| UB40 |
|
| Background information |
| Origin |
 Birmingham,
England,
UK |
| Genre(s) |
Reggae, pop |
| Years active |
1979— |
| Website |
ub40.co.uk |
| Members |
Ali
Campbell
James Brown
Robin Campbell
Earl Falconer
Norman Hassan
Brian Travers
Michael Virtue
Astro |
UB40 are a British
dub/reggae band formed
in 1978 in Birmingham.
|
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Influences
- 3 Achievements
- 4 Band
Members
- 5 Discography
- 6 See
also
- 7 References
- 8 External
links
|
History
The band was named after the paper form issued by
the UK government's
Department
of Employment at the time of the band's formation for claiming unemployment
benefit (UB40 = Unemployment Benefit,
Form 40).
The band members began as mates
who knew each other from various colleges and schools across Birmingham.
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 with £4,000 in compensation
money that Campbell, who would become the lead singer, received after a
bar fight
during his 17th birthday
celebration.
Their first gig took place on February
9, 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 and was the first record to reach the UK top ten without
the backing of a major record label.
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 September
6, 1980, and
entered the UK Albums Chart on October 2,
1980. It reached as high as No. 2 in the UK and spent 72 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).
Their most successful single release is the cover of the Elvis
Presley ballad "(I Can't Help) Falling In
Love With You" which was intended to be the main title to the 1992 Sharon
Stone movie Sliver and was
a number one hit across Europe and in the U.S.
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. 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."
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.
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 and reggae inspired such original tracks as
"King", "Madam Medusa", "Food for Thought", "Signing Off" and "One in
Ten".
Their early musical style was unique, with a heavy influence
of analogue synthesizers, psychedelic
rock
guitar, saxophone
and dub
producer techniques which were later perfected by the late Pablo
Falconer.
Ali and Robin Campbell have a musical heritage, being sons of Ian
Campbell, a folk
musician.
Many of UB40's recordings were inspired by 1960s ska and early lovers
rock songs that would have otherwise been forgotten in the public eye.
Their new injection of life into many old Jamaican hits has resulted in
many musicians' and producers' renewed popularity and income.
Achievements
UB40 are arguably the number one reggae act of all time in
terms of record sales (over 55 million), chart positions and touring
schedule. 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 and South America, among others. They even have performed at the
BBC
Proms, an event more associated with classical music.
Much of UB40's commercial appeal came from their releases of
classic cover songs. 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 has often tackled social issues such as racism and unemployment.
Other artists that UB40 have collaborated with include: Pato
Banton, Madness, Bitty
McLean, Chrissie Hynde, Robert Palmer, Hunterz,
Japanese artist Mikidozan, French artist Nuttea, Lady Saw, Afrika
Bambaataa and 808 State.
Band Members
The band is one of the world's most culturally diverse dub reggae
bands with musicians of English, Scottish, Irish, Yemeni and Jamaican parentage. The band's line-up has
been remarkably stable throughout their nearly thirty year career.
- James (Jimmy) Brown - born 20
November 1957,
in Birmingham - drums
- Ali Campbell - born Alistair Campbell, 15
February 1959,
in Birmingham - guitar,
lead
vocals
- Robin Campbell - born 25
December 1954,
in Birmingham - lead guitar, vocals
- Earl Falconer - born 23 January
1957, in Birmingham - bass guitar, vocals
- Norman Hassan - born 26 January
1958, in
Birmingham - percussion, trombone,
vocals
- Brian Travers - born 7 February
1959, in Birmingham - saxophone
- Mickey Virtue - born Michael Virtue, 19 January
1957, in Birmingham - keyboards
- Astro - born Terence Wilson, 24 June 1957, in
Birmingham - toasting
vocals, percussion, trumpet
And guest members include(d):
- Patrick Tenyue (trumpet) (1983–94)
- Henry Tenyue (trombone) (1983–94)
- Martin Meredith (saxophone) (1997— )
- Laurence Parry (trumpet, flugelhorn,
trombone) (1995— )
- Connor Power (guitar/keyboards) (1990–92)
Discography
Albums
| Year |
Album |
UK |
US |
| 1980 |
Signing
Off |
2 |
- |
| 1981 |
Present
Arms |
2 |
- |
| 1981 |
Present
Arms In Dub |
38 |
- |
| 1982 |
UB44 |
4 |
- |
| 1982 |
The Singles
Album |
17 |
- |
| 1983 |
UB40 Live |
44 |
- |
| 1983 |
Labour
of Love 1 |
1 |
14 |
| 1984 |
Geffery
Morgan |
3 |
60 |
| 1985 |
Baggariddim |
14 |
- |
| 1985 |
Little
Baggariddim |
- |
40 |
| 1985 |
The
UB40 File |
- |
- |
| 1986 |
Rat
in the Kitchen |
4 |
53 |
| 1987 |
UB40
CCCP: Live in Moscow |
- |
121 |
| 1987 |
The Best of UB40 -
Volume One |
3 |
- |
| 1988 |
UB40 |
12 |
44 |
| 1989 |
Labour
of Love II |
3 |
30 |
| 1993 |
Promises
and Lies |
1 |
6 |
| 1994 |
Labour
Of Love, Volumes I and II (re-issue) |
5 |
- |
| 1995 |
The
Best of UB40 - Volume Two |
12 |
- |
| 1997 |
Guns
in the Ghetto |
7 |
176 |
| 1998 |
UB40
Present the Dancehall Album |
- |
- |
| 1998 |
Labour
of Love III |
8 |
- |
| 2000 |
The
Very Best of UB40 |
7 |
- |
| 2001 |
Cover Up |
29 |
- |
| 2002 |
UB40
Present The Fathers Of Reggae |
- |
- |
| 2003 |
Homegrown |
49 |
- |
| 2003 |
Labour
Of Love, Volumes I, II and III (re-issue) |
7 |
- |
| 2005 |
Who
You Fighting For? |
20 |
- |
1 Labour Of Love
reached number fifteen in the U.S. in 1988 with the re-popularization
of "Red Red Wine".
