UB40 founding member Ali Campbell, pictured in a 2013 concert, will return to Northland in February as part of the Kingston Calling tour. Photo / NZME
UB40 founding member Ali Campbell, pictured in a 2013 concert, will return to Northland in February as part of the Kingston Calling tour. Photo / NZME
Performing in Northland on the eve of Waitangi Day will be a chance for UB40 founding member Ali Campbell to connect with old friends and reflect on the Treaty of Waitangi.
UB40 featuring Ali Campbell will perform at Whangārei’s Semenoff Stadium on February 5 as part of the Kingston Callingtour.
Katchafire, The Black Seeds and Corrella are also performing.
While more than 40 years of success with reggae music has seen Campbell play all over the world - from Peru to South America and the tiny Faroe Islands - he still remembers New Zealand well.
“We were so so happy, you know, that we’d made it out of the ghettos we’d come from in Birmingham,” he said.
“We landed in Auckland and there was an anti-apartheid demonstration outside our hotel, going past, and we threw our bags into our rooms and joined it.
“And that’s where we met up with The Herbs, the Māori reggae band, and we became great friends with them.”
Since that day, Campbell said his Māori friends have kept him up to date with the politics of the country, including concerns about the current coalition Government trying to reverse gains made by Māori.
While Campbell will be performing on Waitangi weekend, he believes there is still not much to celebrate for Māori, but said it will be a time of reflection rather than celebration.
Political standing is nothing new for the singer, whose original band name UB40 was taken from the name of the unemployment benefit form issued to those on “the dole”.
UB40 frontman Ali Campbell, pictured in green jacket, accepts a challenge from Zane Henry of Te Pito Whenua during a tour of Waitangi Treaty Grounds in 2016. Photo / NZME
Campbell said it is sad many of the band’s songs are still relevant today.
One in 10 is about the impact of high unemployment on those without jobs. Burden of Shame was originally written about apartheid in South Africa but could apply to what’s happening in Gaza, he said.
Campbell said the band wanted to bring reggae to the world by mixing the Jamaican beats with lyrics in English.
He seemed to still be pinching himself with the reality of having a worldwide fan base, which now includes three generations of families attending his shows.
“We’re lucky because we chose reggae as our genre and we’re lucky that we have a worldwide fan base.”
Ali Campbell, pictured performing in a Northland concert in 2018, says coming to New Zealand for the first time in 1983 was like "travelling to the moon". Photo / NZME
While Campbell left the original UB40 in 2008 over a disagreement about him promoting his solo album, he said the musicians he tours with are the best reggae players in the world, including seasoned Jamaican players.
UB40 featuring Ali Campbell will play “all the hits” the band is known for, he said, which is not a hard task given it had more than 50 UK chart hits.
Kingston Town, Cherry Oh Baby and (I Can’t Help) Falling in Love With You will be part of the repertoire, along with Red Red Wine - which Campbell admits is his favourite.
Red Red Wine - written and originally released by Neil Diamond in 1967 - launched UB40 to fame in 1983 across most of the world.
However, it got little airplay in the United States at the time as radio stations were still divided into black and white music and UB40 placed in neither, he explained.
It wasn’t until five years later, when Red Red Wine was re-released, that it found US success, and the song has now had one billion hits for the band, he said.
UB40 featuring Ali Campbell are playing in Australasia and the Pacific as part of the Kingston Calling tour, which promoters hope will become an annual tour and return to Whangārei.
Tickets are on sale now through Eventfinda.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
