Throwback Artist Bio: UB40

UB40 are an English reggae-pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. This was actually one of the first Ska bands the world would see get worldwide recognition and acclaim.

The ethnic make-up of the band’s original line-up was diverse, with musicians of English, Welsh, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish and Yemeni parentage.  The band members began as friends who knew each other from various schools across Birmingham, England.

The name “UB40” was selected in reference to a form they gave to people claiming unemployment benefits from the UK government’s Department of Employment. The acronym UB40 stood for Unemployment Benefit, Form 40.

The origins of what would become UB40 began when in mid-1978 guitarist Ali Campbell, together with the rhythm section of drummer Jimmy Brown and bassist Earl Falconer, began rehearsing charting reggae songs in addition to some of their own songs. Soon they were joined by percussionists Yomi Babayemi and Norman Hassan, and then saxophonist Brian Travers and keyboardist Jimmy Lynn.

Robin Campbell, although initially reluctant to commit to forming a band with the others, was invited to join once again by his brother and bought a guitar with which to do so in December of that year. Once Robin had joined the others in their jamming sessions, the eight musicians formed a band, deciding on the name ‘UB40’ after a friend suggested it was an appropriate name given the unemployed status of all of the band members.

UB40 caught their first break when Chrissie Hynde saw them at The Hare & Hounds Pub in Kings Heath in 1979 and gave them an opportunity as a support act to her band, The Pretenders. UB40’s first single, “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.

The title of their first album Signing Off indicates the band was signing off from  (or ending) their claim for unemployment benefits. Signing Off was released on August 29, 1980. It entered the UK Albums Chart on 2 October 1980 and spent 71 weeks in total on the chart. Signing Off is now a Platinum album.

UB40’s fame would sky-rocket when 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 200 in the US. The album featured the song “Red Red Wine”, a cover version of a Neil Diamond song which is our absolute favorite and really set this band aside from other music groups.

Front-man Ali Campbell had such a distinctive voice, his Birmingham accent mixed with the reggae arrangements created a unique sound that most people listening had no idea what the band actually looked like. Most of us grew up to these sounds echoing through our childhood providing good vibes and good lyrics.

Tragic Death

In 1987 Ray “Pablo” Falconer, producer of UB40 music, died in a car crash. His brother, Earl Falconer, the band’s bassist, was driving with nearly twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood. Earl was sentenced to six months imprisonment in June 1988 and banned from driving for three years.

The band psychologically would take a hard blow and would never be quite the same since the event. UB40 would have measured success throughout the following years that included many movie scores and soundtracks.

Some of the original band members would separate from the others to form a competing band styled in the same name. This created bad blood between members of the group even though most of them had been playing together for decades.

UB40 is currently broken up and are all individually working on separate projects. Each musician in this group has something special to offer the world and should certainly be afforded the opportunity to do so. For now, let us remember the limelight, the cool melodies, and a golden time for Ska music in the era of music.