UB40's Atro says the band's last visit to Northland was "one of the best experiences ever for us".
UB40's Atro says the band's last visit to Northland was "one of the best experiences ever for us".
Astro from UB40 talks with Northern Advocate music man Mike Dinsdale about their common ground, the band's coming anniversary, how Northland gave UB40 one of its most memorable visits ever and how they can't wait to come back.
In almost 40 years of touring, UK reggae legends UB40 have played thousands of gigs around the world.
But, according to UB40's second singer Astro, the band's last visit to Northland will go down as one of the most memorable ever.
It wasn't just the terrific reception UB40, with Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue, received from the sold-out crowd at Kerikeri's Kainui Road Vineyard in January 2016 that impressed.
Astro with his UB40 bandmates UB40, with Astro, Ali Campbell and Mikey Virtue. Photos / Flash Gordon Photography
What will stay with the band forever, Astro says, is the "absolutely amazing" powhiri the group received at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds ahead of their show.
"Man, that was just so powerful and moving for us. It sent shivers down the spine and it's something we will never forget. We just couldn't believe it and felt so honoured and privileged to have been welcomed like that.
"I think that's one of the best experiences ever for us," Astro says in that broad Midlands brogue, down the phone from the UK.
And that welcome, and lifelong memory, is partly why the band will be back in Northland next year, to play at the Reggae by the River concert, overlooking the Waitangi River, on January 26 — on the band's 40th Anniversary Tour, UB40TH.
The band, responsible for timeless hits such as Red Red Wine, Cherry Oh Baby, Rat In Mi Kitchen and Kingston Town, will headline the event and if the band's last appearance in Northland is anything to go by, tickets will be in high demand. All 5000 tickets were sold for the Kainui Road Vineyard gig. Early bird tickets for January's gig went on sale on Monday and have already sold out, too.
My own connections I've got my own connections to UB40, stretching back almost as long as the band has been touring.
I first saw them playing in my home town of Middlesbrough in 1979 — on one of their very first tours — and have seen them about 10 times since. Astro was also one of the first musicians I interviewed when I came to NZ in the late 1980s. At that time the band were at their peak, riding the wave of success from the Labour of Love albums that took the band global.
Astro performs on stage.
I remember that interview well and Astro does too, letting me know straight away he recalled that interview because it was conducted by a fellow-Englishman on the other side of the world who had seen the band develop from angry young men singing about living on the dole in Britain to international superstars spreading reggae around the globe. "We were angry young men when we started and reggae was the platform we used to express that anger.
"We're all old bastards now though, Mike," he says. "But we've still got to spread the word and the love through reggae so we'll keep going strong until everybody gets it. "We loved that visit to NZ, but then we always do. We love the country and the people there seem to love us and we always have great shows, so we can't wait to get back there again."
As founding members of Britain's biggest reggae band, frontman Ali Campbell, Astro and keyboardist Mickey Virtue topped the UK singles chart on three occasions and sold 70 million records as they took their smooth yet rootsy musical blend to all corners of the globe.
Between 1983 and 1998, UB40 produced three Labour of Love albums, bringing hits such as Eric Donaldson's Cherry Oh Baby, Lord Creator's Kingston Town and Johnny Osbourne's Come Back Darling to a new, world audience.
Man, that [the powhiri] was just so powerful and moving for us. It sent shivers down the spine and it's something we will never forget.
They also topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and around the world, with their cover of Neil Diamond's Red Red Wine.
Their latest album, A Real Labour Of Love which has already hit No 2 in the UK charts and is their most successful album for over two decades, is set to extend the legacy. "People have been asking for the last 20 years when the next Labour of Love was coming out and we've been pleased with the response, getting to No 2 on release in the UK is pretty good and hopefully by the time of the 40th anniversary tour most people will have heard it," Astro says.
"It's going to be really good to bring the new album to NZ and Australia and Rarotonga, where we've never played before."
Music of love So what keeps a band going, and still successful for 40 years?
"It's simple really, the music. Reggae is the music of love and unity and peace and it really resonates with people it seems."
Members of UB40 and the Treaty Grounds cultural group Te Pito Whenua pose for a photo outside Te Whare Runanga in 2016.
In fact NZ was the country that gave UB40 its first No1 in the world and Astro says the band is grateful for that, and the love it receives every time it comes.
"It's just such a joy to come and play there. It's a beautiful country and the Māori people in particular love reggae — and reggae is island music that just happens to connect with everybody around the world. It's now an international language that anybody can hum along to.
"It's going to be incredible to come back and then go to play in Rarotonga. We're still taking the music to new places like that and we know they'll really love the show as much as we will."
A visit to NZ also means the band can catch up with some old friends.
UB40's powhiri at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in 2016 will stay with the band forever, second singer Astro says. Photo / Peter de Graaf
"You grow old with your fans. There are some people in NZ that are friends that we've known since we were just youngsters and it will be terrific to see them again."
Like many Brits, Astro is a bit concerned about the amount of time it is taking to exit the European Union — Brexit.
"We're all in limbo really, and it's really having a negative effect on the country. Regardless of which way you voted, the people spoke and the politicians have to listen to the people and get on with it.
"But the politicians have their fingers in the pies and they don't want to lose out so it looks like many of them are trying to derail Brexit."
With the bitter division Brexit is causing in the UK, now is probably a great time for the uniting sound of reggae. "I think we need more than that."
