page_title: UB40
section_title: 2008–present: Line-up changes and the current era
hierarchical_section_title: UB40 / History / 2008–present: Line-up changes and the current era
caption_attribution_description: English: Brian Travers and Laurence Parry with UB40 at Birmingham Symphony Hall, October 2010
context_page_description: UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, 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 have sold over 70 million records worldwide. The ethnic make-up of the band's original line-up was diverse, with musicians of English, Welsh, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish and Yemeni parentage.
  Their hit singles include their debut "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 and Promises and Lies, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. UB40 and the English ska band Madness hold the record for most weeks spent by a group in the UK singles chart during the 1980s, with 214 weeks each.
context_section_description: On 24 January 2008 it was announced that Ali Campbell would be leaving the group after 30 years. It was originally stated that this was in order for Campbell to concentrate on solo projects, but Campbell later said he was leaving due to management and business disputes.  The remaining seven members released a statement saying: "Ali made a very simple decision; he chose to pursue and put his solo career over and above continuing to work with UB40 after February 2008. It’s as simple as that".  Mickey Virtue departed shortly afterwards citing the same issues that Campbell had as reasons for his departure.
  It was reported by some Birmingham newspapers on 13 March 2008, that Maxi Priest would be the new lead singer of UB40 and had recorded a cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" with the band, based on information from an unnamed "source close to the band." Priest had joined UB40 on their arena tour in 2007, culminating in sell-out shows at the NEC Birmingham in December. Another local newspaper reporting that Maxi Priest would be the new UB40 frontman, also included a statement from band spokesman Gerard Franklyn which contradicted this claim: "Maxi is collaborating with the band to record material but no decision has been made to replace Ali Campbell with one definitive singer. The reports are half correct he will be appearing with them for this new recording." In April 2008, the BBC reported that Campbell was to be replaced in the band by his brother Duncan, with reggae singer Maxi Priest also bolstering the line-up on tour.
  The band released their next album, TwentyFourSeven, UB40's last with their classic lineup, by way of a free insert in The Mail on Sunday's 4 May 2008 issue. The newspaper sold nearly three million copies. This led to a backlash when the full 17-track version was released 21 June 2008, and most of the big retailers refused to stock it. It failed to reach the Top 75 in the UK, which was a first, as all their official albums had previously made the Top 50 on the UK Albums Chart. Their next release, on EMI, was a collection called Love Songs, which was a compilation of hits mainly from the Labour of Love series and all featuring Ali Campbell on vocals – it reached number 3 in the UK. The band toured the US, which included their first show at the Hollywood Bowl.
  In 2009 the band released the first new album with their new lead singer Duncan Campbell; another in the Labour of Love cover series entitled Labour of Love IV. The album was in the charts for only two weeks reaching number 24. During the 2009 US Tour UB40 offered fans live concert recordings on USB wristbands. The wristbands also included the Dub Sessions remix album and photos.
  UB40 announced that after completing a coast-to-coast 2010 American tour they would be playing a nationwide UK tour of theatres in October/November 2010 performing their seminal album Signing Off, in full, along with a second set of popular UB40 songs. To coincide, on 1 November 2010 a remastered 2CD+DVD of Signing Off was released as a '30th Anniversary Special Edition'.
  In 2011 five founding members of the group and directors of their DEP International label, had bankruptcy proceedings started against them relating to debts of the record label. In October 2011 Travers, Wilson, Hassan and Brown were declared bankrupt. Former member Ali Campbell was also declared bankrupt. In 2013 a new album, Getting Over the Storm was announced, their first since 2010 and Labour of Love IV.
  In November 2013, UB40 revealed dates in anticipation of their UK Tour in early 2014. The announcement of the tour follows the success of the band's latest Top 30 album, Getting Over The Storm, which was awarded BBC Radio 2's 'Album of the Week' accolade and received 5-star reviews from the UK's music press on its release in September 2013. On 22 November 2013 Astro announced in a statement that he had left the band, describing it as a "rudderless ship" and criticising the "serious lack of communication between the band and management" and the country-orientated direction of their latest album. A
caption: Brian Travers and Laurence Parry of UB40 at Birmingham Symphony Hall, England, October 2010
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