UB40

Band

Photo: Egghead06 · CC BY 3.0
Active 1978-present
Origin Birmingham, England
Albums 19
Tracks 224
Most frequent collaborator Ray "Pablo" Falconer · 36 tracks
Genres ReggaePopDub
Songwriter
66%
Authorship

Holds writing credit on 148 of 224 tracks

Who writes UB40's songs?

The whole band, together. Every original the group recorded carries a single credit for all of them, so Robin Campbell, Earl Falconer, Brian Travers, Jimmy Brown and Norman Hassan each appear on 148 of the 224 album tracks. No member holds a song of their own.

By the Numbers

19
Studio Albums
224
Tracks Credited
66%
Self-Written
more than 100 million
Records Sold
48
Years Active
116
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 148 / 224 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 224 tracks: how many UB40 wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.

UB40 has a writing credit66%
63%
4%
34%
Sole author140tracks63%
Co-written8tracks4%
Outside writers76tracks34%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
UB40's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 224 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)66%
Composer (music)66%
Producer94%
Performer100%

Member Credit Breakdown share of tracks each member is credited on

Percentage of all 224 tracks, across every album, where each member holds a credit - split by role.

MemberPeriodLyricsMusicProductionPerformance
Ali Campbell 1978-2008
59%
59%
0%
0%
Robin Campbell 1978-present
66%
66%
0%
0%
Earl Falconer 1978-present
66%
66%
0%
0%
Jimmy Brown 1978-present
66%
66%
0%
0%
Norman Hassan 1978-present
66%
66%
0%
0%
Brian Travers 1978-2021
66%
66%
0%
0%
Mickey Virtue 1979-2008
59%
59%
0%
0%
Astro 1979-2013
62%
62%
0%
0%
Duncan Campbell 2008-2021
7%
7%
0%
0%
Laurence Parry 2016-present
4%
4%
0%
0%
Martin Meredith 2016-present
4%
4%
0%
0%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

UB40's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 66%
85%
100%
100%
0%
100%
77%
100%
91%
0%
91%
100%
0%
86%
92%
54%
82%
0%
46%
90%
1980Signing Off
1981Present Arms
1982UB44
1983Labour of Love
1984Geffery Morgan
1985Baggariddim
1986Rat in the Kitchen
1988UB40
1989Labour of Love II
1993Promises and Lies
1997Guns in the Ghetto
1998Labour of Love III
2001Cover Up
2003Homegrown
2005Who You Fighting For?
2008TwentyFourSeven
2010Labour of Love IV
2013Getting Over the Storm
2019For the Many
Early · 80% written
Mid · 78% written
Late · 54% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

73%
1980s
Signing Off, Present Arms +7 more
95%
1990s
Promises and Lies, Guns in the Ghetto +1 more
79%
2000s
Cover Up, Homegrown +2 more
41%
2010s
Labour of Love IV, Getting Over the Storm +1 more

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where UB40 sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.

UB40
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

Celine Dion1%
Diana Ross10%
Ricky Martin25%
Rihanna44%
Cyndi Lauper60%
Wham!88%
Culture Club98%
66%UB40
Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

Red Red Wine
Labour of Love
Written by Neil Diamond
Outside writers
I Got You Babe
Baggariddim
Written by Sonny Bono, Salvatore Phillip Bono
Outside writers
Here I Am (Come and Take Me)
Labour of Love II
Written by Al Green, Teenie Hodges, Mabon Hodges
Outside writers
The Way You Do the Things You Do
Labour of Love II
Written by Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rogers, William "Smokey" Robinson, Robert Rogers
Outside writers
Groovin'
Labour of Love II
Written by Byron Lee
Outside writers
(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You
Promises and Lies
Written by Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss
Outside writers
Higher Ground
Promises and Lies
Written by Brian Travers, Ali Campbell, Earl Falconer, Jimmy Brown, Norman Hassan, Robin Campbell, Mickey Virtue, Astro, Alistair Ian Campbell, James Earl Brown, Norman Lamont Hassan, Michael Virtue, Terence Wilson
Wrote it

Discography 19 albums

The nineteen studio albums with published track listings. Bigga Baggariddim (2021) and UB45 (2024) have no article of their own and no published track credits, so they are not covered here and are logged in the site TODO.

