Ali Campbell has been releasing records for almost thirty years and he has had an incredible career. As lead-singer with UB40, Ali sold millions of records and brought reggae music to the masses, making it accessible to all.
More recently, Ali has been a judge onĀ New Zealandās Got TalentĀ and for the last four years, he has been releasing his own material (sans UB40).
We caught up with Ali, who was briefly in the country for a show at the 02 Arena. Ali was one of the most down to earth men that weāve ever met and very humble ā not an easy feat in todayās music industry and itās even more impressive, considering how long he has been around in the music industry. Here is what happened when we caught up with him.
Hi Ali, how are you, keeping busy?
Iāve been really busy, yeah! Iāve only been back in the country for twenty-four hours. Iāve just come from New Zealand, where Iāve been living for the best part of three months, because Iāve been doingĀ New Zealandās Got Talent.
How did you get involved in being a judge on ‘New Zealandās Got Talent’?
A lady called Anabelle used to work for UB40 and Virgin records and Iāve known her since weāve been going to New Zealand, which is for nearly thirty years now. They were looking for people to be judges and she put my name forward for it. I thought to myself: yeah, Iāll take that. For one reason and for one reason only and that was so that I could be living in New Zealand for three months and working only one day a week and I thought to myself: that would be a nice way to see New Zealand.
Did you get a chance to travel and see a lot of the country whilst you were there?
Yeah, I was all over the place. Iāve been spending a lot of time in Auckland, as Iāve got friends there and weāve been to some events. I went to the first mixed martial arts event ever staged in New Zealand, which was pretty cool. My wife and kids came over for the last five weeks that I was out there. I took them down to Christchurch, because we live in Christchurch in England and the kidsā school is twinned with the one in New Zealand. I took them to see the earthquake damage and we got the train across to Grey Mouth, which is across the South Island and to Arthurs Pass and the Alps, which was nice and Iāve been generally spending time around Auckland, itās been great.
What did you think of ‘New Zealandās Got Talent’, were there any stand-out acts for you, were you impressed with who you saw?
Yeah, I was very impressed with a lot of them actually. When I was first offered the show, I was thinking: ah, New Zealand, itās going to be a bit agricultural and regional, but they really impressed me and it was the most watched show in New Zealand over the first few weeks and it was the most successful show and the biggest production that theyād ever done.
What do you think of talent shows in general, such as the ‘X Factor’, do you think they are helping or hindering the music business?
I think Simon Cowell has completely manipulated the charts, you know. Itās dreadful what these programmes such as theĀ X FactorĀ andĀ Fame AcademyĀ have done. But itās done, the damage has been done. Itās now a case of ā if you canāt beat them, join them, really.
What do you think of the music industry today? Has it changed much since you started out in the music business?
Itās completely changed. Itās absolutely different. I was asked to give people advice with the show and I was thinking that Iām not the one to give advice to them now, you know? My job was to sell CDās, as well as do live concerts and of course, you canāt really sell CDās anymore, with downloads dominating the industry. Itās got to the point where theyāre stopping making CD players, you know? But in any business, there will be a huge change every ten to fifteen years. New formats always replace the old, video killed the radio star! As a CD seller, itās the end. Iām lucky that Iāve got a great band and I can play live, but a lot of people have disappeared and itās sad. The ones that relied on CD sales have all gone.
We hear that youāre in the process of recording a new album at the moment, how is that going?
Yes, Iām trying to find a slot to fit the recording in, now that Iāve stopped filming for a bit. What we want to do is, to get back into the studio and carry on with the album, which is going to be fabulous. Weāve got some amazing coversĀ Ā that people would never have dreamt of. Iām good at finding obscure songs and covering them. Iāve got a good feeling about it the album. Iām not working with Sly and Robbie on this album ā Iām working with my dep band, they are great to work with and very exciting and Iām excited to get the work down.
You famously champion reggae music, why does it excite you so much?
With reggae, there are so many different types of reggae, so many different styles. Iāve travelled all around the world, if you go to Africa or Hawaii, the basis of all this contemporary music is influenced from reggae and djembe beats. Everyone from J-Lo to the people who are in the charts these days, itās all made up of djembe beats and it boils down to that reggae is the most influential music in the world and itās so exciting.
Youāve been travelling around the world so much lately, is it good to be back in the UK?
Itās lovely to be home actually, you know ā itās always nice to come home. I love the house we have here in the UK and where we live. The kids are happy to be back too, as theyāve been away from home for a while.
Youāre in the UK at the moment and you played a gig at the O2 Indigo on Friday. What can people expect from your latest tour?
Itās a show of hits, I wonāt do the UB40 hits which I wrote, but Iāll do the covers that we were famous for, such asKingston Town;Ā Red, Red WineĀ andĀ I Canāt Help Falling In LoveĀ and some of my original songs in there.Ā Ā Itās probably the only one time that people will get to see these sets of songs together. Weāve got a great band with loads of different experiences and some very talented musicians playing.
How does it feel to have your own show, rather than with the band UB40? Are you used to performing your own material now, or does it still feel ānewā to you, in a sense?
It does feel new in a sense, as itās a totally different experience. Itās wonderful, as it is new material and itās exciting, it feels very, very fresh.
Who is the warm-up for your current tour?
I havenāt got a warm-up act as such, but instead Iāve got a DJ playing reggae songs. That will set the scene for the evening and warm the crowd up and it sets the right kind of ambience for my show.
ThatĀ sounds like fun! Youāll be performing a show in Birmingham in January. How do you feel about performing there, do you still get nervous, or does it feel differently performing there?
Itās a bit different, because itās a home crowd and I know everybody there. Iāll have my Mum in the audience and sheāll be saying: whatās he doing there, why is he dancing like that? Ha-ha! Itās good fun.
What does 2013 have in store for you?
A Red, Red Winery tour would be good. We could take the tour to South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, I think that would be nice. A bit of reggae music and vineyards! You can come if you like.
Ha-ha thanks, sounds brilliant!
Iāll be finishing recording the new album next year,Ā New Zealandās Got TalentĀ will be back ā I havenāt signed anything as yet, but thatās a strong possibility as the show was such a success and Iāll be doing what I always do, which is a lot of touring. If Iām not touring or travelling, I find myself twiddling my thumbs thinking what do I do now? Ha-ha. Itās going to be good.