Book description
Born and raised in a council house on Birmingham's notorious Balsall
Heath under the watchful eye of their staunchly socialist, folk singer
father, Robin and Ali Campbell were to become members of the most
successful reggae band in the world, a career that has spanned four decades.
But this is not the autobiography of a pop band legend, but rather
the story of two working class brothers crashing and burning and
fighting back against the odds. It is the story of growing up in the
1960s to the sounds of Motown and ska, folk music and skiffle and
radical politics and - most importantly - the new and infectious sound
of reggae that was to capture the ears of these two teenage kids from
the Midlands.
Instilled by their father from an early age to always do things
their own way, the brothers - in between dead end jobs and the dole
office - put together a band that would show Balsall Heath what reggae
was all about . Mismanagement, drink, drugs, divorce, paranoia and
jail terms would dog the band and threaten to destroy it all -
including the brother's relationship and yet they come to amass record
sales in excess of 50 million, with nearly 50 hit singles to their
credit - from 'Red Red Wine' and 'Don't Break My Heart' to 'Homely
Girl' and 'I Got You Babe'.
Ali and Robin Campbell were born and brought up in 1960's Birmingham
and went on to lead one of pop/reggae music legends UB40 with record
sales in excess of £50 million.
