ALI CAMPBELL, the lead singer of Eighties reggae group UB40, has reunited with original members Astro and Mickey for a world tour and new album. He tells us what he thinks about the other UB40 fronted by his brothers, Duncan and Robin…
Ali Campbell should be a happy man. UB40 has sold 70 million records since he formed it in 1978, making reggae part of the soundtrack to the Eighties.
Instead, he is raging about the “The Dark Side”.
He’s referring to the “other” UB40, the remaining original line-up which his brothers Duncan and Robin have fronted as UB40 since Ali left the band dramatically in 2008, citing problems with the management.
We’re confused, who do we call UB40?
“You call us UB40 with the original singers and them a band with a singer who has never made a record,” Ali says.
“I’ve watched for five years as Duncan’s destroyed my songs and the legacy of UB40. It’s up to the fans now.”
You call us UB40 with the original singers – and them a band with a singer who has never made a record
Both sides have released statements and taken pot-shots at each other, with Ali dismissing the other band as “a rudderless ship since I left,” and them calling his behaviour “desperate” and “pathetic”.
Ali, 55, hasn’t spoken to his brothers since the split, accusing Robin of scheming to oust him and feeling betrayed that their older brother Duncan swooped in to replace him.
“It was devastating at first,” he recalls.
“Especially when I found out about Robin and his skulduggery. And Duncan! I used to go to him to talk about my grievances with the management. His advice to me was, ‘Down tools, Ali, and then they’ll give you what you want.’ Well, I did that and he came in and joined the band!”
Clearly there will be no family reunions any time soon. Especially since Ali says that their father, Ian, sided against him.
“He ignored me the last time I saw him before he died. He looked straight through me.”
Ali is also fired up by his passion for reggae, calling the other UB40’s recent “ridiculous” country-influenced album, Getting Over The Storm, “a slap in the face to me and the fans.”
A rep for UB40 formed by Robin and Duncan Campbell and the remaining members of the original band, declined to comment on Ali’s statements about his brothers.
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However, Ali says he is just driven by his love of music. He is proud of being a “reggae anorak” since the age of 10. “I started this band in 1979 to promote reggae and that’s still my mission.”
Original member Mickey Virtue left the band soon after Ali in 2008, but another founding member Astro Wilson reunited with them in December last year, to complete the current line-up.
Together the trio have recorded an, as yet, untitled new album and plan to release a single with the Fun Loving Criminals.
They are currently on a world tour that has already included South Africa, Spain, Portugal and Papua New Guinea, before they head on to Australasia and return home for some headline UK dates in December.
Ali is enjoying still being able to tour “in comfort”, but is less happy about the intrusions of modern technology.
“I understand how useful the World Wide Web is, but it’s pretty crap being tagged every where you go. You spend a lot of time sucking your gut in.”
Now 35 years since he first formed UB40, Ali is still as passionate and proud of his music as ever and confident about the future. And he’s rather proud of their punning plan to name a planned live tour album, “USB40″.
“We are making classic UB40 reggae on the album and the tour. I know the fans are gonna love it.”
The rep for Robin and Duncan’s UB40 said: “Ali has said ‘let the fans decide’. As UB40, we have just completed a sold-out tour – our most successful for years – and added another 18 dates. Make of that what you will.
“As our fans know, Ali Campbell left UB40 six years ago citing issues with the band’s management and has since pursued a solo career.
“In that time, Ali has repeatedly attempted to discredit his brothers and former band mates but this latest attempt to confuse and manipulate UB40’s fans is, frankly, pathetic.”
