‘I live and I grow around reggae,’ says Ali Campbell, the unmistakeable voice that branded UB40’s music on so many hearts, simply. Our conversation takes place during a rare ‘few days off’ following The Hits Arena Tour (including a sellout Birmingham homecoming) and as Ali and his band look ahead to a summer of performances across the UK and Europe.
Despite being on the road since January, with shows in Uganda, Chile and India to name but a few destinations already visited this year, Ali exudes a gentle energy which embodies the music he champions. ‘I feel blessed that I’ve been promoting reggae all this time,’ he enthuses. ‘It’s a pleasure to work as I do.’
To declare it’s a pleasure for us too is flagrant understatement. I tell Ali that I welled up when I was asked to interview him. ‘There’s a song for that,’ he jokes, referencing Tears from My Eyes from the 1989 Labour of Love II album. In the cassette tape era of the 1990s, it was the soundtrack to my childhood on long journeys in a peppermint-coloured Peugeot 505 estate.
Kingston Town, from the same album, is another song woven into my DNA (it was released on my sixth birthday). Beloved by fans the world over, it’s sure to feature at the UB40 feat. Ali Campbell open-air concert at Bristol’s Amphitheatre & Waterfront Square on August 2. The event promises to bring infectious good vibes to the city’s iconic harbourside.
‘I do open air gigs more than anything, we’re a festival band,’ states Ali humbly. More than forty-five years on from UB40’s first performance in a pub in the Birmingham suburb of King’s Heath and with 70 million records sold, Ali still gives off the impression he’s just living the reggae dream. ‘I’m really lucky that we had reggae in our lives and that we chose it as a musical genre.’
Make no mistake there have been challenging times. ‘Even when you’re as fortunate as I am you still have dark days,’ Ali reveals, alluding to the untimely loss of bandmate Astro in 2021. After leaving the band’s original line up in 2008, joined by keyboardist Mickey Virtue, Ali reunited with Astro in 2013 and they recorded a further four albums together. ‘We honour his memory in small ways.’
As a founding member of UB40, Ali has never been afraid to tackle big issues head on. ‘We used to suffer to write our lyrics, we were serious about it,’ he divulges. UB40’s original songs have been described as ‘iron fists in velvet gloves’ and it was part of the band’s subversive attitude to take a challenging message and, as Ali describes, ‘wrap it up in a cute tune.’
Although this approach still pervades UB40 feat. Ali Campbell’s music, evident on the Unprecedented album (recorded before Astro’s death) which takes the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by those in power to task, Ali portrays a hopeful spirit and is keen to ‘keep things light’. We spend most of our conversation laughing and his sing-song Midlands accent only emphasises a natural warmth.
‘My message is big love, that’s the vibe we get at our gigs,’ he attests. While this rings true, there is a touch of gritty conviction that seeps out when he discusses performing. ‘It’s the best set and the best received set we’ve had so far,’ he says, referencing the new iteration of the band with which his voice is inextricably linked.
‘The response has been overwhelming. The crowd reactions are the best I’ve had in 25 years,’ he affirms. The Bristol show, like other stops on the UB40 feat. Ali Campbell summer tour, will be a greatest hits set. ‘We’ve included stuff we haven’t included in ages,’ he discloses, deliberately vague because, he adds, ‘I don’t want to ruin the surprise.’
When we speak Ali has recently returned from a trip to Barbados. He notes similarities with the Bristol accent, acknowledging the influence of Caribbean culture on the city. ‘I love Bristol, it’s got a great energy,’ says Ali. ‘I’ve always had a link to it. I like the old part.’ UB40 feat. Ali Campbell will play under the stars there this August as one of two collaborations with the Summertime Live event series.
‘We would have had them in more locations if we could have done and we’re really hoping to work with them again next year,’ says Jonathan Ware, creative director and founder of Summertime Live. ‘Reggae just has a vibe to it,’ he adds. ‘People really resonate and connect with it. I can’t put my finger on it. Other styles of music can be a bit marmite.’
While long-time fans, many with their own cassette tape stories, will no doubt factor strongly in the Bristol crowd on 2 August, UB40’s distinctive sound is also reaching new listeners. ‘The birth of streaming has given a younger audience access to it,’ explains Jonathan. ‘There’s been a resurgence in the last few years of the popularity of reggae, it’s very user friendly.’
‘Our job was always to promote reggae,’ says Ali, who grew up making up his ‘own lyrics to all the classic reggae hits’ before becoming synonymous with the genre in his own right. He is as much an advocate of its ability to serve up hard-hitting messages within ‘a happy little ditty’ as the way it can unify and spread positivity, an ethos which prompted the hugely successful Labour of Love albums.
Ali is excited to be performing alongside drummer and live master of ceremonies Frank Benbini, who also plays with Fun Lovin' Criminals, this summer. ‘He’s a lot of fun on stage,’ he exclaims. The Bristol show will also welcome a special guest to be announced (British reggae singer Bitty Mclean has previously joined the band at its concerts).
‘You can tell he lives for performing,’ agrees Jonathan, whose favourite UB40 song is a tussle between Rat In Mi Kitchen and Red Red Wine. ‘We look for acts who haven’t been to an area for some time and can bring that freshness. This is our first Summertime Live show at Bristol’s Amphitheatre & Waterfront Square. The scenery behind the stage and the elevated space at the back all add to the atmosphere.’
Rat In Mi Kitchen will be absent from the repertoire out of respect for the passing of Astro but the Bristol audience can still expect an uplifting high summer gig with tracks such as Cherry Oh Baby, Kingston Town and Red Red Wine guaranteed. ‘We’ve got a cracking set,’ says Ali, and you know he means it. Our chat ends with him extending his ‘big love’ mantra to me in a genuine gesture, one I’m more than delighted to echo.
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