UB40 are a British dub band formed in 1978 in Birmingham.

The band was named after the paper form issued by the UK government's Department of Employment at the time of the band's formation for claiming unemployment benefit (UB40 = Unemployment Benefit, Form 40).

UB40 caught their first break when Chrissie Hynde noticed them at a pub and gave them an opportunity as a support act to her band, The Pretenders. UB40's first single, "King"/"Food for Thought" was released on Graduate Records, a local independent label run by David Virr. It reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart and was the first record to reach the UK top ten without the backing of a major record label.

Their first album was titled “Signing Off”, as the band were signing off from or closing their claim on the unemployment benefit. It was recorded in a bed-sit in Birmingham and was produced by Bob Lamb. It reached as high as no 2 in the UK and spent 72 weeks in total on the chart. “Signing Off” is now a Platinum album.

Despite great success in the UK, UB40's popularity in the United States was only established after they released “Labour of Love”, an album of cover songs, in 1983. The album reached no 1 on the UK Albums Chart and no 8 on the Billboard Top 200 in the US. The album featured the song, "Red Red Wine", a cover version of a Neil Diamond song.

UB40 toured South Africa in July 2007 and headlined the Live Earth concert at the Cradle of Humankind, near Johannesburg. They performed one of the longest sets for the event at approximately 54 minutes.

Early next year in March UB40 will release their next studio album titled '24/7'. UB40 are about to embark on their U.K tour and will be releasing a very special edition dub album titled DUB SESSIONS. This album will not be may available in stores but can be purchased at any concerts starting in Brighton on the 20th November right through to Birmingham on the 21st December See below for tour dates.

www.ub40.co.uk