UB40

UB40
UB40 in May 2008
Background information
Origin	Birmingham, England, UK
Genres	Reggae fusion, Reggae, Dub
Years active	1978—present
Labels	Graduate Records Virgin Records A&M Records (US)
Associated acts	Chrissie Hynde, Maxi Priest, Afrika Bambaataa, Robert Palmer, Lady Saw, Hunterz and The Dhol Blasters
Website	ub40.co.uk
Members
James Brown Duncan Campbell Robin Campbell Earl Falconer Norman Hassan Brian Travers Astro Tony Mullings Maxi Priest Laurence Parry Martin Meredith
Former members
Ali Campbell Michael Virtue Patrick Tenyue Henry Tenyue

UB40 are a British reggae band formed in 1978 in Birmingham, UK. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. The band have sold over 70 million records.^[1] Their #1 hit singles include "Red Red Wine", "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "I Got You Babe".

History

The band members began as friends who knew each other from various colleges and schools across Birmingham. The name "UB40" was selected in reference to the document issued to people claiming unemployment benefit from the UK government's Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS) at the time of the band's formation. The designation UB40 stood for Unemployment Benefit, Form 40.^[2]

Before any of them could play their instruments, Ali Campbell and Brian Travers travelled around Birmingham promoting the band, putting up UB40 posters. The band purchased its first instruments from Woodroffe's Musical Instruments with £4,000 in compensation money that Campbell, who would become the lead singer, received after a bar fight during his seventeenth birthday celebration.

Their first gig took place on 9 February 1979 at The Hare & Hounds Pub in Kings Heath, Birmingham for a friend's birthday party.

UB40 caught their first break when Chrissie Hynde noticed them at a pub and gave them an opportunity as a support act to her band, The Pretenders. UB40's first single, "King"/"Food for Thought" was released on Graduate Records, a local independent label run by David Virr. It reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.

Their first album was titled Signing Off, as the band were signing off from or closing their claim on the unemployment benefit. It was recorded in a bedsit in Birmingham and was produced by Bob Lamb. Norman Hassan said of the recording: "if you stripped my track down, you could hear the birds in the background." This is because his tracks were recorded outside in the garden. Signing Off was released on 29 August 1980, and entered the UK Albums Chart on 2 October 1980. It reached as high as No. 2 in the UK and spent 71 weeks in total on the chart. Signing Off is now a Platinum album.

Despite great success in the UK, UB40's popularity in the United States was only established after they released Labour of Love, an album of cover songs, in 1983. The album reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Top 200 in the US. The album featured the song, "Red Red Wine", a cover version of a Neil Diamond song (in an arrangement similar to that of Tony Tribe's version). Three years later UB40 performed at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986.

Their most successful worldwide single release is the cover of the Elvis Presley ballad "(I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You" which was the main title to the 1993 Sharon Stone movie Sliver and was a number one hit across Europe and in the U.S..

UB40 live in Wellington, New Zealand in 2004

In June 2007, Sparta Florida Music Group started legal action against heiress Paris Hilton and Warner Chappell Music for plagiarism due to similarities between the song "Stars Are Blind" and the song "Kingston Town", originally by Lord Creator. It was frequently misreported that UB40 was the instigator of the action and that it centered on their 1990 cover of the song.^[3][4] However, according to a statement UB40's site, they are not involved, and "Any speculated legal action taking place against Ms. Hilton would be entirely at the instigation of the original songwriter’s music publisher...who ultimately own the copyright to the song."^[5]

UB40 toured South Africa in July 2007 and headlined the Live Earth concert at the Cradle of Humankind, near Johannesburg. They performed one of the longest sets for the event at approximately 54 minutes.

On 21 August 2007, they performed with Cas Haley on the America's Got Talent season finale. In 2007 UB40 were signed by Ingenious Media PLC, a London investment bank that finances albums.^{[citation needed]}

On 24 January 2008 it was announced that Ali Campbell would be leaving the group after 30 years. It was originally stated that this was in order for Campbell to concentrate on solo projects, but Campbell later said he was leaving due to "management difficulties". The remaining seven members released a statement saying: "Ali made a very simple decision, he chose to pursue and put his solo career over and above continuing to work with UB40 after February 2008, it’s as simple as that".^[6] The news that a second original member was leaving the band as a result of "management trouble" came on 19 March 2008. Keyboard player Michael Virtue followed Campbell, and also launched an investigation into the group's financial dealings.^[7]

It was reported by some Birmingham newspapers on 13 March 2008, that Maxi Priest would be the new lead singer of UB40 and had recorded a cover of Bob Marley’s "I Shot the Sheriff" with the band, based on information from an unnamed "source close to the band." Priest had joined UB40 on their arena tour in 2007, culminating in sell-out shows at the NEC Birmingham in December.^[8][9] Another local newspaper reporting that Maxi Priest would be the new UB40 frontman, also included a statement from band spokesman Gerard Franklyn which contradicted this claim: "Maxi is collaborating with the band to record material but there is no decision been made to replace Ali Campbell with one definitive singer. The reports are half correct he will be appearing with them for this new recording."^[10] In April 2008, the BBC reported that Campbell was to be replaced in the band by his brother Duncan, with reggae singer Maxi Priest also bolstering the line-up on tour.

