BRIAN TRAVERS of UB40: Social Security Investigations & Red Wine
An interview by Lauren Sanderson.
The UK’s biggest Reggae group UB40 are heading to New Zealand this month as part of their Australasian tour. I was lucky enough to grab five minutes with Saxophone player and song-writer Brian Travers to talk about the bands career, their take on New Zealand and to find out his thoughts on red wine…
You’re still known as the UK’s biggest and most successful Reggae band, why do you think no other band has come close to taking the title from you?
It’s crazy isn’t it. I don’t know, I don’t really believe in titles. We don’t take ourselves to seriously, but we take the music seriously. I think we’re number one because we’ve been around the longest, but there is lots of great reggae coming out of England. I suppose we are just lucky.
How did the band form?
We are all from the same neighbourhood in the middle of Birmingham and we went to art school with each other. We were all mates, we would play football after school and all dreamt of being musicians. Back in those days it was a big deal to make a record, we didn’t think we would ever make a record but we kept on playing and it finally happened.
What’s the story behind the name UB40?
Someone as young as yourself wouldn’t remember this, but back in those days if you were on the dole, you had to go to the unemployment office and you get given a UB40 card, which meant Unemployment Benefit and the registration number was 40. When we first started out as a band we were all on the dole and were looking for a name for the band, we thought it was hilarious, but it got us investigated by the social security because they thought we were making fun of them.
So, you’re returning to New Zealand this month, what’s triggered the return?
We love doing what we do, its great crack. We get to hang out with all our mates and go around the world and play music for people. Music is the most abstract of all the arts, you can’t see it, you can’t touch it but it certainly touches us. It’s been a lovely life, I first came to NZ in 1981 and we must have been back about 10 times since then and we can’t wait to come back.
What’s your favourite thing about New Zealand? Do you have much time to explore when you’re here?
We’ve been so many times that we get to see the country bit by bit. We have been as far as Dunedin and up to the Bay of Plenty, the vineyards are fantastic. When we first came a New Zealand band called The Herbs we opening for us on the tour and they took us under their wing and showed us New Zealand. It was great, each year we go back we still see the same friends we’ve made over the years, they meet us at the airport and everything.
Reggae is a massive key influence for the band. Is this the type of music you listened to when growing up?
I think any band wants to be like their idols. Growing up there was always reggae music playing in the bars and the pubs and where we lived there was lots of Jamaican people. If it wasn’t for being surrounded by reggae music we wouldn’t know how to play it. We would have been a terrible rock band because we never listened to that type of music.
Have you always played Sax?
Yeah and I also write a lot of the songs. I play the saxophone to be on the road, I love the sax because it’s an old-fashioned instrument, there is no technology behind it and I always thought I could go busking with the Sax if the band didn’t work out.
Other than touring and sharing your music, what are you interests?
All of us met at art school in Birmingham and I’ve always painted and made sculptures. It’s a beautiful meditative past time. It’s wonderfully cathartic, just you and the picture. Being in a band it’s a team sport so it’s nice to have your own time. I am an abstract artist, people always want something to go with a new sofa or a new space, so I paint stuff that people want.
When you started out in the 1970’s did you ever think you would be as big as you are now?
It was the end of the 70’s first of all – you’re making us sound like 100 years old! We were very young and very cocky, we thought we were going to be Elvis. Put it this way before we could even play any songs we were practising our autographs. We thought we were superstars just because we bought instruments but really, we were just regular kids with a love of music.
It’s been a great journey – hey it’s taken over 30 years to talk to you, that’s another one I can tick off the list…
You’ve travelled a lot as part of your career, is Birmingham still your favourite city?
There is no place like home, I never used to understand that before I left Birmingham. It’s not for the sites or the beauty, it’s an industrial city but all our friends and our family are here.
A question that many want to ask – Are you a fan of the ‘red red wine’?
Yes of course! We spent our lives in hotels and eating in restaurants more than we have living at home, so we’ve certainly got used to the wine list. We are definitely not raving alcoholics, but we do love a glass of red.
UB40 are performing two very special shows in NZ this week, with a show on Friday, 17th November at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch and a show at Trusts Arena, Auckland on the 18th November. Tickets to both shows are still available from mjrpresents.
