PRS for Music honours UB40's first gig

The world’s most successful reggae band - UB40 – has been honoured today by a PRS for Music Heritage Award

A special plaque was erected in Kings Heath, Birmingham where the original group Robin Campbell (guitar/vocals), Brian Travers (saxophone), James Brown (drums), Earl Falconer (bass guitar), Norman Hassan (percussion), Ali Campbell (guitar/vocals), Michael Virtue (keyboards) and Astro (trumpet) first performed, at the Hare & Hounds on 9 February 1979.

PRS for Music set up the Heritage Award in 2009 to recognise the unusual ‘performance birthplaces’ of famous bands and artists. UB40 is the eighth band to be given the honour of receiving the permanent plaque.

The band and its members Robin Campbell, Brian Travers, James Brown, Earl Falconer, Norman Hassan and Astro were there to see the plaque unveiled in Kings Heath.

It’s an honour and a pleasure for us to commemorate the site of the first UB40 gig with a PRS for Music Heritage Award. UB40 has made an incredible contribution to the music scene in a career spanning three decades and they are still going strong. The much-loved band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, achieved considerable international success and sold over 70 million records – a superb achievement.

I'm humbled that the birthplace of UB40 has been chosen to be marked in this way. It's a pleasure to return to the place where we first performed back in 1979.

We are delighted that such an important moment of UB40’s history will be recorded at Hare & Hounds, a venue that is now a base for some of the area’s best up and coming artists.

UB40 has had numerous hits in both the UK and internationally including “Food For Thought”, “One in Ten”, “Red Red Wine”, “Kingston Town” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love”.

For more information please go to the Heritage award page.