Since Duncan Campbell joined UB40 as lead singer the band have carried on touring successfully through out the world.^[11]

The band released their next album, TwentyFourSeven, UB40's last with the original lineup, by way of a free insert in The Mail on Sunday's 4 May 2008 issue.^[12] which sold nearly three million copies. This led to a backlash when the full 17 track version was released 21 June 2008, and most of the big retailers refused to stock it. It failed to reach the Top 75 in the UK, which was a first, as all their official albums had previously gone Top 50 on the UK Albums Chart. Their next release, on EMI, was a collection called Love Songs, which reached number 3 in the UK.

The band played numerous outdoor shows in the UK in 2008. They also toured the US, which included their first show at the Hollywood Bowl. UB40 plan to release 'Labour of Love IV' in 2009 with a tour of the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany.^[13]

UB40's 'Best of Labour of Love' is due for release on the 23rd of November 2009 with the first single off the album (Bring It On Home To Me)out on the 16th of November 2009.

Influences

UB40 were influenced by the many blues parties they attended as teenagers in the multiracial Balsall Heath area of Birmingham. Their love of ska, reggae and early lovers rock inspired such original tracks as "King", "Madam Medusa", "Food for Thought", "Signing Off" and "One in Ten".^{[citation needed]}

Their early musical style was unique, with a heavy influence of analogue synthesisers, psychedelic rock guitar, saxophone and dub producer techniques which were later perfected by Pablo Falconer.^{[citation needed]}

Ali and Robin Campbell are the sons of the folk musician, Ian Campbell.

Achievements

UB40 is one of the most commercially successful reggae acts of all time in terms of record sales (over 70 million), chart positions and touring schedule.^{[citation needed]} During their three-decade long career, they have been performing sell-out shows worldwide and headlining the Reggae Sunsplash music festival in Jamaica, as well as spreading reggae to Russia, South America, etc. They have performed twice at the Night of the Proms, in 2000 and in 2006. In 2006 UB40 was nominated for a Grammy Award (Reggae category) for their album Who You Fighting For.

Much of UB40's commercial appeal came from their releases of classic cover songs.^{[citation needed]} In fact, all three of their UK number one hits and four of their five U.S. top ten hits were cover versions.

UB40's early music often tackled social issues such as racism and unemployment.^{[citation needed]}

UB40 collaborators include: Pato Banton, Madness, Bitty McLean, Chrissie Hynde, Maxi Priest, Robert Palmer, Hunterz, Japanese artist Mikidozan, French artist Nuttea, Lady Saw, Afrika Bambaataa, 808 State.

Band members

The ethnic makeup of the band is diverse, with musicians of English, Scottish, Irish, Yemeni and Jamaican parentage. From the band's 1978 inception through early 2008, UB40's line-up was constant:

Astro live in Wellington, New Zealand in 2004

• James (Jimmy) Brown - born 20 November 1957, Birmingham - drums
• Ali Campbell - born Alistair Campbell, 15 February 1959, Birmingham - guitar, lead vocals (left 2008)
• Robin Campbell - born 25 December 1954, Birmingham - lead guitar, vocals
• Earl Falconer - born 23 January 1957, Birmingham - bass guitar, vocals
• Norman Hassan (Arabic: نورمان حسن‎) - born 26 January 1958, Birmingham - percussion, trombone, vocals
• Brian Travers - born 7 February[1959, Birmingham - saxophone, Lyricon, wind synth
• Mickey Virtue - born Michael Virtue, 19 January 1957, Birmingham - keyboards (left 2008)
• Astro - born Terence Wilson, 24 June 1957, Birmingham - toasting vocals, percussion, trumpet

In 2008 Ali Campbell left the band, followed shortly thereafter by Mickey Virtue. Two new members joined the group:

• Duncan Campbell - vocals
• Tony Mullings - keyboards

Guest members include(d):

• Patrick Tenyue (trumpet) (1983–94)
• Henry Tenyue (trombone) (1983–94)
• Martin Meredith (saxophone) (1997-present)
• Laurence Parry (trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone) (1995-present)
• Maxi Priest - vocals (2008-present)

Discography

Albums

¹ Labour Of Love reached number fifteen in the U.S. in 1988 with the re-popularization of "Red Red Wine".
² Labour Of Love III was released in the U.S. in 1999.
³ "Who You Fighting For" was released in the U.S. in 2006 and nominated for a Grammy Award (Reggae Category).
⁴ "Dub Sessions" charted at No.1 in the UK Reggae Chart.
⁵ "Twentyfourseven" charted at No.1 in the UK Reggae Chart.

Singles

DVD

• 2007 – Live at Montreux 2002

See also

• Gary Tyler — biographical subject of a song by UB40
• List of best-selling music artists

References

External links

• UB40 official web site
• UB40 at MySpace
• Ali Campbell interview 2007 on ilikemusic.com
• UB40 at Rolling Stone
• UB40 discography at Discogs