The iconic UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell played at The Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley on Monday.
This last show (26 January) of the Australian 2026 tour featured classic reggae hits from their four-decade career as part of their Big Love world tour.
We quickly lined up with everyone else to access the amazing vantage places within the venue in time for the openers. The concert was a mix of seated and standing, and a lot of transitioning in between those. The Fortitude Music Hall is spacious enough to pull off any configuration.
Kurilpa Reach were the support act, a Brisbane-based, West End-birthed dub-funk-deep-groove group. A high energy, low blab 'let's get this show going' confident kind of band. They did the support role for entire Australian tour. Scored a nice gig right there, lads.
Image © Michelle Cop
Far from the sea of sameness, there's shores that hug cool, calm waters that remain intoxicatingly different from all others. I'm usually drawn to that. I found UB40 there in the '70s by accident. The reggae-pop blended genre had been around a little while and getting very popular.
On this night Ali Campbell was so relaxed, vibing all smiles to everyone; so were his eight-piece band, solidifying some terrific hits behind him. Their tight timing was gobsmacking, since reggae (just a generalised term) always appears to be deceptively laid-back. Listen closely, you'll find their live performance studio sharp and audience receptive, never a case of "what city are we in, again?".
Image © Michelle Cop
Two standout songs showcased the many reasons why UB40 are popular and why the Brisbane show was sold out. They played songs we knew, they let us sing loudly (maybe badly), and they enjoyed entertaining us. UB40's version of 'I Got You Babe' with Chrissie Hynde was released in 1985, peaking at #1 on the UK charts. That was 20 years after Sonny & Cher took it to #1 (in the UK and US) for the first time in 1965.
After doing some research, I found in my own files Neil Diamond's 'The Greatest Hits: 1966-1992' album; he included his 1989 live version of 'Red, Red Wine' as a tribute to UB40. Diamond is the original songwriter of the song, for those unaware.
On the '89 live version, before singing, Neil said to the audience that UB40 took 'Red, Red Wine' to #1, so he decided he'd do it as a live version and keep it in their reggae feel, such is the respect that Neil Diamond had for UB40.
Image © Michelle Cop
It's not unsurprising given 'The Man' is an amazing songwriter and probably expected his art to be covered across the planet. However, to go and re-record his own song, curated in the style of UB40's #1 version, is a buzz-boost tribute if ever a band received one.
UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell, The Fortitude Music Hall, a chilled group of patrons within a relaxed location you probably couldn't find elsewhere. A top night.
