British band UB40 were in the country at the weekend and gave their fans a nostalgic experience with their hit songs.
Their lead singer and co-founder, Ali Campbell, who has officially left their group, was present and gave a crowd-rousing performance.
Billed for two shows only – in Joburg and Cape Town – the band closed their tour at Emmarentia Dam in Joburg.
UB40 have done a marvellous job over three decades in popularising reggae. They performed classics such as Red Red Wine, Cherry Oh Baby and Kingston Town.
Although the members of the group have aged, with Campbell now 55, this didn’t come across in their singing and performance.
Before the group’s performance, the crowd were warmed up by local favourite Mango Groove. The Afro-pop band proved to be a hit.
While Campbell is the lead singer of UB40, other members also got to share the limelight. The dreadlocked Astro did so by doing the catchy singalong Rat in the Kitchen.
The stage was strategically positioned at the bottom of an incline, so the audience managed to get a great view of the musicians. People brought picnic baskets and drank, ate and sang along into the night.
To test their popularity, UB40 abruptly ended the show and fans went ballistic, chanting “We want more!”.
They came back and gave them another 15 minutes to add to their memories of an amazing show.