The Gleaves Issue Quite Possibly (Country) Album of The Year 2025

UB40 ft. Ali Campbell

Announce Forest Live 2026 Headline Shows:

Delamere:  19th June 2026

High Lodge, Thetford: 21st June 2026 

Westonbirt Arboretum: 25th June 2026

Cannock Chase: 27th June 2026

UB40 Ft. Ali Brown coming to a forest near you in JUNE 2026
Photo: Press Supplied

In the late 1970s,  catching the number 50 bus into Birmingham city centre, I would often see the trio of musicians from Fashion boarding as the route went past the Post Office in Balsall Heath.  You’d get used to seeing the black jackets and the wild hair of the tall Luke Sky coming up to the top deck, where they would chat, smoke and enjoy the views as the bus wound its way down into Digbeth, then up to the Bull Ring.  At Barbarella’s, one very warm June evening, these lads were headlining and the opening act was a very callow set of youths doing their first tour with an electronic oriented set. I think they called themselves Duran Duran, the name based on a character played by Milo O’Shea in the quirky science fiction film, Barbarella.

  

That night there were only about twenty-five punters in the venue, it was warm outside and very hot inside, which partly explains the small size of the audience.  Birmingham was a happening place musically and there was some serious cultural cross-overs cooking up at the time, although audiences were not noticeably blended.  White people went to their places, young Afro-Caribbean and Asian people went to their places, but in a band like Fashion, forged in the melting pot of the West Midlands, one could distinctly hear the growing influence of reggae in their early tunes. 

The uprising of black communities at the dawn of the Thatcher years, in Toxteth in Liverpool, Brixton in London, St Paul’s in Bristol and Handsworth in Birmingham were indicative of growing self-confidence and strength of spirit in cities that had ghettoized people of colour. Police in the West Midlands, were as aggressive and harsh on young black people as anywhere and Handsworth was labelled as crime ridden, unsafe and violent.  It wasn’t an area of the city I visited. Crossing clearly defined racial boundaries wasn’t the thing. At the City of Birmingham Polytechnic, I only knew one lad of Indian origin out of forty-eight people on my course.  

Racist leaflets about phrenology were found in the main building there, the National Front (NF) were trying to stir up trouble where there were larger immigrant communities.  However, the cities of Birmingham and Coventry held things together and in football, led by WBA’s trio of stars Cyril Regis, Remi Moses and Brendon Batson and later at Aston Villa, where Ivor Linton and Noel Blake first appeared, that black players began to better reflect the mix of the city’s population.  These young footballers had a torrid time, being publicly abused by significant numbers in the crowds and personally by letters posted to them, but they broke through and changed minds, paving the way for others to follow. But it was though music that the white population of Birmingham learned to understand what riches were to be had from living in a racially diverse society.  

Bob Marley’s global success with The Wailers opened music industry eyes to cross-over opportunities and with the break-through of reggae roots band Steel Pulse into the album charts with Handsworth Revolution, the biz had started to listening to what was happening in Coventry with the Ska movement and 2-Tone Records, which brought The Specials and The Selector to dance hall and public attention. Somewhere in the background there was another band evolving in the West Midlands, who put together a distinctive reggae-based sound of their own, with songs that became ridiculously successful, which in the end, 30 years later, led to the band of brothers and friends falling out big time.

UB40’s name came from the pretty much universal experience of being out of work after leaving school, when the Unemployment Benefit Form 40 had to be completed.  After impressing Chrissie Hind of The Pretenders at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, UB40 toured with her band and soon were to experience stratospheric success, after their single King / Food For Thought hit the Top Ten.  The band had enough about them to be able to leave the unemployment register, which they celebrated by calling their debut album Signing Off, which was in the UK charts for 41 weeks.  Their fourth album Labour of Love, a covers album, broke them into the USA and subsequently, UB40 have sold over 70 million records, starred at Wembley in the Nelson Mandela 70^th Birthday Concert and are known the world over.

Formed in 1978 as school kids, UB40 lasted pretty much as a unit right through until 2008, when the founder and leader of the band, Ali Campbell broke from the complexities of the band.  As the voice and leader of the band this was a seismic event. Joined soon after by friends Astro and Mickey Virtue from the original line up, Campbell toured his own version of UB40, playing the songs he had written when in the band.  Like Steel Pulse and the punk bands of the late 1970s, picking up on the rebellious nature of folk music, as sung by his Scottish father, Ian Campbell, Ali Campbell and UB40 wrote songs about social injustice, politics, racial unity and the experiences of being unemployed, themes that continue to be so relevant today.

In 2026 UB40 featuring Ali Campbell will be taking to the stages across four Forest Live venues in June  2026:

Forestry England Delamere – 19^th June 2026

High Lodge, Thetford Forest – 21^st June 2026

Westonbirt Arboretum – 26th June 2026 

Cannock Chase Forest – 27^th June 2026

 

Ali Campbell, founder of UB40 and the authentic voice behind the band’s biggest hits, said:

“When I first founded UB40 back in 1978, I put everything I had into it – including the compensation money I’d received from a criminal injury claim. None of us could have imagined we’d go on to sell over 100 million records and take reggae from Birmingham to the world. It’s been an incredible journey, and coming back to play Forest Live in such beautiful surroundings is the perfect way to celebrate with our fans.”

Originally formed by a group of friends from local Birmingham schools, from the beginning, the band became known for its socially aware lyrics and laid-back reggae rhythms. With Campbell’s unique singing voice, UB40 blended reggae, dub, and pop into a sound that catapulted contemporary British black music worldwide.

Support for the shows will come from fellow Brummie and British reggae, lovers’ rock, and ragga singer, songwriter, and producer Bitty McLean. Known for his UK Top 10 hits in the mid-1990s, such as “It Keeps Rainin’ (Tears from My Eyes)”, Bitty began his career singing on his father’s sound system before releasing several albums and touring internationally, collaborating with reggae legends including Sly and Robbie.

Also performing with UB40 ft Ali Campbell will be Reggae Roast Featuring MC Horseman. Reggae Roast are the UKs No. 1 Reggae, Dancehall & Jungle Soundsystem crew. Combining a record label, live events and extensive online store, they are leading lights in the resurgence of the UK Soundsystem scene. Reggae Roast are proud to have the legendary Horseman as one of the main MCs in the crew. With over 40 years of perforrming, Horseman is a veteran of the UK Reggae scene, with a long and prolific career working with the likes of Mad Professor, Adrian Sherwood, Scientist, Jah Shaka, and Prince Fatty. 

These shows are taking place on Forestry England land. The organisation manages and cares for 1,500 woods and forests that are publicly owned. Money from Forest Live events helps maintain these beautiful natural areas for important conservation projects and to keep growing trees for everyone’s enjoyment. Each year, Forestry England plants over 7 million trees and the land is visited by over 300 million people. 

Forestry England present the 2026 concert series in partnership with Live Nation’s Cuffe & Taylor for the third year running.

UB40 ft Ali Campbell with support from Bitty McLean and Reggae Roast Featuring MC Horseman

Friday 19 June 2026: Forestry England: Delamere 

Sunday 21 June 2026: Forestry England: High Lodge, Thetford 

Thursday 25 June 2026: Forestry England: Westonbirt Arboretum 

Saturday 27 June 2026: Forestry England: Cannock Chase

 

Tickets for Forestry Live Shows can be bought here.

Spencer Ide 

with tour details provided by Sonic PR   

29/09/2025