UB40
Sept. 4, 2025
House of Blues, Cleveland
By Rob McCune


Wise men say only fools rush in, and Brit reggae rockers UB40 seem content to let things simmer and saunter, like the smooth sway of MC Gilly G and backing singer Matt Campbell.
That sway is infectious.


In a recent tour stop at Cleveland’s House of Blues, the sway was the way.
Soon not just everyone on the crowded stage – a 10-piece band featuring saxophones, trumpet, guitars, bass, keys, and even a WX7 wind synthesizer take up a lot of space – but everyone in the crowd were swaying along.
A band, perhaps unjustly, most known for putting their own unique sound on other artists’ songs, the set at HOB featured the radio hits “Red Red Wine” (a Neil Diamond cover) and “Can’t Help Falling In love” (an Elvis Presley cover) at the tail end of a 90-minute set, with the latter the show closer in a three-song encore.
But the set also featured covers of songs by Al Green (“Here I Am”), The Jacksons (“Maybe Tomorrow”), The Temptations (“The Way You Do the Things You Do”) and lesser-known artists like The Chi-Lites (“Homely Girl”), Brenton Wood (“Gimme Little Sign”), Eric Donaldson (“Cherry Oh Baby”), The Slickers (“Johnny Too Bad”) and Lord Creator (“Kingston Town”). Mixed in with the 11 covers were six originals across the band’s 21 studio albums since forming in 1980.
New lead singer, 38-year-old Matt Doyle, with the band only since 2022, still seems to be finding his own groove with the band, and doesn’t quite match the energy or tone of original frontman Ali Campbell, who left the band in 2008. But original members Jimmy Brown (drums), Robin Campbell (guitar), Earl Falconer (bass), Norman Lamont Hassan (percussion), as well as more recent joiners Martin Meredith (keys, sax, WX7), Laurence Parry (trumpet, trombone, flugal), Ian Thompson (sax, keyboard, percussion), and Jahred Gordon (keys, guitar, bass, sax) bring an electricity that matches that of the robust light show put on by the stage crew.
And Gilly G, whether he’s singing backup side-stage or taking over lead vocals centerstage, is hard to look away from, really seeming to set much of the tone and tempo of this band’s live performance.
It’s all in the sway, after all, and Gilly G is king of the sway.

Checkout UB 40 and friends bring Red Red Wine to Tucson

Interview with Jimmy Brown of UB40


Rob McCune is Every_Thing_After_Photo on Instagram, where he shares his concert photography and reviews, as well as clips from his “Every.Thing.After” podcast, with interviews with musicians and bands.

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