UB40 at Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Thursday 28th October 2010, 9:24AM BST.
UB40
Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Concert review by Craig Birch
Wolverhampton came alive for UB40 as the band stopped off for a night at the Civic Hall on their 30th anniversary tour.
Just 24 hours after a reunion for the group at the Symphony Hall in their home town of Birmingham, it was the Black Country’s turn to welcome reggae royalty last night.
They may be minus Ali Campbell these days but his brother Duncan is cut from very much the same cloth.
UB40 insisted when going on this tour that it wasn’t about their hits – and a lot of the opening gambits were from their first album.
Signing Off may be a little raw for their conventional fans but their Number 4 hit Food for Thought was a track that would stand up in any time. It got the crowd worked up and the band really couldn’t help themselves trotting out the classics after the interval to rapturous applause.
As second-halfs go, Rat In Me Kitchen, Kingston Town and Red Red Wine was as good as it could have got. Or so we thought – but out trotted UB40 for a superb encore.
Fans Tim and Ika Heard, of Hill Street, Heath Hayes, went to the show for their 26th wedding anniversary. Tim, 49, said: “Seeing them in smaller venues like this is much better.”
Marcia and Karl Griffiths, of Darlaston Lane, Bilston, have been fans since they were teenagers. Marcia said: “It is part of our youth.”
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My wife is a bigger fan than me to be honest, and having been dragged along to their last few gigs at the NEC, I wasnt overly looking forward to last night.
How wrong was I? They were fantastic, “signing off” was a brilliant LP at the time and was proven to still be relevant to modern times. The crowd were noisy, the band members were clearly enjoying themselves, with personal conversations with members of the crowd and the music was as close to perfect as you will get at any gig.
The lesson here is that if you are going to see UB40 in the future see them in a smaller venue, as this bar far suits the roots of their music and you get a more personal interaction with a band still aware of where they have come from.
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But why was it so empty downstairs?
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Because they are not big anymore. 30 years on playing anybody and everybody elses songs and Ali leaving is the real signing off!
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It was sold out actually Boycey.
They allow a certain amount of people in a venue these days even for standing gigs, if those people are all crowded at the front, then so be it. They still wont let any more people in. I was there. It wasnt empty at all. but there was plenty of space to move around. Its called Health & Safety.
David- its Alis gigs that are empty not UB40′s- so now where’s your logic? ;D
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It may have been empty at the back, but I couldnt see at the front. My opinion of UB40 wasnt much different than Davids TBH but last night was a real eye opener for me.
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Who is Ali??
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Absolutely Awesome. The band seemed the happiest they have been in a long time. The sound was fantastic along with the atmosphere. Hope they play there again. The smaller venue was much better than the NEC though saying that i would go and see them wherever they played.
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We danced the nite away to Fallin in Love to celebrate our engagement.Thank You UB40. Thank You Sharon.XXX
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Have followed they since the start, I now live in London,but made the journey home to wolves to see them. My sister who is not been a follower of is now a convert.
Would not have missed it for the world they were just the business. I always prefer home ground so to speak.
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i went to see them, and it was a jorney back in time for me had a great time, the sound was great.
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