Music legends UB40 to rock in Nelson
Legendary British reggae band UB40 will perform in Nelson in early January as part of a six-concert tour of New Zealand.
The band, one of reggae’s most successful acts, will perform at the Trafalgar Park on January 6 and will be joined by United States rock veterans Jefferson Starship and Kiwi rockers Dragon. Tickets go on sale on April 26. UB40 is heading down under for a belated celebration of their 40th anniversary in 2020, performing all their hits during the tour in December and January, with concerts also scheduled in Napier, New Plymouth, Matakana, Tauranga and Queenstown.
Mark Mekalick, manager for Nelson’s Trafalgar Park and Trafalgar Centre, said it was great to see international artists coming to Nelson and the city hosting larger acts again, following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘‘It’s been a pretty tough couple of years in the events industry,’’ Mekalick said, adding the UB40 concert allowed them ‘‘to see the light at the end of the tunnel’’.
He said confidence was building again for events to be held in Nelson, and he’d had a pickup in enquiries from people looking to start holding events again.
Mekalick said he realised there was still some hesitancy among people about mixing with large crowds, and they would be doing all they could to make people feel safe during the UB40 concert at Trafalgar Park.
‘‘We’re hoping that there’s an appetite for people to come out again.’’
UB40 first visited New Zealand in 1981, and has performed in the country multiple times. Over the past two years UB40’s members have stayed optimistic of a return, despite many unknowns in international touring because of the pandemic.
‘‘We always look forward to trips down under,’’ said the band in a statement. ‘‘It’s one of our favourite places in the world to perform, but with so many uncertainties in the world these past two years, we felt it was far more important to focus on everyone’s safety.
‘‘Now that borders have reopened, we’re finally ready to get back to New Zealand and perform the show fans have been waiting for.’’
Along with their classic hits, UB40 will perform tracks from their latest albums For The Many and Bigga Baggariddim. UB40 has had more than 40 top 40 hits in Britain and international sales of more than 100 million records.
The band’s current lineup features founding members Robin Campbell (vocals and guitar), Earl Falconer (bass, vocal), Jimmy Brown (drums) and Norman Hassan (percussion, vocals) with new lead vocalist Matt Doyle.
Martin Meredith (sax) and Laurence Parry (trumpet), who have both been in UB40’s touring and recording lineup for more than 20 years, will also be on deck, along with Tony Mullings (keyboards) and Ian Thompson (sax).
Dragon and Jefferson Starship will join UB40 at all six New Zealand dates. Between 1974 and 1984, Jefferson Starship released eight gold and platinum albums and 20 hit singles, including We Built This City, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, and Sara, while Dragon remains a popular live act in New Zealand, with hits such as April Sun in Cuba and Are You Old Enough.