UB40’s Robin Campbell © Reflex Recordings
It is with a huge amount of honour and excitement that I jumped at the chance to interview one of UK’s most successful bands of all time, the Grammy-nominated music group that truly made the history of British reggae.
Formed in Birmingham in 1978 and curiously named themselves after a UK government’s unemployment benefit form, UB40 have sold over 70 million records worldwide in 40 years, reaching number one in Great Britain various times with spectacularly moving songs such as Red, Red Wine and (I Can’t Help) Falling in Love with You.
Their outstanding cover of Kingston Town was released in 1990, sold over a million copies (half of which in France alone, and God knows how hard is hitting France if you’re not French…) and is also known for an official video clip that is still being viewed by dozens of millions of people on YouTube.
UB40‘s participation in the Live 8 in 2005 was just as memorable as their other performance at the legendary Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert, held in London in 1988 and watched by 600 million people worldwide.
UB40 founding member Robin Campbell is answering my handful of questions today on behalf of the rest of the band – which, after past frontman Ali Campbell left in 2008 with two other members, is currently formed by Brian Travers, Jimmy Brown, Earl Falconer, Norman Hassan, Duncan Campbell plus, of course, Robin himself!
What achievement are you guys most proud of, as a band?
We have so many achievements to choose from over the last 40 years that I could write a list, but I guess our greatest one is just that we are still going after all this time – with as much or more enthusiasm than ever. As long as we can keep playing live at this same level of enjoyment, we don’t want to stop.
You took part in The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute in 1988; have you got any memories you would like to share about it?
The disappointment for me was that there were artists there solely for the commercial boost it gave their careers. I remember Whitney Houston’s team insisting that a large Coke banner (her sponsor) had to be prominently displayed for the TV cameras, which meant it covered the Mandela backdrop while she was on stage. It was a much more satisfying experience playing our own concerts in South Africa after Mandela’s release, election to President and the outlawing of apartheid. I believe we still hold the live audience record there, 210,000 people over three nights.
Wow! Are there still artists you would like to collaborate with, at this stage of your career?
We have just finished a collaboration album called Biggabaggariddim, that will be released later this year, where we have worked with reggae artists we’ve met from around the world, including from countries such as New Zealand, India – of course – Jamaica, and the UK; some are long-established and others are up and coming. It was a hugely enjoyable experience and we’re very excited to hear the fans’ reaction.
What do you believe the future of reggae music will be like?
One can’t know the future of any genre of music, but I believe reggae will continue to develop and inform all types of dance and pop music as it has done for the last fifty years. We travel the world over, and every country has its own home-grown reggae artists, so its global acceptance and growth are assured.
Are you recording something new, at the moment?
We just want to stay safe through this Coronavirus storm and get back out on the road to honour the commitments we’ve already made. We want to continue to work at what we love most and what we do best.
You were supposed to perform at the Rochester Castle Concerts this summer…
We also had dates in Holland and Belgium, summer dates in the UK including the Rochester Castle and an Australian tour – all booked and rescheduled, because of Coronavirus, for later this year.
UB40 performing at the Nelson Mandela Tribute Concert, London, 1988
from The Shortlisted https://ift.tt/2VnZRZW
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