UB40 coming on down again!
Do you remember when UB40 performed in Zimbabwe in the 80’s because they couldn’t play in SA and one of the biggest roadtrips in SA concert history happened? Or the UB40 concert in Durban in the 90’s where a fabulous combination of tossed away Durban Poison seeds and post-concert rain resulted in an iridescent green dagga crop taking over the field in Kings Park stadium? Urband leg?
I remember sitting playing a scratchy UB40 record on my folks record player listening again and again to revolutionary lyrics like “We fight for our right to be free, we build our own society. (sing our own song lyrics)” . KING (listen) has to be one of my favourite UB40 songs, emotive and powerful. UB40 represents a very specific era and time in my life and evokes rich memories of being young, confident, feisty and full of fight. (Some would say I am just full of other stuff now 🙂 ) The multi-cultural faces of the band seemed exotic and unfathomable for us, at the time, how were they able to do it when South Africans couldn’t even have friends of different races over for supper? Resonating?
For hours I stared at their pictures on the covers and watched their borrowed videos taped by a friend from Holland on vhs, mesmerized by their beats… their lyrics were some of the first revolutionary seeds that planted dreams of democracy and equality in my mind, giving me hope that one day our country would change. Heavy I know and I’m showing my age – but it just takes one name or place to trigger the intricate past and today it’s UB40. ‘Nuff Respect Rastas. Thanks for your inspiration and hope.
MOVING ON – our TGIT news today is that the legendary UK reggae and dub band will be visiting us again in July. We’ll be there, remembering a time we’d rather forget, but thanking them for showing us the way and giving us hope during a dark and dismal time for those of us who knew that something was very very wrong.
94.7 Highveld Stereo, 94.5 Kfm, East Coast Radio and BIG Concerts are delighted to announce the upcoming tour of one of the world’s most popular bands. Legendary Reggae Ambassadors UB40 will be returning to South Africa this year, for shows in
Durban on the 4th, Johannesburg on the 6th and Cape Town on the 10th of July 2007.
UB40’s illustrious career, spanning over 25 years, has seen them performing alongside U2,
Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Madonna, Robbie Williams and The Who, collaborating with top Jamaican Dancehall artists, and playing to millions of fans around the globe.
With an Ivor Novello Award, over 50 million albums sold world-wide, 23 albums, and 53 chart singles, under their belt, UB40 continue to give enormous pleasure to a public too vast to be defined by age, generation, or culture.
The group, consisting of Ali Campbell (vocals/guitar), Robin Campbell (guitar/vocals), Astro (vocals/toaster), Earl Falconer (bass/vocals), Brian Travers (saxophone), James Brown (drums), Norman Hassan (percussion/vocals), and Mickey Virtue (keyboards), received international acclaim with songs like “Red Red Wine” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love” becoming hit singles in both the UK and the US, and “The Best Of UB40 – Vol. 1″ spending a record breaking 123 weeks in the charts. UB40 were also one of the first Western groups to tour the Soviet Union, in the late 80’s.
In 2005, the band celebrated the 25th anniversary of their recording debut, with the release of their latest Grammy Award nominated album, “Who You Fighting For”. The hit single “Swing Low” was also the anthem for the England Rugby team’s triumphant World Cup campaign!
For over a quarter of a century, UB40’s seasoned reggae music has continued the job of popularizing reggae around the globe. Their first SA tour, in 1994, broke all attendance records (over 200 000 fans), and their arena-tour in 2002, a major box office success.
Now, UB40 are back to inspire us with the music that has never lost its edge or vitality. Tickets go on sale Thursday 17th of May at 9am
ANOTHER BIG CONCERTS EXPERIENCE
TOUR & TICKET INFO – UB40 SA TOUR, 2007
Wednesday 4th July – The International Convention Centre, Durban
Friday 6th July – The Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg
Tuesday 10th July – Ratanga Junction, Cape Town
Tickets available from:
http://www.computicket.com/, 083 915 8000 and all outlets countrywide.
For More Info:
Check out UB40’s official website: http://www.ub40.co.uk/ or
http://www.bigconcerts.co.za/, for info on upcoming concerts!
