Robin Campbell – founding member of the Birmingham reggae-pop band UB40 – is excited to play a mix of classics and new songs at their two NZ shows this October.
“I love playing old stuff, I love playing hits because that’s what the audience comes for … but what gets me up in the morning is making new music and what gets me out on the road all the time is the opportunity to play our new music to the fans,” he tells Charlotte Ryan.
Robin Campbell – founding member of the reggae-pop band UB40 Photo: Richard Purvis
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After forming in 1979, UB40’s lineup remained unchanged until front man Ali Campbell – Robin’s brother – left in 2008, followed by several other members.
Campbell says in the 16 years since Ali left the band, he hasn’t spoken to any of his former bandmates and also turned his back on his family.
“The media has kind of pushed this as a feud between myself and Ali, and it certainly wasn’t ever a feud between us. We didn’t fall out – he left the band to go solo and has never spoken to any of us since, [nor] his other brothers and many members of his family.
“He kind of went for a new life and moved out of Birmingham, [to] somewhere down south in England with a new wife and a new family… It wasn’t down to me. It was his decision to leave and it was his decision alone. And yeah, he hasn’t spoken to me since or any of us.”
Five years after Ali’s departure, another vocalist Astro left the band and, in 2021, saxophonist Brian Travers died.
The band’s new song ‘Forever True’ – written as a tribute to the Birmingham City Football Club – features the iconic sax line Travers played on their 1980 hit ‘Food for Thought’, Campbell says.
For years, Birmingham fans have played the song whenever their team scores a goal, he says, singing along to Travers’ saxophone riff.
“We’ve been fans of Birmingham City all our lives. We were all born in the area and grew up around the stadium.
“We kind of lost interest because we were on the road for so many years. But we’ve started going back to the stadium and getting back into football and going to watch our local team again and we were just knocked out by the fact that the fans would sing that sax line every time there was a goal.
“We were asked to write a new song for [the football club]. So we used that sax line and the original rhythm of ‘Food for Thought’ and wrote a new song with new lyrics and a new melody.
“We played it live for them at the stadium last week and they went crazy. And then literally three days later, we’d released it as a single and it was number one on the iTunes download chart … we’re in shock.”
UB40 toured New Zealand in January 2023. Photo: Supplied
On the new album UB45, the band’s current lead singer Matt Doyle – nephew of founding member Norman Hassan – gives voice to a selection of the band’s old favourites and some new songs, Campbell says.
“He’s bringing a lot to the table. You know, he’s a very talented young man. And he’s kind of reinvigorated us … The fans have been telling us that he sounds so good singing those old songs that we were just wanting to record them and show people who may not have been to see us live. So by way of celebration, we made the new album, recording some of the classics that we always play live anyway. But also, the other half of the album is brand new tunes … We’re very excited to be taking this album out on the road.”
Jamaican keyboardist Jahred Gordon has also “injected a whole new energy into the band” since he joined last year.
“We’re firing on all cylinders and having a ball. As long as we are, then why stop? Why not carry on?”
“We’re still doing it because it’s what we love doing. You lose a member or you lose a couple of members – it doesn’t mean it’s the end. You get some others in, you get new members and you can carry on. It’s what we’ve always done, it’s what we always intend to do.
“We’ve never considered stopping. In whatever guise, we will always continue. That’s the way we think. There’s still four of the original five founding members of the band. We’re gathering new members all the time. My son … is now on the road with us. He sings live and on record.
“When you’ve had as many hits as we’ve had, it’s so difficult to choose what ones you’re going to do. And it doesn’t matter how many you do and how many hits you play, someone always comes out after the gig and says, ‘You didn’t play my favourite.’
“I love playing old stuff, I love playing hits because that’s what the audience comes for … but what gets me up in the morning is making new music and what gets me out on the road all the time is the opportunity to play our new music to the fans. That’s what I love doing – getting a stamp of approval from the fans for our new music.”
At their two New Zealand shows, UB40 will be supported by Grammy-nominated musician Eagle-Eye Cherry, who Campbell is interested to check out.
“He was suggested to us by an Australian promoter and we thought, ‘Wow, haven’t heard him for a while.’ Apparently, he has … quite a decent New Zealand following. So we thought, ‘Yeah, sounds like a nice idea.’