance in 2026 is an understatement: last year, his poignant track "Bless The Telephone" alone accumulated 21 million streams, notably thanks to its use in a viral advertising campaign for the dating app Bumble. Indeed, the TikTok/Instagram generation has been touched by millions by Labi's music, featured in the cult film "The Holdovers" and iconic series like "Doctor Who", "Better Call Saul", and "Hacks". "1970-1971" brings together his first two studio albums, "Labi Siffre" and "The Singer And The Song", along with a bonus disc of B-sides and rarities originally released in the now out-of-print "My Song" box set from 2020. With original compositions like "Make My Day" and "A Little More Line", and touching covers of "Words" by the Bee Gees and "Maybe" by Harry Nilsson, the first album, "Labi Siffre", released in 1970, revealed an exceptional talent. Its successor, "The Singer And The Song", released the same year, offered an even more accomplished set of original compositions, including "When I'm On My Own You Are On My Mind", "Thank Your Lucky Star", and, of course, "Bless The Telephone". Labi's future looks bright, with hit covers by Madness ("It Must Be Love"), anthems like "(Something Inside) So Strong", samples by Eminem and Dr. Dre (on "My Name Is..."), and an ever-growing Gen Z fanbase. But this is where it all began.