The Place to Be & Meet Together

Josh Hinton explains why this 2018 album has a vital message for Christians in 2025

Peace are a great band. Their first two albums sound-tracked my final year at uni, and when I saw them live it was so boisterous I nearly lost my shirt. But for some reason their third album left me cold, and I moved on to other obsessions.

Until last week. Standing on a station platform in the morning drizzle, I absently pressed play on 'Kindness is the New Rock and Roll', and the tunes hit me like an Avanti West Coast express. Try it for yourself.

This article is from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity section on Connecting with Culture

With these words, from the writers Dean, Riser and Weatherspoon, Jimmy Ruffin launched what was to become a Motown Records' Soul classic in the summer of 1966. The song captures the anguish and despair of losing a loved one. Jimmy says he felt a personal connection to the song, as he had lost his mother when he was young and had also experienced romantic heartbreak. He said that he sang the song with emotion and sincerity, hoping to touch the hearts of others. The song also reflects the social and political turmoil of the 1960s, when the US was involved in the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement was facing resistance.

Despair is the keynote in this song, in the third verse Ruffin sings .."I walk in shadows searching for light. Cold and alone, no comfort in sight. Hoping and praying for someone who cares. Always moving and going nowhere."