Next year, South Africans will get another chance to jam out with the legendary Birmingham band whose hit singles still live rent free in our heads!
South Africa (04 November 2025) – The legends are returning to South Africa again. UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell will grace the stages in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town in June next year, giving us all the chance to hear those ‘80s hit singles we still know and love.
The Birmingham band brought reggae dub meets pop to the world. Their famous covers like Red Red Wine, I Got You Babe, and (I Can’t Help) Falling in Love With You still live on in our playlist today.
Their original music also resonated here in SA, because they sang the kind of truths that many lived through in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Tracks like Burden of Shame and Tyler used laidback reggae rhythms to talk about injustice and human dignity on a level that South Africans immediately understood.
In the forty years since, the band has weathered ebbs and flows, but the essence that first made us love their music is still strong. Frontman Ali Campbell now leads the group known as UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, blasting that reggae-pop sound that defined a generation.
In 2026, it’ll be three years since the legendary group performed across South Africa in three roof-rocking shows. They’ll be bringing that dub love right back to our stages with the next three-city tour.
“When I first founded UB40 back in 1978, I put everything I had into it – including the compensation money I’d received from a criminal injury claim. None of us could have imagined we’d go on to sell over 100 million records and take reggae from Birmingham to the world. It’s been an incredible journey,” says Campbell.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday 7 November.
See you there friends. We’ll be the off-key group, gleefully belting out Red Red Wine and I Got You Babe.
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