UB40 Announce 50th Anniversary Australian Tour With Soul II Soul

UB40 are celebrating a whopping five decades in the game by heading back down under for a huge Australian tour – and they’re bringing fellow British icons Soul II Soul along for the ride.

The reggae legends will return as part of their aptly-named Unstoppable Tour, marking almost 50 years since the band first formed in Birmingham in 1978, with a new album dubbed Unstoppable also on the horizon.

UB40 – ‘Red Red Wine’

Four of UB40’s surviving founding members – Robin Campbell, Norman Hassan, Earl Falconer and Jimmy Brown – remain in the group today, joined by longtime members of their extended musical family and lead vocalist Matt Doyle, who has fronted the band for the past five years.

The forthcoming tour will see the 11-piece digging through a colossal catalogue that has helped them shift more than 100 million albums worldwide, including ubiquitous hits like ‘Red Red Wine’ and ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’.

“We are very excited to be coming back to Australia and New Zealand!” Campbell says. “This is the Unstoppable tour, because that’s exactly how we feel, after nearly 50 years of being a band.”

“It is always special for us to reunite with so many fans and friends down under and it will be a great celebration with Soul II Soul supporting.”

And yes, he absolutely went there:

“Get your dancing shoes on and grab your bottle of red red wine, because we Can’t help falling in love with Australia and NZ.”

Drummer Jimmy Brown is similarly bullish about the band’s current live form, declaring: “We have never had more fun in our careers than we’ve had on this Unstoppable tour.”

“The band sounds amazing, the set is full of surprises, fans will be singing and dancing all night long and we are playing better than we ever have in 50 years.”

The tour will mark UB40’s first trip back down under since their sold-out 2024 Australian run supporting latest album UB45.

Meanwhile, Grammy Award-winning UK soul/R&B legends Soul II Soul will join them at every stop, bringing their own arsenal of classics including ‘Back To Life’ and ‘Keep On Movin’.

Led by founder Jazzie B alongside vocalist Charlotte Kelly, the influential collective have remained a familiar presence on Australian stages in recent years, including appearances at Golden Plains and WOMADelaide.

All up, fans can expect an evening overflowing with reggae, soul, R&B and enough nostalgia to have multiple generations getting their dancing shoes on.

Suss all the Australian tour dates and ticketing details below.