If we knew the magic to good covers, we’d do it every time: UB40

In conversation with the band of 'Red Red Wine' fame, ahead of their India tour

Robin Campbell of UB40 (pictures sourced with permission from the band's Facebook page)

Listen to these wise men sing, and you can't help but fall in love with them. With over 50 singles in the UK Singles Charts and four albums dedicated to covers, '80s kids will vouch that their playlist wouldn't have been complete without UB40. The English reggae and pop band is currently in India for their India tour (Bengaluru, Goa, Pune and wrapping up in Mumbai). We caught up with UB40's guitarist-vocalist Robin Campbell for an exclusive chat ahead of the band's 2017 India tour. Excerpts...

How does it feel to be back in India?

As a band, the last time we visited India was around 20 years ago. Today, we see it growing and prospering exponentially, though the traffic is quite crazy!

You’ve created some memorable covers. What is the secret behind making good ones?

The reason we did covers in the first place was because we wanted the world to know why we got turned on to reggae. We happened to have a lot of commercial success with those tunes, but it wasn’t by design, it was luck. So, I don’t think we do anything special. We’re just paying tribute to the songs we like. If we really knew what the magic to making good covers was, we’d create great covers every time!

It seems like EDM has taken over the commercial music scene. This said, what is the future of reggae?

I think it’s got a very healthy future. We travel the world; and there are local reggae groups in every country we visit. Whether it’s Japan, New Zealand, Europe or India, people love their reggae music. I don’t know who the next reggae superstar will be, but it honestly stands a very good chance that it won’t be someone from Jamaica; just because reggae is only growing globally.

Have you listened to any of India’s reggae artistes; the Reggae Rajahs, for example?

See, that’s exactly what I was saying. Everywhere we go, there are local groups. But honestly, we haven’t heard them. Although, in Birmingham (England), where we come from, we have a couple of Indian reggae artistes. We’ve even worked with a guy called Hunters, and might just end up collaborating with an Indian reggae artiste on our next project as well. It’s a studio album that we’re working towards releasing this year.

UB40

Many listeners say that UB40 without Ali Campbell and Astro (they quit the band in 2008 and 2013 respectively) isn’t UB40 at all. Is this a fair judgement to make?

That’s ludicrous. Many bands in the past have continued successfully or even better than before with a new singer. Take The Drifters and The Temptations for example. When Phil Collins took over as lead singer of Genesis after Peter Gabriel, people didn’t write the band off. It’s ridiculous to suggest that we’re not UB40 without our past members. Members leave, but the band carries on.

If the band started out today, what would you have done differently?

I certainly think it would be difficult to have the same success today, because there’s so much luck involved. You need to be in the right place at the right time. Fans also don’t have the same allegiance to new artsites than they do to the older ones. But on the flip side, you have social media, which in some ways, makes it a lot easier to get your music out to people.

UB40 turns 40 in 2018. How do you feel?

It’s been a magic carpet ride, better than what we could have imagined. We still lead a charmed life, travel the world, and play to sold-out audiences. If you had asked me 40 years ago, I would have said, ‘If we last 10 years, that will be fantastic’. To last this long is just incredible.

---

This article was written for and published in The Times of India.

Articles > Entertainment