At the height of their fame, the reggae band UB40 sold 120m records, but a bitter feud about who is entitled to use the name UB40 has set brother against brother.
In one camp is Ali Campbell, the front man who left in 2008 with Mickey Virtue (since left) and co-frontman, Astro. They were called UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mick Virtue. Now called UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro.
In the other camp are the original members Robin Campbell, Jimmy Brown, Norman Hassan, Brian Travers and Earl Falconer and Duncan Campbell, (who replaced Ali Campbell as lead singer) of the band, who say they are the only ones who can use the UB40 name.
As far as fans are concerned, UB40 without Ali Campbell and Astro was not UB40 at all, and Ali Campbell stated in 2014 that he had not spoken to his brothers since 2008. But who knows where this will go. All we know is they made some great music and we’re happy to play a tribute to the original UB40.
