With the rest of the other band, I don’t know how they can be surviving, let alone living, on what they are making

Birmingham pop legend Ali Campbell will carry on using the UB40 name even if he loses the High Court battle which has already cost half a million pounds.

The 57-year-old frontman spoke out as BOTH versions of the chart-topping group prepared for public appearances in the city centre.

The UB40 led by Ali, and featuring original bandmates Astro and Mickey Virtue, play a big Barclaycard Arena gig on Sunday, May 1.

Meanwhile, the other UB40 – boasting his brothers Robin and Duncan, Brian Travers, Earl Falconer, Jimmy Brown and Norman Hassan – start the Birmingham 10k this morning.

It will be the first time for years that all the original members of the band are appearing in the same place on the same day.

But they won’t be talking to each other, unless it’s through the lawyers.

Father-of-eight Ali says he will continue to reference UB40 whatever the courts decide.

“We are playing the Barclaycard Arena as “UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey’,” he says.

“I don’t want to be called just UB40 because I don’t want people to get me mixed up with what I call the Dark Side.

“It’s ironic that they are suing us for passing them off, when I don’t want people to think I am them!

“I didn’t just walk away from the band, I walked away from the brand of the most toured band in British pop history.

“They are a shadow of the band they were, and they are destroying the legacy by going on tour.

 

Original UB40 lead singer Ali Campbell at the Hotel Du Vin (Image: Graham Young)

“After I left, the end for UB40 came when they did their country album – Astro didn’t want to be standing on the stage with a stetson on.

“I’ve heard better tribute bands out there than the remaining members.”

But what if he loses the court battle?

“I will be called Ali Campbell – The Legendary Voice of UB40,” he replies without hesitation.

“That’s because I want people to know who I am.

UB40’s Ali Campbell supporting a Children’s Hospice Trust charity appeal in 1986
“That is a statement of fact – I am the voice! On the original songs, I did the melodies. I wrote every single UB40 melody apart from Astro’s.

“Being a socialist, I didn’t claim the money for every track. I split it eight ways.

“With the court case, we are now half a million pounds in, and the lawyers are getting fat.

“It’s really annoying that the other band members keep saying I left to pursue a solo career.

“They think if they keep saying things often enough, people will believe them.