SACRAMENTO, Calif. — UB40 featuring Ali Campbell announced they won't be performing at the California State Fair in Sacramento on July 28.
The announcement was made Tuesday on X. In addition to the state fair, Ali Campbell is also canceling his forthcoming U.S. tour. The reason for the cancellation is listed as illness.
"Ali really needs a few weeks rest from his extremely busy 'Endless Summer World Tour' to be able to continue. Starting again on the 2nd and 3rd of August in Bristol and Milton Keynes respectively," a statement released on Campbell's X account reads.
UB40 is known for hits such as "Red Red Wine" and "Can't Help Falling in Love."
The California State Fair website listed the concert as "subject to change," saying UB40 featuring Ali Campbell was canceled. The performance was scheduled for the last day of the fair.
"Ali is hugely disappointed to not be able to perform at these events, continuing to do, what he set out to do at the start of his career and take his love of Reggae music to the world," the statement says.
ABC10 reached out to Cal Expo for information on refunds for those who purchased reserved tickets and about a possible replacement act but didn't hear back at the time of publishing.
UB40's Complicated History
Ali Campbell was the lead singer of UB40 before he left the band in 2008 to pursue a solo career, the band said in a news release in October 2023.
"The facts are that Ali Campbell is ‘passing off’ his now solo project, as UB40, by billing himself as UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell. This causes a lot of confusion because the deceptive billing implies that Ali Campbell is performing with UB40. In fact, it is just one ex-member of UB40 and his backing band of session musicians, none of whom have ever performed with UB40, or ever participated in a UB40 record," the band wrote.
Campbell's website says he left the band in 2008 citing management issues and later reunited with former band member Astro, whose real name is Terence Wilson when Wilson left UB40 in 2013. The pair released multiple albums until Wilson died of a sudden illness in 2021.
"Since leaving the original set up of UB40 his former band members, despite their claims, have unsuccessfully via the legal system tried to stop Ali Using the name UB40," according to Campbell's website.
UB40, minus Ali Campbell, is going on a U.S. tour with several stops in California. They are set to play Ace of Spades in Sacramento on July 30. Find tickets HERE.
California State Fair Concerts
The Toyota Concert Series has several performers set to take the stage at the state fair with a new main headliner every night. Reserved tickets are available for purchase starting at $25. The reserved seat doesn't include state fair admission and a fair ticket is required to attend.
The concerts are free with admission, but it's first come, first served and the free seating area is limited to the first 700 guests, according to the fair.
Find a list of all the performers HERE.
Wednesday, July 17: War
Thursday, July 18: Chris Young
Friday, July 19: Digital Underground, Tone Loc and C&C Music Factory
Saturday, July 20: Patti LaBelle
Sunday, July 21: Pablo Montero, Mariachi Los Camperos, Gabriela Sepúlveda, and Mariachi Oro
Monday, July 22: Kenny Cetera
Tuesday, July 23: Flo Rida
Wednesday, July 24: Bush
Thursday, July 25: Lukas Nelson
Friday, July 26: The Beach Boys
Saturday, July 27: Mickey Guyton
Sunday, July 28: (Cancelled: UB40 featuring Ali Campbell)
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