Birmingham chart-toppers UB40 were monitored by MI5 as they 'ruffled feathers with the government', frontman Ali Campbell has claimed. The 67-year-old alleged the secret service created a register of music acts during the 1980s, with the Red, Red Wine hitmakers featured due to their radical left-leaning political stance.
Allegations of surveillance
Campbell told the Mirror: 'There was a list at one point published of bands being "watched" by MI5. We reckon we all had our phones tapped because you could hear the "click". I mean we were political, outspoken and, I suppose, that meant we ruffled feathers with the government.'
He added: 'We've got a lot of crazy chapters in our past, but that was one of the craziest. We're still political - that's why our new tour's called Big Love. The world really needs it. Look at what's happening with that maniac Trump in America, and in Britain with the rise of Reform. It's terrifying.'
Background and formation
Campbell was raised in Balsall Heath with his three siblings. His mum Pat Weaver was a stay-at-home parent while dad Ian, originally from Aberdeen, moved to the Midlands in his youth and fronted the Ian Campbell Folk Group, frequently travelling for performances. When Campbell joined forces with seven friends to form UB40 in 1978, they were all unemployed and on benefits.
'We were a product of Thatcher's Britain, one in ten unemployed,' Campbell said. 'Naming ourselves after an unemployment benefit form was a stroke of genius really, because we gave ourselves three and a half million card-carrying fans.' Birmingham lost around 200,000 manufacturing positions between 1971 and 1981, with unemployment rates approaching 20 per cent.
The name UB40 - representing Unemployment Benefit, Form 40 - referenced the document which allowed them to claim benefit. Their debut album was called Signing Off, a reference to leaving the unemployment register. Campbell said: 'I nicked my first ever guitar at a house party in the 80s. We couldn't exactly buy our instruments at the start, on £7 a week.'
Later years and political stance
Several years later, Campbell was awarded criminal compensation after he was struck on the head with a beer glass. 'That helped us a bit, but I gave a £1,000 to my brother to set up a second-hand car business and spent the rest on obsolete instruments you couldn't play.' Campbell now performs as UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell, following an acrimonious dispute in 2008 that saw the original band split into two.
He said one of his proudest moments was honouring the cultural boycott of South Africa during the apartheid regime. 'We refused to go. When we finally did, we played in Johannesburg to 80,000 people. One of the songs we sang was called Power, with our fist clenched, I get goosebumps just talking about it. We've just come back from performing in the South Pacific. What a stunning place. And it's funny, wherever we go in the world, we've got fans. Reggae is so loved worldwide.'
Tour and personal life
Campbell's UB40 are set to tour again - but he said there was one song fans demanded time and again - Red, Red Wine, originally recorded by Neil Diamond. 'I hear it in my sleep! It's in clubs, pubs.. people sing it at me in the street, in airports... But it's a cover I loved, I never get sick of singing it.'
'I've been teetotal for two years, and gave up weed 20 years ago, I'm more health-conscious these days. I want to see my beautiful grandchildren grow up. We've lost two of the original band members. You can't party all your life. I'll probably have a party when I reach 70, but I'll never drink alcohol again. What's amazing is, I don't miss it at all. I drink zero per cent Guinness now, that's my tipple!'
