UB40 are one of the most popular bands of all time. Their reggae-pop fusion style was hugely successful from the 1970s to the 1990s.
The Birmingham-based band is still touring today, but if you haven’t been following the backstage battles and lawsuits, you might be a little confused about what’s going on.
Here’s a handy guide to where UB40 are now and why they split.
Who are UB40 and when did they form?
UB40 – Red Red Wine (Official Video)
UB40 are an English reggae pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham.
They have had over 50 singles enter the UK Singles Chart and have achieved worldwide success, including four Grammy nominations for Best Reggae Album.
UB40 have sold over 70 million records worldwide. Their original line-up was particularly diverse, with members born to parents of English, Welsh, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish and Yemeni descent.
Their best-known songs include ‘Food for Thought’, ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, ‘I Got You Babe’ and ‘Kingston Town’.
Their two biggest albums, Labour of Love (1983) and Promises and Lies (1993), both topped the UK charts. They hold the record with Madness for the most weeks spent on the UK singles chart by a group in the 1980s, with 214 weeks for each album.
What does UB40 stand for and how did they start?
UB40 – (I Can’t Help) Loving You (Official Video)
The band members were friends who had known each other from schools across Birmingham.
The name UB40 was chosen as a reference to a form issued to people claiming unemployment benefits from the British government’s Department of Employment Affairs. UB40 stands for Unemployment Benefit, Form 40.
The band formed in 1978, when guitarist Ali Campbell, drummer Jimmy Brown and bassist Earl Falconer began practicing reggae songs as well as some of their own music.
They were soon joined by a number of friends, including percussionists Yomi Babayemi and Norman Hassan, and later by saxophonist Brian Travers and keyboardist Jimmy Lynn.
Robin Campbell, who was initially reluctant to join, was invited by his brother. After Robin joined, the eight musicians formed a band.
Why did Ali Campbell leave UB40?
After the band had been together for nearly 30 years with few changes in line-up, frontman Ali Campbell decided to leave the group in 2008.
It was initially said that Campbell left so he could focus on solo projects, but Campbell later said he left because of management and business disputes.
The remaining seven members – now Mickey Virtue, Robin Campbell, Astro, Brian Travers, Earl Falconer, Jimmy Brown and Norman Hassan – issued a statement saying: “Ali made a very simple decision; he chose to pursue and put his solo career ahead of continuing with UB40 after February 2008. It’s that simple.”
Mickey Virtue resigned shortly afterwards, citing similar reasons as Ali Campbell.
Following rumours that Maxi Priest would replace Ali, his brother Duncan Campbell joined the group as the new lead singer.
In 2011, the five members of the group, along with Ali Campbell, declared bankruptcy, and they faced legal proceedings over their record label’s debts.
In November 2013, Astro announced that he would also be leaving the band, describing the band as a “rudderless ship” and criticising the “severe lack of communication between the band and management” as well as the country sound of their latest album.
What versions of UB40 are there?
Technically, there are two active versions of UB40.
The original UB40 – with Robin Campbell as lead singer – have the rights to the official UB40 name and have continued to perform and release music together. Their most recent album was 2019’s For the Many.
Meanwhile, Ali Campbell formed her own group with Mickey Virtue and Astro, called UB40 – Ali, Astro and Mickey – and they have since had hit albums including 2016’s Unplugged and 2018’s A Real Labour of Love.
Does Ali Campbell still speak to her brothers Robin and Duncan?
It’s safe to say there has been no love lost between the Campbell brothers in recent years.
He was particularly critical of his brother Duncan’s vocals, saying: “I sat back for five years and watched my brother Duncan ruin my songs. We’re preserving this legacy.”
When Duncan was hospitalised in 2020 after suffering a stroke, Ali said he had not spoken to him. Asked on Good Morning Britain if he thought “this could be an opportunity to patch things up”, Ali replied: “Not really. I’m not in touch with him.”
Later in an interview with GMB, Ali told the host that he had no interest in getting the original group back together.
“I was betrayed by them. I have been vindicated. I am just happy to continue promoting reggae music and the entertainment of UB40,” he said.
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UB40’s Ali Campbell says his former bandmates ‘betrayed’ him and they will never reunite
Meanwhile, Ali’s brothers have accused Ali of “stealing” the UB40 name and confusing fans about which band they were performing with.
Along with brother David, the four brothers are the sons of late folk singer Ian Campbell, who died in 2012.
However, Ali did not attend his father’s funeral amid the feud.
In 2018, Robin told the Birmingham Mail: “There was no fight when Ali left. He spent five years performing under his own name. It’s only in the last few years that he’s basically tried to steal our name.
“Ali has resigned from the band. He never owned the name. He wasn’t the founder of the band. He wasn’t the founder. We all started the band together. He wasn’t the leader. We were a democratic band that he chose to leave.”
Robin added that they still intend to take Ali to court over the UB40 name, saying: “We never stopped. We never broke up. We continued to perform and record as UB40 and for Ali, five years later, to decide that he could use our name is ridiculous.
“He spent a lot of money to keep this out of court. It’s crazy and stupid.”
Duncan added: “He said in a recent interview that he didn’t have any brothers, but I don’t know what Dave did to stop being his brother. I don’t know what I did to stop being his brother. I can’t tell you how close we were and always have been.
“But when this happened, Ali and I stopped. I don’t know why. Ali was always very, very close to me.
“But Ali is like my twin brother and if he came here and didn’t try to punch me, I would give him a big hug. Of course I would. He’s my brother, he’s our brother and we’ve always looked after him that way.
“He’s made some very strange decisions in his life, but that’s up to him.”
