80's Music Junkies: UB40

The band was named after the paper form issued by the UK government's Department of Health and Social Security at the time of the band's formation for claiming unemployment benefit (UB40 = Unemployment Benefit, Form 40).

The band members began as mates who knew each other from various colleges and schools across Birmingham. Before any of them could play their instruments, Ali Campbell and Brian Travers travelled around Birmingham promoting the band, putting up UB40 posters. The band purchased its first instruments with £4,000 in compensation money that Campbell, who would become the lead singer, received after a bar fight during his 17th birthday celebration.

Their first gig took place on February 9, 1979 at The Hare & Hounds Pub in Kings Heath, Birmingham for a friend's birthday party. UB40 caught their first break when Chrissie Hynde noticed them at a pub and gave them an opportunity as a support act to her band, The Pretenders. UB40's first single, "King"/"Food for Thought" was released on Graduate Records, a local independent label run by David Virr. It reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart and was the first record to reach the UK top ten without the backing of a major record label.

Their first album was titled "Signing Off," as the band were signing off from or closing their claim on the unemployment benefit. It was recorded in a bedsit in Birmingham and was produced by Bob Lamb. Norman Hassan said of the recording: "if you stripped my track down, you could hear the birds in the background." This is because his tracks were recorded outside in the garden. Signing Off was released on September 6, 1980, and entered the UK Albums Chart on October 2, 1980. It reached as high as No. 2 in the UK and spent 72 weeks in total on the chart. Signing Off is now a Platinum album.

Despite great success in the UK, UB40's popularity in the United States was only established after they released Labour of Love, an album of cover songs, in 1983. The album reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Top 200 in the US. The album featured the song, "Red Red Wine", a cover version of a Neil Diamond song (in an arrangement similar to that of Tony Tribe's version).

Present Arms In Dub The third album by UB40 released in October 1981. The album contained eight remixed instrumental versions of original tracks from Present Arms and its bonus 12" single; only the double-A side single tracks "Don't Let It Pass You By"/"Don't Slow Down" are not included. The album was the first Dub music album to hit the UK top 40. The Dub style is characterized as a mainly instrumental version of an existing song, typically emphasizing the drums and bass.

UB44 is the fourth album by UB40, released in September 1982. The early release of the packaging had a hologram cover. It reached No 4 in the UK album chart.

This is the first live album by UB40.

Labour of Love is a reggae album by UB40, the band's fifth studio album. It was originally released in September 1, 1983 and included the hits, "Red, Red Wine", "Cherry Oh Baby", "Many Rivers to Cross", and "Please Don't Make Me Cry".

The entire album consists of cover versions of songs originally released by the group's musical idols. The most notable track is the cover of Neil Diamond's "Red, Red Wine," which reached #1 in the United Kingdom upon its release. The song was re-released in the United States in 1988. This version included a toasted verse by Astro and reached #1 on the Billboard Top 100.

The album reached #1 in the UK and #8 in the United States. With the inclusion of the new version of "Red, Red Wine," the album regained popularity in 1988 and climbed to #15 in the U.S.

In 1989, it was ranked #98 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s.

The band would later release two more cover albums, Labour of Love II and Labour of Love III.

Rat In The Kitchen is an album by UB40 released on August 8, 1986.

It's hard to imagine what A&M had in mind, releasing a live album by a group that hadn't really broken in the U.S. yet. Nevertheless, the record actually spent eight weeks in the charts, but it sold only to diehards. Although it's an appealing enough set, featuring covers like "Cherry Oh Baby" and "I Got You, Babe" (minus Chrissie Hynde), and such British hits as "If It Happens Again" and "Sing Our Song," it's hard to imagine it doing any better.

Labour of Love II is the second album of covers by the British reggae group, UB40. UB40 repeats their formula for even more success, with reggae versions of "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)" and "The Way You Do the Things You Do."

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