UB40 @ The O2

You may or may not know that there are now two versions of UB40. Lead singer Ali Campbell left the band in 2008 and was followed out by keyboardist Mickey Virtue. UB40 replaced Ali with his brother Duncan and they carried on. Then in 2013, vocalist Astro left the band and joined forces with Ali and Mickey to form their own version of UB40.

The one I went to see at the O2 was the one with Ali, Astro and Mickey.

I'd previously been to see them at IndigO2, the smaller venue in the building and I don't recall it being sold out, so wasn't sure if there would be enough people to fill the O2. On arrival though, there were plenty of people inside, though the top tier was closed.

This was billed as the Labour of Love 1 and 2 tour, this being the name of their albums of covers. As you would expect, tracks from these albums dominated the playlist. They opened up with a cover of "Keep on Movin" by Bob Marley from their Labour of Love 1 album.

They played several well known hits such as "Homely Girl", "Wear you to the Ball", "Many Rivers to Cross" and "Please Don't Make Me Cry". A surprise omission from the playlist though was "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)" which was their opening track last time I saw them, and also when I've seen footage of others gigs they've done.

Then at 22:15 they said goodnight, but of course we knew there was going to be and encore. Personally, I'm not a fan of encores, they mark the point where you know the gig is almost over and you start thinking of the journey home.

First of all the drum came out and did a solo, he was good but didn't really see the point myself. Then (I think) they played "Rat in Mi Kitchen" (note, they did play it but forget if before or after the encore). Surprisingly, they then played two tracks from a new album they have coming out. Many people started to leave at this point, presumably they only wanted to hear the anthems and/or wanted to beat the crowds on the tube. To be honest I don't really remember too much about the tunes themselves.

Finally, they played "(I Can't Help) Falling in Love With You" and finished the night with "Red Red Wine" by which point the encore had been going for around 35 minutes.

All in all a good gig and I'm sure I picked the right UB40 to see, I can't really imagine how the other UB40 can pull it off without Ali or Astro.