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

UB40224 tracks
R"36Ray "Pablo" Falconer, 36 tracks DA15Dan Armstrong, 15 tracks DC15Danny Canaan, 15 tracks BL13Bob Lamb, 13 tracks HG10Howard Gray, 10 tracks JT10Jamie Travers, 10 tracks JH4John Holt, 4 tracks DL2Dandy Livingstone, 2 tracks PB2Pato Banton, 2 tracks G2Gunslinger, 2 tracks SR2Smokey Robinson, 2 tracks H2Hunterz, 2 tracks JL2John Lennon, 2 tracks on The Beatles's page PM2Paul McCartney, 2 tracks on The Beatles's page JW2John Winston Lennon, 2 tracks JP2James Paul McCartney, 2 tracks RN1Randy Newman, 1 track LA1Lewis Allan, 1 track AM1Abel Meeropol, 1 track ED1Eric Donaldson, 1 track L"1Lee "Scratch" Perry, 1 track CM1Curtis Mayfield, 1 track WT1Winston Tucker, 1 track LK1Leslie Kong, 1 track RB1Roy Beckford, 1 track W"1Winston "Shadow" Bailey, 1 track DW1Delroy Wilson, 1 track DC1Derrick Crooks, 1 track ND1Neil Diamond, 1 track IH1Isaac Hayes, 1 track JM1Joe Monsano, 1 track BF1Boy Friday, 1 track JC1Jimmy Cliff, 1 track D1Dillinger, 1 track AJ1Admiral Jerry, 1 track P1Pablo, 1 track S1Stones, 1 track GC1General CP, 1 track JB1James Bond/007, 1 track RL1Robert Livingstone Thompson, 1 track SV1Sister V, 1 track SB1Sonny Bono, 1 track SP1Salvatore Phillip Bono, 1 track CH1Chrissie Hynde, 1 track EH1Eddie Hinton, 1 track DF1Donnie Fritts, 1 track AG1Al Green, 1 track TH1Teenie Hodges, 1 track MH1Mabon Hodges, 1 track DD1Donna Dawson, 1 track JN1John Noel Anderson, 1 track SR1Sonny Roberts, 1 track BL1Byron Lee, 1 track BR1Bobby Rogers, 1 track W"1William "Smokey" Robinson, 1 track RR1Robert Rogers, 1 track LC1Lord Creator, 1 track KP1Kentrick Patrick, 1 track BL1Barry Llewelyn, 1 track EM1Earl Morgan, 1 track LS1Leroy Sibbles, 1 track HL1Harold Logan, 1 track JP1John Patton, 1 track LP1Lloyd Price, 1 track ER1Eugene Record, 1 track SM1Stan McKenny, 1 track HB1Honey Boy, 1 track K"1Keith "Honey Boy" Williams, 1 track LC1Luigi Creatore, 1 track HP1Hugo Peretti, 1 track GD1George David Weiss, 1 track GE1Garth Evans, 1 track IJ1Ivory Joe Hunter, 1 track CS1Charlie Skarbek, 1 track DB1Dennis Bovell, 1 track HD1Herman Davis, 1 track RL1Russell Lewis, 1 track WL1Winfred Lovett, 1 track NW1Norris Weir, 1 track TC1Tommy Cowan, 1 track BM1Bob Marley, 1 track CG1Charles G. Dawes, 1 track CS1Carl Sigman, 1 track KA1Keith Anderson, 1 track TB1Tony Brevett, 1 track SC1Sam Cooke, 1 track JN1Johnny Nash, 1 track TB1Theophilus Beckford, 1 track BL1Bunny Lee, 1 track HB1Howard Barrett, 1 track TE1Tyrone Evans, 1 track MT1Marvin Tarplin, 1 track WM1Warren Moore, 1 track KP1Ken Parker, 1 track HL1Hopeton Lewis, 1 track ED1Errol Dunkley, 1 track KD1Keble Drummond, 1 track GA1Gregg Allman, 1 track RK1Robert Kim Payne, 1 track JR1John Riggs, 1 track VG1Vince Gill, 1 track on Eagles's page TS1Troy Seals, 1 track BO1Buck Owens, 1 track AA1Audrey Allison, 1 track JA1Joe Allison, 1 track FR1Fred Rose, 1 track PO1Paul Overstreet, 1 track DS1Don Schlitz, 1 track BA1Blind Alfred Reed, 1 track AR1Alfred Reed, 1 track KP1Kabaka Pyramid, 1 track S1Slinger, 1 track PR1Pablo Rider, 1 track DR1Duke Reid, 1 track GG1Gilly G, 1 track