Singles
| Year |
Song |
UK
singles |
US
Hot 100 |
| 1980 |
"King"/"Food for Thought" |
4 |
- |
| 1980 |
"My Way Of
Thinking"/"I Think It's Going
To Rain Today" |
6 |
- |
| 1980 |
"The Earth Dies
Screaming"/"Dream A Lie" |
10 |
- |
| 1981 |
"Don't Let It
Pass You By"/"Don't Slow Down" |
16 |
- |
| 1981 |
"One In Ten" |
7 |
- |
| 1982 |
"I Won't Close
My Eyes" |
32 |
- |
| 1982 |
"Love Is All Is
All Right" |
29 |
- |
| 1982 |
"So Here I Am" |
25 |
- |
| 1983 |
"I've Got Mine" |
45 |
- |
| 1983 |
"Red
Red Wine" |
1 |
34 |
| 1983 |
"Please Don't
Make Me Cry" |
10 |
- |
| 1983 |
"Many Rivers To
Cross" |
16 |
- |
| 1984 |
"Cherry Oh Baby" |
12 |
- |
| 1984 |
"If It Happens
Again" |
9 |
- |
| 1984 |
"Riddle Me" |
59 |
- |
| 1985 |
"I'm Not
Fooled"/"The Pillow" |
59 |
- |
| 1985 |
"I
Got You Babe" (with Chrissie Hynde) |
1 |
15 |
| 1985 |
"Don't Break My
Heart" |
3 |
- |
| 1986 |
"Sing Our Own
Song" |
5 |
10 |
| 1986 |
"All I Want to
Do" |
42 |
- |
| 1987 |
"Rat In My
Kitchen" |
12 |
- |
| 1987 |
"Watchdogs" |
39 |
- |
| 1987 |
"Maybe Tomorrow" |
14 |
- |
| 1988 |
"Reckless" (with
Afrika Bambaataa) |
17 |
- |
| 1988 |
"Where Did I Go
Wrong" |
26 |
- |
| 1988 |
"Red Red Wine" (U.S.
re-issue) |
- |
1 |
| 1988 |
"Breakfast
in Bed" (with Chrissie Hynde) |
6 |
- |
| 1988 |
"Come Out To
Play" |
77 |
- |
| 1989 |
"I Would Do For
You" |
45 |
- |
| 1989 |
"Homely Girl" |
6 |
- |
| 1990 |
Kingston
Town |
4 |
- |
| 1990 |
"Wear You To
The Ball" |
35 |
- |
| 1990 |
"I'll Be Your
Baby Tonight" (with Robert Palmer) |
6 |
- |
| 1990 |
"Impossible
Love" |
47 |
- |
| 1991 |
"The Way You Do the
Things You Do" |
49 |
6 |
| 1991 |
"Here I Am
(Come and Take Me)" |
46 |
7 |
| 1991 |
"Groovin'" |
- |
90 |
| 1992 |
"One In Ten" (remix by 808
State) |
17 |
- |
| 1993 |
"(I Can't
Help) Falling In Love With You" |
1 |
1 |
| 1993 |
"Higher Ground" |
8 |
45 |
| 1993 |
"Bring Me Your
Cup" |
24 |
- |
| 1994 |
"C'est La Vie" |
37 |
- |
| 1994 |
"Reggae Music" |
28 |
- |
| 1995 |
"Until My Dying
Day" |
15 |
- |
| 1997 |
"Tell Me Is It
True" |
14 |
- |
| 1997 |
"Always There" |
53 |
- |
| 1998 |
"Come Back
Darling" |
10 |
- |
| 1998 |
"Holly Holy" |
31 |
- |
| 1999 |
"The Train Is
Coming" |
30 |
- |
| 2000 |
"Light
My Fire" |
63 |
- |
| 2001 |
"Since I Met
You Lady" (with Lady Saw) /
"Sparkle Of My Eyes" |
40 |
- |
| 2002 |
"Cover Up" |
54 |
- |
| 2003 |
"Swing Low" |
15 |
- |
| 2005 |
"Kiss And Say
Goodbye" |
19 |
- |
| 2005 |
"Reasons"
(with Hunterz and The
Dhol Blasters) |
75 |
- |
| 2006 |
"Who You
Fighting For (Download Only)" |
- |
- |
See also
- Gary
Tyler - biographical subject of a song by UB40
- Best selling music
artists — world's top-selling music artists chart
References
External links
