A reggae band formed 1978 in Birmingham, UK. The music grasps from roots re… Read Full Bio ↴A reggae band formed 1978 in Birmingham, UK. The music grasps from roots reggae and dub to lovers rock and pop. It is the second most commercial successful reggae band with +70 million sold albums. Many of their hits have been stylishly covers of early reggae and rocksteady hits from Jamaica. After success in UK, UB40's won USA with Labour of Love (1983), their first album of covers. UB40 was 1986 the first Western band to play behind the Iron Curtain, live in Moscow, Soviet Union. UB40 is known for hits as 'Food For Thought', (1980) 'Red Red Wine' (1983), 'Please Don't Make Me Cry' (1983), 'I Got You Babe' (1985) with frontman Ali Campbell in duet with Chrissie Hynde just like in 'Breakfast in Bed' (1988). Their most successful worldwide single release is their reggae/pop version of 'I Can't Help) Falling in Love With You' (1993).

The band is one of the most culturally diverse dub Ska bands with musicians of English, Scottish, Irish, Yemeni and Jamaican parentage. The band is named from the paper form issued by the UK government's Department of Health and Social Security at the time of the band's formation for claiming unemployment benefit (UB40 = Unemployment Benefit, Form 40).

UB40 were influenced by the many Blues Parties they attended as teenagers in the multiracial Balsall Heath area of Birmingham, their love of ska and reggae inspired such original tracks as King, Madam Medusa, Food for Thought, Signing Off and One in Ten.

Their early music style was unique, with a heavy influence of analogue synthesizers, psychedelic rock guitar, saxophone and dub producer techniques which were later perfected by the late Pablo Falconer.

Ali and Robin Campbell have a musical heritage, being sons of Ian Campbell, a folk musician.

The band purchased its first instruments with compensation money Ali Campbell received after a bar fight. They have had a number of hits, most commercially and to amusement of the band, "Red Red Wine", a cover version of a Neil Diamond song (in an arrangement similar to that of Tony Tribe's version). Their most successful single release is the cover of the Elvis Presley ballad Can't Help Falling In Love which was intended to be the main title to the 1992 Sharon Stone movie Sliver and was a Number One hit across Europe and in the U.S.

Many of UB40's recordings were inspired by 1960s ska and early lovers rock songs that would have otherwise been forgotten in the public eye. Their new injection of life into so many old Jamaican hits has resulted in many musicians' and producers' renewed popularity and income.

UB40's early music often tackled social issues such as racism and unemployment.

Other artists that UB40 have collaborated with include: Pato Banton, Madness, Bitty McLean, Chrissie Hynde, Robert Palmer, Hunterz, Japanese artist Mikidozan, French artist Nuttea, Lady Saw and Afrika Bambaataa.

Impossible Love
UB40 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When we were together
Those were the happiest time in all my life
Now were separated I don't know what I will do
'Cause I can't ever love another
No matter how hard I try
'Cause I know. It's impossible
Where ever you may be
I hope you'll hear my song

Then maybe you'll realise
My love that you were wrong

'Cause I can't ever love another
No matter how hard I try
'Cause I know. It's impossible

The sunset outside my window
Has lost all it's glow

The rose in the garden
Doesn't bloom any more

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of UB40's song Impossible Love depict the heartbreak and agony of a person who has lost their loved one. The song is a nostalgic reflection on the moments spent together by the singer with their former partner. The lyrics convey the sense of despair and emptiness that has engulfed the singer's life after the separation. The singer expresses their inability to forget their lover and move on, no matter how hard they try. The refrain "cause I know it's impossible" emphasizes the futility of their attempts to move on from the impossible love.

The lines "Where ever you may be, I hope you'll hear my song, then maybe you'll realize, my love that you were wrong" displays a glimmer of hope in the singer’s heart as they hope that their former lover might recognize their mistake and return to them. The final lines of the song describe the loss of color and beauty in the world around the singer, symbolizing the emptiness they are feeling inside. UB40's exquisite and poignant lyrics combined with their signature reggae beats make the song an emotional masterpiece.

Impossible LoveUB40 Lyrics

Ian Fulton

on My Way of Thinking

Rosie Contreras

on Red Red Wine

Impossible Love
UB40 Lyrics