“‘Ali, come back!’ ‘You didn’t even say goodbye!’ shouted a woman in the seat next to us.

At first, I thought, ” Jeesh, woman, calm down.”Of course, he’s coming back. But no…

He exited stage right (our left,I never know how that works), and, basically, Ali had left the building.

No, thank you, Durban. No goodbye. He didn’t “come back, darling.” Nothing.

What was even weirder was that he kept walking off stage throughout the night, mid-performance, leaving us all guessing what was wrong. The ultimate conclusion? Old age. He seemed red in the face, out of breath, and more interested in finding the nearest exit than the next verse. Someone say ‘Red Red ….Retire!’ He is 67 after all, so not bad considering.

Sure, the nostalgia hit all the right notes, but the concert itself fell flat. Maybe it’s because I’m almost 50, but starting a concert at 9 pm was a mistake. By then, I wasn’t looking for an encore; I was looking for my pillow.

I might have overlooked the rather dismal sight of yet another artist who should probably pack it in and retire from touring if the show had started a bit earlier. Six o’clock? Fine. Seven? Pushing it. But nine? That’s not showtime; that’s bedtime.

The songs brought back memories, sure, but I got Spotify for that. 

Joking aside, it wasn’t terrible, and we loved the South African roots-reggae group, Tidal Waves. Wow, what an amazing performance.

Conflicting thoughts

My friend, Lyse Comins, who was with me at the concert, found my criticism a little scathing, saying, “There was no need to pension Ali off just yet.” She pointed out that his skills remain awesome—he can still hit the notes both vocally and on the guitar. And she laments, artists are so poorly paid—don’t we know it as journalists? Ali has had his widely publicised financial battles with the music industry, even declaring bankruptcy at one point, so he should perform as long as he chooses and as long as his fans want him to. But next time, please do start earlier and give us a longer, value-for-money show – it works both ways. It was really a disappointing ending.”

2 UB40 BANDS

For those who didn’t know, today, there are essentially two UB40s:

Ali Campbell was the original lead singer and the voice on most of the band’s biggest hits, including “Red Red Wine,” “Kingston Town,” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” He left UB40 in 2008 after a dispute over management and later formed his own touring group.

1. UB40—led by Ali’s brother Robin Campbell and other long-time members. They continue to tour under the UB40 name.
2. UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell—Ali’s band, which performs the classic hits with the original voice fans know. It continues to tour internationally in 2026