UB40 pledges to promote reggae music<\/p>\n
By Prapti Widinugraheni<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): I said we friendship come first, the band did
\ncome second ... so listen crowd of people and throw up unnu
\nhands, if you love dem their style and you love dem pattern,
\nreggae music can't refuse it, so give us what we want and mek we
\ngwan ... (Reggae Music, UB40)<\/p>\n
\"Reggae is not a way of life. It is simply Jamaican pop music.
\nAbout its connection with Rastafarianism? The Rastas just
\nhappened to be playing it.\"<\/p>\n
This is how the world-famous UB40 reggae band feel about their
\nline of music -- which may strike some people as odd, considering
\nthat all the band's members are British.<\/p>\n
\"Even Bob Marley played reggae long before he became Rasta,\"
\nsaid drummer James Brown, followed by nods of approval from his
\nfellow band-members: vocalists Ali Campbell and Astro,
\npercussionist Norman Hassan, bass player Earl Falconer,
\nsaxophonist Brian Travers, lead guitarist Robin Campbell and
\nkeyboard player Mickey Virtue.<\/p>\n
UB40 was formed in 1978 and played their first number at the
\nHare and Hounds in Birmingham, England.<\/p>\n
The members had known each other since they were kids and
\nchose the name \"UB40\" -- referring to their unemployed status and
\nfinancial problems at the time -- for their band.<\/p>\n
\"We got together and since we all had a UB40 card, we thought,
\nwhy don't we just use it for our band's name?\" Robin Campbell
\nrecalled.<\/p>\n
They have since performed more than 1,000 concerts world-wide,
\nin New Zealand, Zimbabwe, London and several South American
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
UB40, still playing with all the original members, has also
\nplayed in apartheid-South Africa and proved to its public that a
\nlove for music goes beyond skin color.<\/p>\n
\"Our only mission is to promote reggae music. The rest, such
\nas the fact that there are five whites, two blacks and one part-
\nArab in the group is accidental. The political message comes on
\nits own,\" said James.<\/p>\n
And they showed the public of Jakarta exactly what they meant
\nby this during their two-day \"UB40 A Medium Live Concert\" last
\nweekend.<\/p>\n
Slow<\/p>\n
Although the balcony of the Jakarta Convention center was only
\none-third full and the festival class in front of the stage was
\npartially empty, the group -- although slow at the beginning --
\nsuccessfully brought out the reggae in its Jakarta fans.<\/p>\n
Because the first songs, Present Arms, Keep on Moving and
\nHomely Girl were probably unfamiliar to the audience, the group
\nhad to put forth extra effort in the beginning to liven up the
\natmosphere. Ali Campbell, with his unique voice and dancing
\ngestures, quickly captured the heart of front-row listeners.<\/p>\n
But it wasn't until the third song, Promises and Lies, from
\ntheir most recent platinum album with the same title, that the
\naudience started to jig, guided by the trumpet and trombone of
\nguest players Patrick and Henry Tenyue and Travers' saxophone.<\/p>\n
Falconer, who rapped in Sorry and Reggae Music, brought the
\naudience to their feet. By the time the group started to play the
\nfirst notes of the popular song The way you do the things you do
\n-- taken from the double-platinum album Labor of Love II which
\nstayed on the charts for more than 47 weeks -- the audience was
\nin full swing, moving their bodies to the fast beat of the music.<\/p>\n
By then, the empty space in festival class became a blessing
\nin disguise, providing sufficient room for the audience to reggae
\nwith zest.<\/p>\n
Red red wine, their single which hit number 12 on the U.S.
\ncharts, C'est la vie and Can't help falling in love with you,
\nwhich were on the soundtrack album for the film Sliver, as well
\nas Kingston town, kept the audience alive.<\/p>\n
After 21 non-stop songs, Here I am -- from the album Labor of
\nLove II, which sold about 250,000 albums (plus about five million
\npirate copies) in Indonesia -- closed the 1.5-hour concert,
\nleaving the audience worn out but satisfied.<\/p>\n
\"They were really good, although the audience was obviously
\ntame at the beginning,\" said Jane, who originally comes from
\nLondon. Tony, a New Zealander, who watched the show with her,
\nsaid they didn't come because they specifically liked reggae
\nmusic, but \"because we've heard of UB40 and we know they're
\ngood.\"<\/p>\n
Intan, 13, and her friends Ara, 13, and Brian, 14, who are
\nstill in junior high school, also admitted they did not come
\nbecause they were reggae fanatics.<\/p>\n
\"We've been watching almost all the foreign performers playing
\nhere, such as Sting and Color Me Badd,\" Intan said. The price of
\nthe tickets -- Rp 75,000 (US$35) for festival class, where they
\nsat, and Rp 250,000 ($116.27) for VIP -- were obviously no
\nproblem for them.<\/p>\n
\"Even if the tickets were Rp 100,000 ($46.51), we'd still be
\nallowed to watch if we asked our parents,\" Brian said.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has been hosting more and more foreign entertainers
\nlately, a trend which does not show signs of subsiding.<\/p>\n
Audiences have become more \"professional\" in their role of
\nsincerely and spontaneously appreciating the performers. This can
\neasily be detected in the smooth dialogue between the two.<\/p>\n
Music-wise, it seems Jakarta will one day become as global as
\nany other bustling metropolitan in the world. And reggae music in
\nparticular, with its roots way out in Jamaica, has now
\nsuccessfully penetrated into a part of the city.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ub40-pledges-to-promote-reggae-music-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}