Arguably one of the biggest British groups to bring reggae music to the masses is UB40. The band was formed in the late seventies in Birmingham against a backdrop of strikes and rising unemployment – even their name was taken from the number one of the unemployment benefit forms.

Speaking from his home in Birmingham, Jimmy Brown, the drummer in UB40 from the beginning, recalled what it was like growing up in that environment. “My dad was a factory worker at the BSA in Birmingham, where he polished motorbikes; he earned good money thanks to the support the workers at the factory received from the unions. We had a family holiday each year; he was able to buy his own house, and our family enjoyed a good upbringing. He even had his allotment, and we ate a lot of the food he grew.”

Growing up in the inner city in the seventies was a good education for me – it was multicultural; I went to school with other kids from different backgrounds. People often look back at the seventies as being a poverty-stricken time, though it didn’t seem to be that way for me, even coming from a working-class background."

Growing up in a multicultural environment exposed the young Jimmy to a variety of musical styles, which had a significant impact on him. He fondly recalled, "Because we were living in an area with people from places like Jamaica who brought their musical heritage with them, I could hear reggae music streaming out of their homes and cars – it was hard not to be influenced.

"Despite glam rock being the dominant genre at that particular time, I was consistently exposed to reggae music throughout the day and night.

When UB40 graced the charts, many of their other Birmingham contemporaries, such as Duran Duran, were filming pop videos in exotic locations, in contrast to UB40, whose videos were often filmed in their home city, singing about, like, unemployment benefits, though Jimmy is quick to point out that the New Romantic band were not really a Birmingham band. “I see the Duran lads as more of a Sutton Coldfield and Solihull band – the posher areas of the Midlands – whereas we were inner city boys, which formed everything we did."

When Ali Campbell, the group’s lead vocalist and co-founder, left the band in 2008 to form his own version of UB40, it caused confusion among the fans, as there were now two bands sharing the name, albeit with variations in their titles, and many were unsure which version they would be witnessing.

“When Ali left the band, records sales were declining, not just for us but across the music industry; our income was not what it used to be. He decided that if he went off on his own he could still live the lifestyle he had become accustomed to; he literally walked away from the original version of the band, and we haven’t seen him since."

After a couple of years performing on his own he began to use the UB40 name again, which caused a lot of frustration. When the band first formed, we all agreed that if anyone left, they would not take the band's name with them. We had to go through a legal process that started to cost us a lot of money; at one point we were spending more than we were earning trying to get Ali into court, so we decided to carry on as normal."

“Even now when we book a tour, Ali seems to book his own around that same time scale, though generally I think our fans now know which version they are going to see."

The original band still features Ali’s brother Robin alongside new vocalist Matt Doyle, whom the band discovered by chance, as Jimmy explained, "We were invited to an awards ceremony in Birmingham. Matt was there performing with his own band – they cheekily did a version of One in Ten, one of our own songs!

"We got to know Matt and his band really well – we even invited them to come on tour with us. When Ali left the band, we brought in Duncan – his brother, though unfortunately Duncan had a stroke which resulted in him having to leave the band.”

Rather than this being the end of UB40, the band remembered the young singer they first met at the awards ceremony. “Matt seemed a natural choice," affirmed Jimmy. His inclusion in UB40 has undoubtedly revitalised the group.

“Bringing Matt into the band has revitalised us – he brings songs to the table, and he is a major contributor to the band – so much so that we are having a renaissance currently."

Despite members leaving the band and the death of their saxophone player Brian Travers from cancer five years ago, the fighting spirit and resilience that have always been part of UB40's ethos remain very much alive.

We are still successful and can sell out arena tours and enjoy what we do, which helps keep us going. Four out of the six original members of the group are still in the band, though we do miss Brian tremendously – he was one of the main songwriters in UB40; when he died, his shoes were much bigger to fill than when Ali left. Losing someone like Brian, who arranged all the brass components of our songs – which are integral to the UB40 sound – was a huge loss."

The band return to the north in June, an area that has consistently supported them since UB40 first gained success; as Jimmy recalls, "Our fans in the north have always been there for us, and we always remember that. On this tour, we will be playing all the hits – we have a lot of them. We hope to throw in some new songs too; I believe we are in a good position to try out new songs alongside the hits."

The band has left a legacy that has brought reggae much back into the mainstream. In years to come, Jimmy has his own thoughts about how he would like UB40 to be remembered: "It is something you cannot control, though I think we have left a big mark on the music scene, not just here in Britain but globally too, where sometimes people see the band in a more positive light than over here. We have stayed consistent and tried to stick to our values, which I think the fans especially can appreciate. We have a very recognisable sound – once you put on our songs, people can tell it is UB40 straight away."

Northern audiences will have a chance to discover the distinctive UB40 sound when the band play the following dates:

6th June - AO Arena, Manchester
9th June - Connexin Live, Hull
12th June - M&S Arena Liverpool
13th June - First Direct Arena, Leeds
12th July - Summerbowl Festival, Sheffield
https://ub40.global/tour/