Unprecedented is the new album from UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro, available now via UMC.

Unprecedented was recorded before the tragic death of Astro last November after a short illness. “Astro’s death came as such a shock, and I’m still reeling from it,” says Ali. “This album is now more poignant and special than either of us could have imagined when we were recording it. Astro heartbreakingly passed just two weeks after we’d finished the final mixes, so this is a way of keeping his memory alive.”

The follow-up to 2018’s A Real Labour Of Love – which debuted at No.2 in the UK album chart, only dropping one place a week later to No.3, and spent a month in the Top 10 – Unprecedented is fueled by the roots rocking spirit that powered UB40’s original incarnation, and is an album to inject a little reggae sunshine into even the darkest days. It’s also a fitting memorial to Astro.

Astro, born Terence Wilson, got his nickname on account of his fondness for Dr. Martens boots emblazoned with the brand name Astronaut. When he joined up with singer and guitarist Campbell in the fledgling UB40, supplying additional vocals and playing trumpet and percussion, he added the final piece to a musical jigsaw that went on to conquer the charts and put British reggae on the world map.

Ali and Astro augment one another magnificently on Unprecedented – just as they did four decades ago on UB40’s version of ‘Red Red Wine’, a chart-topping single illuminated by Ali’s honeyed, melodic tones and Astro’s memorable “red red wine in a modern beat style” toast. On the new album, Astro comes to the fore on “Sufferer”, a reggae standard originally by The Kingstonians which would have graced any of UB40’s acclaimed Labour Of Love albums. His ‘sing-jay’ style of MC-ing is also prominent on the title track, on which he takes the government to task over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic, labelling them “headless chickens.”

Among Unprecedented‘s other originals are lead single ‘We’ll Never Find Another Love’, ‘Emperors Wore No Clothes’ and ‘Happy Includes Everyone’, the latter a Latin-tinged carnival number that is an upbeat antidote to the album’s scathing title track. The heartfelt ‘Mellow’, underpinned by a rhythm that rekindles the leisurely stride of 1980’s ‘Food For Thought’, was written long before Astro’s death, but still feels like an elegy: “We all know life’s too short, and sadly time cannot be bought.”

The covers on Unprecedented reiterate Ali and Astro’s knack of alighting on unlikely songs and reinterpreting them in a reggae style, a custom that dates back to UB40’s 1980 debut album, Signing Off, which contained reggae versions of Randy Newman’s ‘I Think It’s Going To Rain Today’ and Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’. There are certainly some curve balls on Unprecedented, including Kris Kristofferson’s ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’ and a version of Stevie Wonder’s funky protest song ‘Do Yourself A Favour’, from 1971’s Where I’m Coming From, an album that heralded Stevie’s move towards the socially conscious lyrics of the ground-breaking albums Music Of My Mind, Talking Book and Innervisions.

Perhaps more surprisingly, Ali and Astro also tackle a song by 1990s boy band East 17. Their version of ‘Stay Another Day’, about the death of East 17 songwriter Tony Mortimer’s brother, is an emotional tour de force. “I love the melody,” says Ali. “In the original UB40, we were good at choosing old reggae favourites like Eric Donaldson’s Cherry Oh Baby and Lord Creator’s Kingston Town, because we grew up on songs like that. But it’s also interesting to take a totally unexpected song and cover it in a reggae style.”

Elsewhere, he and Astro explore authentic more reggae material, including New York rock steady crew The Frightnrs’ ‘What Have I Done’, and two tracks from the under-appreciated UK reggae canon – the Gappy Ranks’ dancehall hit ‘Heaven In Her Eyes’, which uses Bob Marley & The Wailers’ ‘Soul Rebel’ as a backing track, and Louisa Mark’s lovers’ rock classic ‘Caught You In A Lie’, the latter starring Ali’s daughter Indica on lead vocals.

Four tracks, ‘Emperors Wore No Clothes’ plus the covers ‘Do Yourself A Favour’, ‘Stay Another Day’ and ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’, were recorded during a productive, five-day stay in Jamaica, where Ali and Astro hooked up with the cream of the island’s reggae players, including drummer Sly Dunbar, bassist Chris Meredith, keyboardist Robbie Lyn and guitarist Mitchum ‘Khan’ Chan.

In remaining true to the authentic reggae spirit that kick-started his music career in the late 1970s, Ali is now celebrating the legacy of his departed bandmate by keeping faith with their original shared ideals. “For me, it’s all about advancing reggae,” he says. “I love all kinds of music, but we’ve always promoted reggae. I’ve never deviated from that. I’m strictly reggae.”