Kentish Express Ashford & District - What's On
reggae night
Summer must be here because open air entertainment has arrived. Pack the picnic and head to the St Lawrence ground in Canterbury to enjoy a night of reggae, al fresco. By Angela Cole
It’s a dream line-up by any music lover’s standards. Reggae giants UB40 – featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue – will play a gig with another huge band from the Eighties, Level 42, this weekend.
As the sun shines down on the home of Kent cricket, the Spitfire St Lawrence Ground, the trio, backed by an eightpiece reggae band, will take to the stage for a session to kick off the summer.
For Astro, who has been with the group since it was formed in 1978, it sounds like a dream.
“I personally can’t wait. Canterbury is a beautiful location.
I hope the weather is right so that people can come out with their picnic blankets.” UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue will aim to cram as many of their greatest hits – and there’s plenty of them, including the epic No.1 Red, Red Wine – into their two-hour show, alongside tracks from their new album, Unplugged. “When I look into the audience I see older people as well as kids in their teens and they know all our songs,” he said.
“We get on stage, have a party and have a laugh, and that vibe comes across. We are on a mission that is nowhere near finished – we are going to be here for a while.” Ali added: “We cannot wait to perform for all our fans in Kent and pull out all the favourites that our fans love the most.” Joining them will be Level 42, who visited the county to play at Margate last year. Lead singer Mark King said: “To share the stage with such an iconic band as UB40 is an opportunity we could not refuse.”
To date the band have released 14 studio albums and seven live albums, among others, notching up 18 top 40 singles, including Lessons in Love, Something About You, Running in the Family and Hot Water.