Online edition of Sunday Observer

It may have appeared so to James Brown the drummer at a moment of torment, when "the Kings of reggae", UB-40, was straightening out their act and faith in reggae's marvellously behemothic variety and originality. But for die-hard local reggae-ites, who just cannot seem to get over the clean hollerings of Ali Campbel and his equally clean fresh-guy act in "Red Red Wine" and "Kingston Town", played in all the music and TV stations of Sri Lanka breaking boundaries of time and trend, "Reggae" is forever.

Ali Campbell- main vocalist

Well, life still has a great potential for UB-40 swooners. Specially, when these British reggae greats will create a night to remember forever with a live performance at the Parliamentary grounds on December 14. In this historic era, when peace is steadily gaining impetus, 18 years after the country was embroiled in war, UB-40 will bring another first-ever to the Lankan history with a "peace concert" celebrating our sojourn in peace via satellite to the four corners of Jaffna, Trincomalee, Kandy and Galle.

The idea, conceived when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Trade and Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake saw the band performing in Bangalore, has now magnified into a mega concert, magnetising more than 50,000 fans, and winning the country the television rights to record and telecast the fabulous show in the region. "This is an ideal moment to bring in the group here," says the concert-initiator, Minister Ravi Karunanayake. "Now that we are moving to a lasting peace, a peace and unity concert could well stir up the peace feelings of people".

Hailing from the notoriously race-tensed Birmingham, the multi-ethnic UB-40 is seen as the perfect medium to embed the message of peace in local hearts. "Music has no ethnic, racial or language barriers", says Anura Lokuhetty, Chairman of the Peace Concert, "What could be the ideal medium to celebrate peace than in music?"

Life promises better and better, for melody-kicking Lankan movers and shakers. This first concert is not the only one. Wait for more, when the cultural diary of peace activities unfold to reveal more entertaining fare, promoting Sri Lankan flair as a leisure and business destination all over the world.

Thirty years after conquering the high grounds of popularising reggae around the world, UB-40 can happily look forward to many more rivers to cross, as British music is now more racially-integrated than in the late Seventies. "When we started making records, there was a big divide between black and white music in people's eyes", says James Brown. "Everything is more hybrid now. But our songs still reflect where we have come from. If you listen to a new track, you can hear elements of what we did 20 years ago".

Their latest album, "Cover-Up", created to promote Aids-awareness in Africa, is another hallmark of their unique blend of the personal and the political. It features ballads, a lover's rock number "Sparkle" and upbeat dances such as "Rudie". Never low-lying when it comes to battling big issues, UB-40 does it once again in "Cover-Up", the title-track, threading the African AIDS blues.

"Aids has hit epidemic proportions in many parts of Africa," adds Ali. "Current rates are taking away a third of population, leaving 48 million AIDS orphans". Could this ring an echo here too? The album retraces the band's spirit of adventure, laced in its last collection of original songs, 1997s "Guns in the Ghetto".

Many Lankans tread more familiar grounds with their early perennials, "I Got You Baby" which Ali duetted with Chrissie Hynde, as well as "Breakfast in Bed", "Homely Girl", "Here I am", and "(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You". Not forgetting their first UK number one single, "Red Red Wine" which to this day, no local UB-40 fan seem to have been able to dig out of his system, come garage music, drum, bass, R and B or hip hop. Reggae is getting more up tempo, and so are the much-retraced tracks of redder and redder wine, played in almost all uptown Karaoke Bars in the country.

The eight UB-40 members, Astro, Ali, Earl Falconer, Brian Travers, James, Robin Cambel, Norman Hassan and Micheal Virtue, naming themselves after an unemployment form, have had the rare luck of remaining in one piece for three decades while many great bands had to go the way of splintereens of splits and splices.

They celebrated the current year with an extraordinary record, "The Fathers of Reggae" lovingly reuniting the band with their roots. The album features Reggae legends such as Freddie McGregor, the Mighty Diamonds, Gregory Isaccs, John Holt, Max Romeo, Toots Hibbert, Honey Boy, Bob Andy and more. In a manner, it is a reverse of their "Labour of Love" album, the band's serenade to the Jamaican stars who inspired the band members to pick up musical instruments.

"Fathers bring the whole thing full circle", says Ali. "There are some amazing tunes. Alot of the singers have stamped their own identity on the songs with their vocal ad-libs".

