UB40 - The Band.rtf

UB40 - The Band

This page is here to give you, if you don't already kow, an idea of who UB40 are and some info about the band members, their songs and their record company, DEP International. As a starter, here's the introduction to UB40 from their 1983 album Labour of Love.

UB40 is a reggae band. All eight members were born and raised in Birmingham, England. The band was formed in the summer of 1978, when none of them could play an instrument, but most were unemployed and could spare the time. They spent six months in a cellar; practising and rehearsing, and played their first professional engagement, in Birmingham, on February 9th, 1979.

In December '79, they signed their first record deal. Their first single was released February 1st, 1980, while the band was supposrtin gThe Pretenders on a tour of the UK, and rose quickly to number 4 in the British Top Ten. This was the first such success to be achieved entirely without the involvement of any major record company. UB40's debut album was in the British chart for over a year and was also a huge seller around the world.

At the end of 1980, the UB's formed their own record company, DEP International, who made a worldwide distribution deal with Virgin Records, towards the end of 1982.

This band has achieved a great deal since its improbable beginning. The UB's are well known as the most consistently impressive 'live' act in Britain, and have toured the rest of the world extensively, to similar acclaim. They've progressed remarkably as recording artists, while resisting all the music / fashion fads that have come and gone during their career so far.

They've been prominently instrumental in the acceptance of growth of reggae on the British and American pop scene, but at the same time have attained, as a British, multi-racial, non-Rasta band, unprecedented recognition and respect on the reggae scene itself. This album [Labour of Love] prefectly illustrates both achievements.

Those eight members of UB40 forming the base of the UB40 family are...

James Brown : Drums, syncussion
Ali Campbell : Vocals, guitar
Robin Campbell : Guitar, vocals
Earl Falconer : Bass
Normal Hassan : Percussion, vocals
Brian Travers : Saxophones
Michael Virtue : Keyboards
Astro : Toasting, rhyming, percussion

The band takes it's name from the claim form for Unemployment Benefeits as seen on the cover of their debut album Signing Off, the UB40. This album was the first break from unemployement for many of the band members giving them all a chance to 'sign off' from receiving these benefeits. No such problems these days with hugely successful singles and albums, world-wide touring and the formation of DEP International in 1980 ensuring a life of luxury - many of the band have houses in the Caribbean including their mansion 'High Heaven'.

Members of UB40 pursued other projects during the break they took after Promises and Lies. The best known of these resulted in Ali Campbell's album 'Big Love' from which the highly successful 'That Look In Your Eye' was taken. He also released a cover of 'Somethin' Stupid' on which he duetted with his young daughter Kibibi (Kibibi is Swahili for Little Lady, 'cos "She's a little darlin'").

Another UB40's project, released shortly before Labour of Love III is a collection of songs by other artists called 'UB40 presents The Dancehall Album', DEPCD17. It's a different sound altogether from UB40's and is something of an aquired taste - kind of jungly, speed garagey, dancehall stuff, but worth a look in if that's what you're in to. A stunned BRMB presenter's only comment after playing some of it was, "Well, if he gets paid by the word he'll be a very rich man." Draw your own conclusions.