Terence ‘Astro’ Wilson
Vocalist and musician
BORN JUNE 24, 1957 – DIED NOVEMBER 6, 2021, AGED 64
TERENCE “Astro” Wilson was one of the founding members of reggae group UB40 and was known as its “toaster”, the name given to a person who talks in a melodic or lyrical way over music.
He was an integral part of the Birmingham band’s original line-up for 30 years as a vocalist, trumpeter and percussionist, as UB40 soared to international acclaim with hits including Red Red Wine and (I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You. With frontman Ali Campbell and keyboardist Mickey Virtue, he formed the breakaway group UB40 featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey in 2014.
UB40 took their name from an unemployment benefits form and voiced their anger about Margaret Thatcher’s government as working-class men dissatisfied with social inequality in society.
Wilson, the son of Jamaican immigrants,
vocalised experiences of racism. In an interview this year, he referenced a 1970s law that allowed police to stop and search people if they were believed to be acting suspiciously.
“I went through the same rigmarole as most black people in the late Seventies,” he said. “It was a weekly occurrence.”
He was born in Birmingham and acquired his nickname as a teenager because he wore a pair of Dr. Martens boots that were branded “Astronauts”.
He was a school friend of Mickey Virtue’s and joined UB40 as the last member of the line-up formed in 1979.
The band sold 70 million records worldwide and scored 39 UK Top 40 singles, including three chart-toppers.
Wilson died following what bandmate Ali Campbell called a “very short illness”.