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. R" Ray "Pablo" Falconer · DA Dan Armstrong · DC Danny Canaan · BL Bob Lamb · HG Howard Gray · JT Jamie Travers

Photo credits

Portraits in the web and the rail come from Wikimedia Commons. The artist's own photo carries its credit under the picture.

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

There are no individual credits anywhere. Robin Campbell, Earl Falconer, Brian Travers, Jimmy Brown and Norman Hassan appear on 148 tracks each, Astro on 139 and Ali Campbell and Mickey Virtue on 133, which is the whole band on every original they recorded. The gap is the covers: four Labour of Love albums and scattered versions elsewhere, and the biggest hits of their career are all in that half.

Quick Facts

  • No solo creditsEvery original is credited to the whole band
  • The core fiveCampbell, Falconer, Travers, Brown and Hassan on 148 tracks
  • The covers halfFour Labour of Love albums are other writers' songs
  • SalesMore than 100 million records worldwide
  • UK singlesMore than 50 entries on the UK singles chart
  • The number ones"Red Red Wine" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" topped the Hot 100

Creative Fingerprint

One credit for eight people on every original, and the hits are all songs somebody else wrote.

The Story

UB40 credit every original song to the whole band. Five members are on 148 of the 224 album tracks, and the rest of the catalogue is other people's songs.

Frequently Asked Questions UB40

Who writes UB40's songs?
The whole band, together. Every original the group recorded carries a single credit for all of them, so Robin Campbell, Earl Falconer, Brian Travers, Jimmy Brown and Norman Hassan each appear on 148 of the 224 album tracks. No member holds a song of their own.
Who wrote "Red Red Wine"?
Neil Diamond, in 1967. UB40's version is a cover, and it reached number 1 on the Hot 100 in 1988.
Did UB40 write their biggest hits?
Mostly not. "Red Red Wine", "I Got You Babe", "Kingston Town" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" are all covers. The songs they wrote themselves, like "One in Ten" and "Food for Thought", were hits in Britain rather than America.
What are the Labour of Love albums?
Four albums of reggae and soul covers released between 1983 and 2010. None of them carries a UB40 writing credit.
How many albums did UB40 release?
Nineteen studio albums with published track listings, between 1980 and 2019. Bigga Baggariddim and UB45 have no published track credits, so they are not included here.
Why does one album have no writers at all?
Labour of Love III lists only the original artist of each cover, and neither Discogs nor MusicBrainz publishes the songwriters. It is marked unverified with a note.
How well did they sell?
More than 100 million records worldwide, with more than 50 entries on the UK singles chart.
Did UB40 win a Grammy?
No. They were nominated four times for Best Reggae Album, and once for the Brit Award for Best British Group in 1984.
What happened to Ali Campbell?
He sang lead from 1978 until 2008 and then left. Duncan Campbell took the job from 2008 to 2021.
Where does the name come from?
The UB40 was the British unemployment benefit form, which the band members were all claiming when they started in Birmingham in 1978.

Sources

Wikipedia: UB40 Wikipedia: UB40 discography Wikipedia: Ali Campbell Wikipedia: Jimmy Brown (musician)