If There’s One Thing You Do This Week …
Pretoria
UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell will add another chapter to a story that began in the Birmingham, England, in 1979 when UB40, taking their name from the form given to individuals claiming unemployment benefits, started putting an indigenous British slant on Jamaican reggae.
After reaching number four in the charts with King / Food For Thought, the multi-racial band released their debut album Signing Of f in 1980.
During their career they have sold in excess of 70 million records and topped the UK singles charts on three occasions — with Red Red Wine in 1983; I Got You Babe (a duet between UB40’s lead signer Ali Campbell and Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde) in 1985 and (I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You in 1993.
Two of those hits, Red Red Wine and (I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You, also went to number one in the US.
Campbell joined Birmingham singer and toaster Pato Banton to top the UK charts again with Baby Come Back in 1994.
Paying homage to the songs that inspired them, UB40 released three volumes in the Labour of Love series, covering Jamaican standards such as Eric Donaldson’s Cherry Oh Baby and Lord Creator’s Kingston Town.
Campbell will be joined in South Africa by his nine-piece band and will be honouring long time member Astro, who died in 2021.
While a handful of songs from the forthcoming album will feature alongside favourites from the Labour of Love series, Campbell is keen to include older numbers, such as King (about American civil rights leader Martin Luther King) and One In Ten (about unemployment in the UK), which are as relevant today as when they were first sung in 1980 and 1981.
“We put King back into the set because it’s so bloody appropriate,’ says Campbell. “We wrote it 40 years ago but it’s still representative of what’s happening in America. It’s depressing nothing has changed.
“It’s the same with One In Ten in the UK. With the impact the coronavirus had on jobs, we could soon be looking at unemployment figures on a par with the early eighties.”
“Those songs will feature in a show we’ve been honing for the past 12 years. We’ll always play the classics, like Red Red Wine and (I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You but we like to change the beginning and end of the show. We’ll play Lean On Me and maybe add three or four new songs.
“The band members are all fantastic musicians and we’ve climbed back up to the biggest venues in the past 12 years.”
Date: 3 June
Place: Sunbet Arena, Pretoria
Tickets: viagogo.co.za
Cape Town
Grab a partner and join Steadfast Africa for a charity golf day party. Play a nine-hole at the Metropolitan Golf Club in Green Point and stand a chance to win prizes.
Non-golf players can join the fun by walking around the course and enjoying the games and drinks.
Afterwards, there will be complimentary drinks and pizza at the clubhouse for prize-giving.
All proceeds go to The Good Work Foundation, which aids digital learning centres in rural Africa.
Date: Friday, 2 June; 2pm tee time, 1.30pm arrival
Place: Metropolitan Golf Club Green Point, Cape Town
Cost: R1 000 for a team of two
Tickets: Quicket
Durban
Looking for some crazy fun and hilarious action? Look no further than Oddball Olympics Hillcrest.
Compete against other teams in a series of 12 to 15 wacky challenges from chugging beer to juggling things, balancing, running and sliding.
Enter as a team of four or join a team as an individual. The teams with the highest score at the end of the afternoon will win prizes.
After the games, there will be a party with food and alcohol available for purchase.
Date: 3 June
Cost: Individual entry is R350pp and team entry of four is R1 400 per team. Strictly for ages 21 and over.
Tickets: allevents.in/durban/oddball-olympics-hillcrest.
For queries Whatsapp +27 63 877 6570 or email info@bosseevents.co.za