Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Four members of UB40 on stage at bMobile Reggae Sunsplash 2006 as the band made its Jamaican debut. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
One month shy of Signing Off,their debut album's 26th anniversary, UB40 performed in Jamaica for the first time. In between, the band from the West Midlands, United Kingdom, making their full-length recording debut and playing an hour and 15 minutes in the early hours of last Sunday morning at bMobile Reggae Sunsplash 2006, there have been many hits.
And they played several of them, including Red Red Wine, their first international hit that came from the 1983 Labour of Love album, as well as Kingston Town and Homely Girl from the 1989 follow-up to that project. They ended on a high with Can't Help Falling In Love from their 1990s Promises and Lies album, their biggest seller ever, the request to "hear you sing if you know the tunes" after opening with Rat In The Kitchen being satisfied.
About 12 hours before they ended their performance with a musical crescendo and a "thank you Jamaica" at 4:09 a.m. on Sunday, the band had emphasised just how special their debut performance in Jamaica was to them. "We are happy to be here. It has been a long time coming," saxophonist Brian Travis said at a press conference held at the RIU Hotel, Ocho Rios. "Tonight is a bit special. After 27 years, we have been so inspired by Jamaican music."
Link with jamaica
When asked why it has taken so long for the band to perform in Jamaica, Travis said: "We have been so busy. In our early years, reggae was so popular that people wanted us to play everywhere. We just never had a chance to link up when Sunsplash was going on."
He noted, however, that the physical link with Jamaica has always been there as "many of us have been living here for 25 years with our families. We worked a lot at Bob's studio, rebuilt our careers." He also said that they have worked with Jamaican artistes such as Beenie Man, Vegas and Sly and Robbie.
Al Campbell and Robin Campbell both pointed to listening to Jamaican music in their early years as strong influences. Al, who grew up in Brixton, singled out Marley's African Herbsman album as the quintessential reggae album, while Robin said "I grew up listening to Jamaican music before reggae," specifying blue beat and ska.
Impact on europe
"It is not strange for us to be doing reggae. We never discussed what we were going to do. It came," he said.
There were chuckles when Travis said: "I can tell you, English people could not dance before reggae music. You have to go to Europe to understand the profound impact that Jamaican music has had. It is phenomenal," he said.
It has not been all drum, bass, horns and roses for UB40, though, as Earl Falcolner pointed out that "like the original Jamaican artistes, we got ripped off. We are a working band. We have to work to live. We are not that financially independent." He pointed out that people like Sean Paul and Junior Gong are stepping up and doing so on their own.
Ahead of their performance, Falconer said: "We have played all around the Caribbean and the experience has been good. I would be surprised if there was a different response tonight. We know a Jamaican audience is hard to please."
"We are just going to have a party and see if we can catch the audience. We are just glad to be here," Travis said.
'We are happy to be here. It has been a long time coming.'
- Brian Travis, saxophonist
'We have played all around the Caribbean and the experience has been good. I would be surprised if there was a different response tonight. We know a Jamaican audience is hard to please.'
- Earl Falcolner, bassist
