UB40 featuring Ali Campbell live in Honolulu (2025) Blaisdell Arena
- Kathy With a K
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
I did a phone interview with Ali Campbell of UB40 ahead of their concert in Honolulu in 2025. It was brief and one of my favorite moments of my radio broadcasting history. Wish I had the foresight to record and keep every conversation I ever had with musical artists and creatives over the seasons. One does not imagine a want to look back when you are in your 20's, 30's, or even 40's.
The current mood - or mode at the time - is that there will always be a next time.
UB40 has a long history with Hawaii, coming to Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island (aka Big Island) and playing Valentine's Day concerts or including our islands' as a tour stop between Asia visits.
Have you listened to their debut album, "Signing Off" (1980)? I played that and "Labour of Love", "Geoffrey Morgan" (one of my personal faves), and "Promises & Lies" as I considered what I could ask Mr. Campbell in the maybe ten minutes of interview space. What stayed with me was how - IMO - fully formed UB40 was on their first release. "Food for Thought" is perfect. If there were just one song, that could be it to feed a fan forever (at least "this" fan").
"Baggariddim", "Rat in Mi Kitchen"...so many albums that shaped my love for their sound and fueled so many to picked a mic or instrument and make music. For me, UB40 was one of the gateway bands that pointed non-musical folks like myself to support live music hahaha I would go to concerts, buy cassette tapes, CDs, vinyl records, and still shop to this day. Not to the extent of my youth though I have a band shirt or two in my closet to this day.
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