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UB40
+ Eagle Eye Cherry
@ Gold Coast Convention and
Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast, QLD,
12th October 2024
(Live Review)

Review by Karen Eivers

Photos by Kurt Petersen (@khp.photo)

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UB40 / Photo – @khp.photo

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Can a band thats been making music together for 45 years still sell out large venues and have everyone in that space moving their bodies and singing along at the top of their voices ?

Yes it seems they can.

From entering the venue there was a sense that this was going to be something special.

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Eagle Eye Cherry / Photo – @khp.photo

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Eagle Eye Cherry’s name up in lights had me instantly excited to see this artist perform despite not having heard of him for decades. He opened the night strongly, reminding me of that once so familiar voice and guitar I had almost forgotten. His CDs still sit on my shelves at home. Second song in, he had cast his guitar aside and moved around that stage effortlessly and soon  had the crowd singing along with ‘And I like it’. And we certainly did!

He acknowledged how long it had been since he was last in Australia and how the next song felt perfectly timed for this night of coming together at the Gold Coast. He launched into GOLDEN along with some of his other newer tracks before diving into some of the older stuff like She Didn’t Believe and Are you Still Having Fun from his album Living in the Present Tense released back in 2000.

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Eagle Eye Cherry / Photo – @khp.photo

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The band surrounding him consistently grabbed my attention. Clearly a collection of outstanding musicians. They closed out the set by transporting us back in time to his hit song from 1998. It feels like just yesterday we were singing this song. Not some 25 years ago! Save Tonight and Fight the Break of Dawn  . Come Tomorrow .. Tomorrow I’ll be Gone. We sang along. Not for the last time that night.

Between bands I people watched, observing what a truly diverse crowd had come together. It’s clear that reggae transcends boundaries. It welcomes in all age groups and dress codes.

It’s Celebratory and Upbeat.

When the lights dimmed again, excitement started to build as the light show really got underway for a couple of minutes accompanied by a dub soundtrack that really built the anticipation of their arrival.

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UB40 / Photo – @khp.photo

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Suddenly the Lights went on and there they were. All 11 of them !

Whilst UB40 have lost some members over the years, on stage were 4 of the 5 founding members, Robin Campbell (vocals & guitar), James Brown (drums), Earl Falconer (vocals & bass), and Norman Hassan (vocals & percussion). The horns section, a staple for 30 odd years is Martin Meredith (keyboards & saxophone), Laurence Parry (trumpet & trombone), and Ian Thompson (saxophone). Rounding out the new lineup are Jahred Gordon (keyboards), Matt Campbell (backing vocals), and crucially Gilly G (MC vocals) and Matt Doyle (lead vocals & guitar) have stepped into the frontmen roles with coolness and confidence.

They dove straight into Here I Am (Come and Take Me), and with no time wasted on banter they delivered a string of songs, one after the other that we know and love. The production was phenomenal, with exceptional sound and lighting! About half an hour in we are reminded ‘we are here to celebrate 45 years of being UB40. We’ve a new album called UB45 and we’re going to play old favourites and a few new ones. Not a lot but a few’.

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UB40 / Photo – @khp.photo

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They introduced HOME as being for the Dub Reggae fans and it’s the opening track on UB45. A mix of old and new continued and at one point Robin announced ‘These next couple are for the hard core fans. Songs many of you have been asking us to add back into the set for ages, so we have. They included, Please Don’t Make me Cry, a personal favourite from the 1983 album Labour of Love.

They offered up one more new song, called Fool Me Once. ‘It sounds like a love song but it’s not. It’s Political, like most of our songs. I’m not going to explain what it’s about. If you don’t get what it’s about, it’s probably about you.’ 

In contrast, 2019’s The Keeper is most definitely a love song. A quality one. Dedicated by Robin to his wife. A song neither of us had heard before but were both instantly struck by the lyrics.

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UB40 / Photo – @khp.photo

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“I will lift your spirit, whenever you are blue
I will be your constant, when no one else is true
I will always be the friend you need to get you through
And you will be the keeper of my heart.”

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UB40 / Photo – @khp.photo

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They also performed Gimme Me Some Kinda Sign, their take on an old 1960’s classic of which Robin mentioned still owning the original 7-inch vinyl.

The song has been covered by many, usually with a reggae rocksteady vibe rather than the extreme Dance/Pop version Australia’s Peter Andre released into the world back in 1992, that may be the reason it was familiar to others like myself.  You can check out UB40’s version on this new UB45 album

The place then burst into an enthusiastic sing along as they closed out the set with the crowd favourite Red Red Wine, which happens to also be the name of this current celebratory tour. They’d given us so much over a couple of hours, but we were still yearning for just a little more, if they’d be so kind.

We roared for encore, and they didn’t disappoint. Gradually one by one they returned to the stage and after a bit more encouragement, launched into the instantly recognisable sax riff of Food For Thought. Just when I thought they’d already played all their best, this was a highlight.

They gave us a couple more but we’ll leave a little something of mystery for those yet to go to the rest of the shows. 

A show that in every way surpassed expectations.

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UB40 / Photo – @khp.photo

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Check out Kurt Petersen’s (@khp.photo) full gallery of this event HERE

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UB40 / Photo – @khp.photo

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Follow UB40
Twitter – Facebook – Instagram
Youtube – Website

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UB40 / Photo – @khp.photo

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Press Release 11th April 2024 (below) HERE

UB40
announce Australian Tour
with special guest
EAGLE-EYE CHERRY

Get ready for the ultimate
Groove-athon as the masters of
reggae bring their magic to Australia

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UB40
AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES 2024

Saturday 12 October
Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast

Sunday 13 October
Eatons Hill (Outdoor), Brisbane

Wednesday 16 October
Hordern Pavilion Sydney

Thursday 17 October
Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne

Friday 18 October
AEC Theatre, Adelaide

Sunday 20 October
Red Hill Auditorium, Perth

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AMNPLIFY – DB