BRUM ON FEEL THE NOISE
Birmingham ‘best music city’
YOU’VE heard of Merseybeat and Madchester, now it’s time to bang the drum for Brum, claims one of the city’s many great bands.
With acts from Duran Duran to Black Sabbath and The Streets, no other city can boast such a wide range of sounds, according to Birmingham legends UB40.
While Manchester gave us Joy Division, Liverpool birthed The Beatles and London was the crucible for The Rolling Stones, the West Midlands city is home to acts as diverse as ELO, Deep Purple and Dexys Midnight Runners, led by Kevin Rowland – with Slade being a noisy neighbour chipping in from Wolverhampton. Jimmy Brown, 64, drummer with Red Red Wine hit-makers UB40, said: “Other cities have had their music defined geographically, like the Mersey sound. “But nobody has defined a Birmingham sound because the bands that come from here are so diverse. The music reflects the diversity of the city. That is our strength.”
Bandmate Norman Hassan, 64, agreed. “It’s really down to the diversity of the people.
“It’s a beautiful melting pot of people, their cultures and cuisines – that’s why we love living here and have never left.”
UB40 have contributed a track to new album On Record, described as a “sonic love letter to Birmingham”. With 11 tracks by local acts, it celebrates the city hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games, with a range of heartfelt paeans to canals, wildlife and even a cherished chip shop. Bongo Damo, a drummer from reggae and dancehall outfit Friendly Fire Band, praised the city’s achievements. He said: “We gave the world heavy metal, we are the home of bhangra and our contribution to British reggae is deep and lasting.”
■ On Record is out now.