UB40 will mark their 45th anniversary with the release of new album ‘UB45’ on 19th April 2024 via SRG Records (Universal).
The 14-track album features brand new songs including forthcoming singles ‘Gimme Some Kinda Sign’ and ‘Home’, plus re-recordings of some of the band’s most beloved hits. Pre-order the album now.
There are seven brand new UB40 recordings on this album, including forthcoming lead single ‘Gimme Some Kinda Sign’, a cover of Brenton Wood’s 1967 track “Gimme Little Sign”. The group added a special UB40 flavour to the legendary soul classic. It was chosen by Matt Doyle, who brought it to Robin Campbell, unaware that the song had been on the guitarist and vocalist’s wish list since the ‘Labour Of Love’ (1983) days.
Other new recordings include a beautiful rendition of Bill Withers’ ‘Hope She’ll Be Happier’ (1971), ‘Trouble’, ‘Say Nothing’, ‘Fool Me Once’, and the single ‘Champion’ which was the official anthem of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. UB40’s iconic tunes ‘Food For Thought’, ‘King’, ‘Tyler’, ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘Cherry Oh Baby’, ‘Sing Our Own Song’ and ‘Kingston Town’ have all been given a fresh recorded treatment while retaining the spirit, timbre and melodies that fans know and love.
Robin Campbell said: “We’re so proud of the new album. We wanted to record UB45 to celebrate 45 years of our music, and also to showcase Matt Doyle’s vocals on the tracks. He’s brought a new lease of life to our music, as has the addition of fellow Brummie, “permanent guest” MC Gilly G and my son, Matt Campbell on backing vocals. When you play songs over so many years, the arrangements and vocals evolve and change. These updated versions of our hits are still close to the originals, but now reflect how we perform them today and they sound better than ever.”
The track listing for ‘UB45’ is:
1. Home
2. Food For Thought
3. King
4. Champion
5. Tyler
6. Trouble
7. Red Red Wine
8. Fool Me Once
9. Cherry Oh Baby
10. Say Nothing
11. Sing Our Own Song
12. Gimme Some Kinda Sign
13. Kingston Town
14. Hope She’ll Be Happier
UB40’s 45 year celebrations will continue well into 2024. Following the release of ‘UB45’, the band will embark on a massive headline arena tour of the UK, travelling the length and breadth of the country with special guests Soul II Soul.
The dates are:
Fri 1 November 2024 London OVO Arena Wembley
Sat 2 November 2024 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Thurs 7 November 2024 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Sat 9 November 2024 Birmingham Resorts World Arena
Fri 15 November 2024 Leeds First Direct Arena
Sat 16 November 2024 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Thurs 21 November 2024 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Sat 23 November 2024 Belfast SSE Arena
Tickets for UB40’s UK arena tour, which kicks off in London on 1st November 2024, are available now at www.ub40.global
