UB40 announce anniversary concert in Birmingham

Iconic reggae band UB40 are celebrating their 45th anniversary with a very special outdoor show in their native Moseley, Birmingham.

It will be taking placing on Sunday 27 August.

Titled 'The Homecoming', the performance takes place at Moseley Park and Pool, in an area steeped in UB40 history.

Joining the globetrotting superstars are British soul and R&B pioneers, Soul II Soul, Manchester’s The Mouse Outfit, DJ Don Letts, and Caribbean ensemble Freetown Collective.

Also on the line up are Birmingham’s own Friendly Fire Band and Young Culture Band, who both demonstrate reggae’s continued importance to the city, and the enduring influence of UB40.

The Homecoming also sees a rare screening of the 1984 UB40 film Labour Of Love, along with artist Q&As hosted by broadcaster Adil Ray.

UB40 have over 50 UK hit singles, including three number ones.

They've also topped the US charts twice.

It all began in Birmingham in 1978, specifically in and around the Moseley neighbourhood, as band members attended Moseley School of Art, and rehearsed in a cellar in Trafalgar Road, under Earl Falconer and saxophonist Brian Travers flats.

They also went on to play their first ever gig at the nearby Hare And Hounds in 1979 and recorded their debut album, Signing Off, in the basement of producer Bob Lamb’s Moseley home.

UB40’s Robin Campbell said: "Moseley is where we started and spent our first formative years, so it will be a true homecoming and could get emotional."

Recalling the band’s connection to the neighbourhood, Jimmy Brown added: "Moseley was always very bohemian - eccentric, arty, with some great pubs. A few of us would hang out at The Fighting Cocks - one of our first gigs was in the upstairs room there - and we once played on the back of a lorry driving up and down Moseley Road.

"It was the birthplace of the band."

Tickets go on sale 10 March, click here for more information.