UB40
featuring
ALI, ASTRO & MICKEY
announce NZ, Australia
& Pacific Island Tour
for the
‘A REAL LABOUR OF LOVE –
40THANNIVERSARY TOUR’
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UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey have today announced their return down under for the 2019 ‘A Real Labour Of Love & 40thAnniversary Tour’. The legendary reggae band – who earlier this year released ‘A Real Labour Of Love’, their most successful album for 25 years – will play three Australian dates in the Gold Coast, Perth and Dunsborough. Tickets for all shows go on sale Tuesday 3rdJuly 2018.
With 2019 marking 40 years since UB40 first performed live, the legendary reggae band will be celebrating with a greatest hits set that features global smashes including ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘Cherry Oh Baby’, ‘Rat In Mi Kitchen’ and ‘Kingston Town’. Ali, Astro & Mickey will be joined on-stage by their incredible eight-piece reggae band.
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UB40
FT ALI, ASTRO & MICKEY
THE 40THANNIVERSARY TOUR
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FRIDAY 1 FEBRUARY
NIGHTQUARTER, HELENSVALE, QUEENSLAND
GENERAL ADMISSION
$90+BF / VIP $150+BF
TICKETS
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SATURDAY 2 FEBRUARY
RED HILL AUDITORIUM, PERTH
GENERAL ADMISSION
$90+BF
TICKETS
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SUNDAY 3 FEBRUARY
CLANCY’S, DUNSBOROUGH
GENERAL ADMISSION
$90+BF/ VIP $170 +BF
TICKETS
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ARTIST INFO
UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey’s new album ‘A Real Labour Of Love’ reached #2 on the UK Album Chart and #1 on the Billboard Reggae Chart, with the album spending several weeks in the Top 10. The new album, the legendary reggae band’s highest chart entry since 1993’s #1 ‘Promises And Lies’, was Radio 2’s Album Of The Week and received 4-star reviews in the Daily Mail and Daily Star who said it “crackles with the energy of their classics.”
The next single to be taken from ‘A Real Labour Of Love’ was ‘How Could I Leave’, released in April. The follow-up to their Radio 2 playlisted single ‘She Loves Me Now’, ‘How Could I Leave’ is a fresh interpretation of a 1977 classic from the Crown Prince of reggae Dennis Brown.
“It’s a standard because of the hook,”‘ says Ali. “It’s a real ear-worm, a bit like Johnny Cash’s Ring Of Fire.”
As founding members of Britain’s biggest reggae band UB40, singer Ali Campbell, second vocalist 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, global audience. They also topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with their reggae cover of Neil Diamond’s ‘Red Red Wine’. Now with ‘A Real Labour Of Love’ they give us a fresh take on the legendary series of albums, putting the focus primarily on reggae tracks from the 1980s.
Recorded and mixed at Dean Street and RAK Studios, ‘A Real Labour Of Love’ was produced by Ali, whose instantly recognisable voice is augmented by the ‘sing-jay’ vocal style of Astro. The latter takes the lead on six of the album’s 16 tracks, placing the two singers at the helm of an 11-piece band. Sadly, ‘A Real Labour Of Love’ also marks the passing of long-serving trombonist John Johnson. A former member of Simply Red who joined forces with Ali seven years ago, John played on the album but passed away shortly after the recording. The album is dedicated to him.
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HIT NEW ALBUM ‘A REAL LABOUR OF LOVE’ AVAILABLE NOW
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Follow UB40 HERE
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