The reggae group formed in Birmingham, England around 1978 had quite a number of members. The 8 members: James Brown, Maxi Priest, Robin Campbell, Earl Falconer, Norman Hassan, Brian Travers, Astro, Ali Campbell, and Michael Virtue had survived for 30 years until finally Ali Campbell and Michael Virtue resigned in 2008.
They took the name UB40 from the word Unemployment Benefit, Form 40, a card given by the British government to the unemployed to get benefits from the government. UB40 members who at that time were unemployed agreed to make this name the name of the band they formed later.
UB40 takes the root of reggae music as the basis of their music. When they are playing in a pub, Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders is interested and offers UB40 to open their concert.
The first UB40 SIGNING OFF album released in 1980 managed to bring UB40’s name to a successful position on the UK charts.
The success of this band continued until the next 32 albums included this TWENTYFOURSEVEN released in 2008. Their singles such as King, Red Red Wine, Kingston Town, or Here I Am (Come and Take Me) won honorable positions on the charts in both the UK and US.
The position of Ali Campbell and Michael Virtue who resigned was then filled by Duncan Campbell and Tony Mullings. Duncan Campbell happened to be a sibling of Ali Campbell who decided to go solo.