They’ve been visiting our shores since 1981 and now the world’s biggest reggae band UB40 are returning for their Red Red Wine Tour. The British super-group are also celebrating their 45th anniversary – so fans can expect to hear their classic hits, as well as some new songs from their UB45 album when they take to the stage.
Drummer Jimmy Brown, 66, chats to Woman’s Day about bringing the show to Oz.
What’s unique about the Aussie audience?
It’s well known the Aussies like to party, so it’s more fun touring Down Under!
Are you planning to explore anywhere in particular during your downtime while with UB40 here?
We’ve done quite a lot of exploring over the decades. Made many friends who have taken pride in showing off their country, so I feel like we know Oz well. It’s an amazing country, even though it has become more American over the decades and a lot less like the UK, which is what it was like back in the 1980s.
You’re celebrating your 45th anniversary this year – did you ever imagine that you’d still be making music all this time later?
Of course, when we first started, we didn’t even think very far into the future at all. We were too busy trying to hold onto the whirlwind of fairly immediate success.
I don’t think any of us thought we were one-hit wonders. We kind of took it for granted that we would be able to build on the success of our first single hitting the Top 5.
But to still be going today is phenomenal really. And I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess as to why we are still here. Over the years, I have learned to just enjoy it and don’t ask questions. I’m always amazed at the band’s global reach, but I couldn’t explain why.
I suppose if you could bottle the magic ingredient, you could sell it and become even richer than 1000 Musks or Bezos combined. It’s possible that choosing reggae has helped us sound a bit fresher than a lot of bands that started in the 1980s.
If anything, we sound more like the 1970s, the most influential period for the genre. There are hardcore fans that have been with us on this entire journey, so it’s good to see familiar faces that have literally become really good friends over the years.
On your newest album, UB45, you have re-recorded your biggest tracks. Which is your favourite of all your hits? Is there one that you’re sick of singing?
I usually like the ones that nobody else in the band is keen on, so I wouldn’t really claim to have an instinct for a hit record. I tend to like whatever tracks have been most recently recorded. It might be a drag rehearsing Red Red Wine, but we just couldn’t do a gig without playing it.
There are some new tracks on the album too! Has the UB40 sound changed much over the years?
Not sure we have changed much really. Out of the six original members that go all the way back to school together, four of us are still here. One left [Ali], and we lost Brian to cancer. Brian passing away left a bigger hole in the band than losing our singer. He was such a prolific songwriter, a charismatic performer, as well as the main man when it came to the look of the band.
But the core foundation of the band remains. So, I don’t think the new tunes sound so different to the old tunes. But I think overall they are technically better than those old recordings.
Do you ever get annoyed with each other when you’ve been on tour too long together?
Even after all this time, we genuinely like each other. The most annoying ones are no longer around. And the upheaval of losing Ali [in 2008] has brought us all even closer together. Even though we act like naughty children most of the time, I think we all realise that our future depends on our ability to work together in a way where everyone is happy, which is why the atmosphere around the band feels so upbeat and positive.
UB40 are touring Australia in October.
