UB 40 retraces steps to Gaborone
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Wednesday August 23, 2017 18:00
GASF CEO, Resego Matenge, told Showbiz that the band will back in the country after having last performed in Botswana 28 years ago.
“We have realised that many events do not cater for the senior members of the public. Most of the local events are youth oriented whilst they neglect the older folks. UB40 carries a lot of memory more especially amongst the senior citizens of this country. When we approached the band about coming here, they were very excited and keen to bring back youthful memories to their senior fans,” he said.
Matenge explained that he would like the Red Red Wine singers to collaborate with one of the local artists so as to give them exposure in the international platform. He added that the band will be performing along side some of the local and South African artists like Tomeletso Sereetsi, Wizards, Charma Gal and former Lucky Dube Band from South Africa together with DJ Fresh who has “gained popularity amongst the white folks”.
He further explained that he did not include many supporting acts to the show because he wanted to make the event memorable.
UB40 was formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album four times, and in 1984 were nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group. UB40 has sold over 70 million records worldwide.
Their hit singles include Food for thought and two Billboard Hot 100 number ones with Red Red Wine and Can’t help falling in love”. Both of these also topped the UK Singles Chart, as did the band’s version of I Got You Babe. Their two most successful albums, Labour of Love (1983) and Promises and Lies (1993), reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.
The band’s line-up was stable for nearly 29 years, from March 1979 until January 2008, when front man Ali Campbell left the band, followed shortly thereafter by keyboardist Mickey Virtue. Another member, Astro, remained with the band until November 2013, when he departed the original band to team up with Campbell and Virtue in a new version of UB40.
In 2014, legal advice was sought by the original band (now consisting of remaining co-founding members drummer Jimmy Brown, guitarist Robin Campbell, bassist Earl Falconer, percussionist Norman Hassan, and saxophonist Brian Travers, along with new vocalist Duncan Campbell) against the group containing Campbell, Virtue, and Astro over usage of the band name, due to it being used by both parties.
Tickets are sold as follows: VVIP P3,500 (including catering, unlimited bar and waiters), Golden P2,000 (includes a free t-shirt and will be sitting next to the stage), silver P700 (will sit behind golden tickets) and standard P500 (they will be at the different corners of the stadium and have access to the big flat LED screens in four corners of the stadium for clear visuals).
However, Matenge pointed out that they will also be selling early bird tickets, which will be sold from the August 25 till September 25.