A world great such as UB-40, coming here with families, also marks final curtains on an era of turmoil which kept away the world-wide traveller, voicing to the world that Sri Lanka is an ultra-safe destination for all, as Minister Karunanayake points out.

Though the concert could cost a hefty Rs. 40 million, the organisers of the show promises tickets at an affordable rates and are hopeful of securing private sector sponsorship for the entire event. SriLankan Airlines have already offered special packages for UB-40 fans in Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, India and Maldives to fly in for the spectacular event. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. will offer press coverage as the print media sponsor. Well, UB-40 fans, we have said enough. Now it's time to roll out the rupees, book your tickets and await the grand show which will hit the local grounds just two weeks hence.

"Our strength is that we are democratic", says Norman. "We all grew up like a family and we are friends too. We have the freedom to do our own thing and nobody steps out of line."

Take a cue from Norman. It could be an ideal peace philosophy for all Lankans to follow in our crusade for peace, while digging the rhythms of one of the world's greatest bands of reggae - the UB-40.

How they started... Mission- to promote reggae music

The UB40 begins with eight lads from the Moseley area of Birmingham, who have gone on to be one of the biggest acts in the world.

The early days must now seem a million miles away, although the band have always remained close to their roots, opting to stay in Birmingham (rather than make the move to London as many bands do) establishing their own company and studios, DEP International, in the heart of the city.

"We really believed what we did was so unique and fantastic that the world would come to us," says Robin Campbell. "It was a case of cutting off our noses to spite our faces, but over the years it's worked in our favour."

Friends from schooldays, they met regularly at the unemployment office to sign on - saxophonist Brian Travers the only one to have a job to speak of, as a trainee electrician.

"They made me sign on every morning," Ali Campbell recalls. "That's how the band got together; I'd be there at about 8 o'clock and then I'd go down to wake up Earl and Brian - we had time on our hands."

With a love of rock steady and reggae music, the Campbells were regulars at Don Christie Records on Ladypool Road, Balsall Heath, and were born into a musical household - although father Ian was a well-known folk singer, with little time or interest in his sons' taste of music.UB40 were a band before they had played a note; Brian's posters and the group's graffiti advertising an act who technically didn't exist: "We'd hyped ourselves so brilliantly," Ali laughs.

"We decided we were going to call ourselves UB40 before we had any instruments, so we started writing 'UB40' everywhere, going out on nights with fly posters.

"We put them everywhere; one time I was in the Fighting Cocks (pub in Moseley) and this was before we got our instruments, before we'd done any rehearsing or anything, and there were kids at the bar saying: 'Have you heard UB40?' 'Yeah they're a great band."Unemployed (on sterling pounds 7.90 a week each), getting instruments together wasn't easy.Some equipment was bought with compensation money Ali received from being hit in the eye on his 17th birthday, the band 'acquired' the rest of the gear they required:

"At the start we had half a drum kit, one conga drum and a Stylophone which we put through a 15 watt amp!" says Ali.

"Earl had a bass 'cos his missus bought him a little Gibson copy; I picked up a guitar from a party in Moseley; we were like a gang who did all the parties. "It was a Rapier 28 guitar which was right handed; what Earl did was broke it in half and put it on left handed for me - that was my first ever guitar."

Ali adds: "It was what you could get; Jimmy had a set of drums, so he became the drummer; I wanted to be the drummer but Jimmy can't sing!"Those drums weren't very good, though, so we needed to get another kit; we bought one off a junkie in Moseley village who we knew was in a bad way so we got him down from pounds 300 to 35!

"It was fire damaged so what we did was take it back to our cellars in Trafalgar Road, we peel all the sins off, glued Bacofoil on all the drums, varnished it and we had a new silver kit which was flogged to someone and then bought a new one - I think it was few hundred quid, enough to put a deposit on a decent Tama kit!"

Pretty soon UB40 were the biggest draw in town; their first residency at the New Inns pub saw huge crowds gather outside, desperate to hear this exciting new band who were soon to make it big.

"It's not like we discovered reggae or anything," Robin insists.

"We were living in Balsall Heath, a predominantly black area. The music they were listening to was ska, that became rock steady which became reggae."We were on a mission to promote reggae music. We still are."