By Keith Caulfield —
UB40 featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey—
The top of the Reggae Albums chart greets some familiar faces, as UB40 featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey debut atop the list dated March 17 with A Real Labour of Love.
Here’s the interesting wrinkle — there are actually two different groups known as UB40.
Ali (Ali Campbell) and Mickey (Mickey Virtue) departed UB40 in 2008, while Astro (Terence Wilson) left the group in 2013. The three record and tour under the name UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue. Meanwhile, the band the three gents departed continues on as UB40.
All that said, UB40 is no stranger to the No. 1 slot on the 24-year-old Reggae Albums chart, as the band logged previous leaders with Greatest Hits (10 weeks, 2008-2009), The Very Best of UB40 (13 weeks, 2001), Labour of Love III (seven weeks, 1999), Guns in the Ghetto (three weeks, 1997), The Best of – Volume One(one week, 1997) and Promises and Lies (12 weeks, 1994). The latter effort was the chart’s very first No. 1, when the tally launched on Feb. 5, 1994.
Ali, Astro and Mickey were members of UB40 when the band was at the height of its mainstream success between 1984 and 1993, with Billboard Hot 100-charting singles like “The Way You Do the Things You Do” (No. 6, 1990), “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)” (No. 7, 1991) and a pair of No. 1s: “Red Red Wine” (1988) and “Can’t Help Falling In Love” (1993).
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