UB40: Reggae oldies that can still pen a hot tune
Feb 25, 2008
THESE are some of the praises UB40 has received over the decades. The only blot in UB40’s success story is this is the last time fans will see Ali Campbell perform with the band.
UB40, a British band famous for reggae tunes for the past 30 years, is in town. Their show is slated for tomorrow at Lugogo Cricket Oval. Joseph Batte gives you a sneak preview of what to expect at the historic concert
IN a nutshell, Birmingham’s purveyors of racially harmonious reggae pop are still going strong after 28 years.†Heat Magazine
“…. Although they have been around for yonks, these reggae oldies can still pen a good tune.†Q Magazine
“…. If ever a music career has sauntered, it has been UB40’s. On and on they go, oblivious of the trends, fashion, or game-playing†Daily Star
THESE are some of the praises UB40 has received over the decades. The only blot in UB40’s success story is this is the last time fans will see Ali Campbell perform with the band.
Campbell will end his 28-year career with the band after what he called ‘management difficulties’. Drummer James Brown says he is disappointed campbell did not resolve the issue with band-mates. “You would think that after 30 years of working together as a family that you could at least talk through these issues,†he said.
However, that does not change the fact that UB40 shows are wonderful. Ugandan fans are in for a wonderful time because they will witness a band at the peak of their creativity with wonderful musicianship and stage persona.
Going by the Homegrown concert in Holland (2004) UB40 will also provide the overdue kick in the teeth our music scene has been missing. Those whose ears have been assailed by ‘DJ play track No: 10’ know what I mean.
Not that we have not had any good band visiting this country and putting up a winning performance. Third World was one of the bands that swept us off our feet when they came here.
Lucky Dube was renowned for putting hotter-than-fire shows that blew us away, backed by a tight band, as he belted out ultra catchy music.
More can be said about UB 40. In the Netherlands, the crowd was singing along with the band, from the opening track to the last song. That can only mean one thing: The veteran musicians that make up UB40 will be fishing with right hooks as well at Lugogo tomorrow.
UB40 songs, as they have shown in the last 30 years, are melodic and extremely difficult not to sing along to. Songs like I Got You babe and Red, Red Wine have the force to pull the listener by the lapels and drag them on a music journey they will never forget.
The plus for the Uganda fans who forked out a cool 25,000 or 120,000 is UB40 have taken their live gigs a notch higher. They got all the studio gadgets and hauled them on stage.
Synthetic bass lines which, here in Uganda, are played in the studio only, will be thumped out live on stage on a bass keyboard! Furthermore, the thick heart-pounding sound of the band will be punctuated by those strange electronic noises which Ugandans only produce in the studio.
What this means is: The way you hear the song being played on CD is the way you are going to hear it on stage tomorrow.
Campbell, the lead singer, echoes these sentiments. “In the past it (the live show) was torturous. We didn’t sound like we wanted. After 20 years, this is the best we have ever sounded.â€
UB40 is not into glamour. They are the British gentlemen of reggae. Admitted the band: “This is the only band any of us has ever been in, even if we have been musicians all our lives. We can’t reinvent ourselves.â€
Even on stage, they carry themselves with a gentlemanly demeanour. No bouncing around like a tennis ball as Dube used to. Campbell’s dancing can best be described as an imitation of the movements of a drunk marabou stork on the streets of Kampala.
But dancing or not, UB40 infuse their reggae-tinged pop with an electrifying presence.
Fans who will stream to Lugogo should rest assured they will get their money’s worth.
The band might be in their 50s, but one thing is certain, they can strut their stuff. According to Campbell, all the old boys in the band are having the time of their life.
“With U 40 you’ve got eight people with different music tastes. In more or less the same thing, we all love reggae.â€
“Our mission is to popularise reggae. We feel that reggae music is not being played as much as we feel it should be played, so we are still on the same mission years later.†All indications are; they will be doing it with the same verve again tomorrow.
IN a nutshell, Birmingham’s purveyors of racially harmonious reggae pop are still going strong after 28 years.†Heat Magazine
“…. Although they have been around for yonks, these reggae oldies can still pen a good tune.†Q Magazine
“…. If ever a music career has sauntered, it has been UB40’s. On and on they go, oblivious of the trends, fashion, or game-playing†Daily Star
THESE are some of the praises UB40 has received over the decades. The only blot in UB40’s success story is this is the last time fans will see Ali Campbell perform with the band.
Campbell will end his 28-year career with the band after what he called ‘management difficulties’. Drummer James Brown says he is disappointed campbell did not resolve the issue with band-mates. “You would think that after 30 years of working together as a family that you could at least talk through these issues,†he said.
However, that does not change the fact that UB40 shows are wonderful. Ugandan fans are in for a wonderful time because they will witness a band at the peak of their creativity with wonderful musicianship and stage persona.
Going by the Homegrown concert in Holland (2004) UB40 will also provide the overdue kick in the teeth our music scene has been missing. Those whose ears have been assailed by ‘DJ play track No: 10’ know what I mean.
Not that we have not had any good band visiting this country and putting up a winning performance. Third World was one of the bands that swept us off our feet when they came here.
Lucky Dube was renowned for putting hotter-than-fire shows that blew us away, backed by a tight band, as he belted out ultra catchy music.
More can be said about UB 40. In the Netherlands, the crowd was singing along with the band, from the opening track to the last song. That can only mean one thing: The veteran musicians that make up UB40 will be fishing with right hooks as well at Lugogo tomorrow.
UB40 songs, as they have shown in the last 30 years, are melodic and extremely difficult not to sing along to. Songs like I Got You babe and Red, Red Wine have the force to pull the listener by the lapels and drag them on a music journey they will never forget.
The plus for the Uganda fans who forked out a cool 25,000 or 120,000 is UB40 have taken their live gigs a notch higher. They got all the studio gadgets and hauled them on stage.
Synthetic bass lines which, here in Uganda, are played in the studio only, will be thumped out live on stage on a bass keyboard! Furthermore, the thick heart-pounding sound of the band will be punctuated by those strange electronic noises which Ugandans only produce in the studio.
What this means is: The way you hear the song being played on CD is the way you are going to hear it on stage tomorrow.
Campbell, the lead singer, echoes these sentiments. “In the past it (the live show) was torturous. We didn’t sound like we wanted. After 20 years, this is the best we have ever sounded.â€
UB40 is not into glamour. They are the British gentlemen of reggae. Admitted the band: “This is the only band any of us has ever been in, even if we have been musicians all our lives. We can’t reinvent ourselves.â€
Even on stage, they carry themselves with a gentlemanly demeanour. No bouncing around like a tennis ball as Dube used to. Campbell’s dancing can best be described as an imitation of the movements of a drunk marabou stork on the streets of Kampala.
But dancing or not, UB40 infuse their reggae-tinged pop with an electrifying presence.
Fans who will stream to Lugogo should rest assured they will get their money’s worth.
The band might be in their 50s, but one thing is certain, they can strut their stuff. According to Campbell, all the old boys in the band are having the time of their life.
“With U 40 you’ve got eight people with different music tastes. In more or less the same thing, we all love reggae.â€
“Our mission is to popularise reggae. We feel that reggae music is not being played as much as we feel it should be played, so we are still on the same mission years later.†All indications are; they will be doing it with the same verve again tomorrow.