Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Other than Bob Marley & The Wailers, there’s arguably never been a reggae band that achieved mainstream crossover to the degree of UB40, which would’ve made the edition led by Ali & Astro’s 40th anniversary celebration an attractive ticket all by itself. Add in 1990s and 2000s crossover continuation Shaggy, plus fellow four decade-spanning friends Steel Pulse, and it was a true genre dream team.

Yet the encore sparked the loudest rounds of audience participation thanks to the band’s total ownership of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and an extended finale of Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine,” which has become such a classic on its own accord, even its originator switched to performing the UB40 version!

For those who haven’t been keeping close score, UB40 featuring Ali & Astro is as genuine of a representation as the group gets these days considering they are respectively the original singer and toaster/rapper on so many of the hits. And despite straight up UB40 continuing with the remaining musicians (and coincidentally enough, Ali’s brother Duncan Campbell on vocals), the famed duo and their first-rate musicians sounded basically the same as those records that sold over 70 million copies at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom.

Though the the group dropped the album “A Real Labour Of Love” just last year (which landed at #2 in the UK, its highest since UB40’s heyday), the birthday aspect of this outing shifted the focus much further back. That meant everything from completely reconstituted covers of Al Green’s “Here I Am (Come And Take Me)” and The Temptations’ “The Way You Do The Things You Do” to personal essentials such as “Rat In Mi Kitchen” and “I’ll Be There” with well over a dozen others representing each category.

Yet the encore sparked the loudest rounds of audience participation thanks to the band’s total ownership of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and an extended finale of Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine,” which has become such a classic on its own accord, even its originator switched to performing the UB40 version! Speaking of sing-a-longs, Shaggy served up a ton of his own and occasionally sang over snippets from the Top 40, while always keeping his eyes on the sunny side of the reggae dial.

“Wah Gwaan?!” may be his current collective focus, though Shaggy made sure the joyous vibe included “Boombastic,” “In The Summertime,” “Oh Carolina,” “Angel” and “It Wasn’t Me,” exuding the same charisma that brought him to this very venue a mere year ago alongside Sting. Steel Pulse technically opened the evening, but were just as integral to its essence, delivering sociopolitical messages from the present “Mass Manipulation,” while rewinding through the past 40 years with brassy grooves that have yet to go out of style.

For additional information on UB40 featuring Ali & Astro, visit UB40.org.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom include Babymetal (Sept. 20); Cuco (Sept. 22); Marina (Sept. 23); Stone Temple Pilots and Rival Sons (Sept. 25); Maggie Rogers (Sept. 27); Lizzo (Sept. 28-29); Dropkick Murphys and Clutch (Sept. 30); Catfish And The Bottlemen (Oct. 5); Armin Van Buren (Oct. 12); Incubus (Oct. 18); Above & Beyond (Oct. 25); El Tri (Oct. 26) and Tyler Childers (Oct. 31). For additional details, visit LiveNation.com.

Related Articles

Sting & Shaggy: “44/876” Tour at Aragon Ballroom Zac Brown Band and more: Summerfest at Henry Maier Festival Park Alison Krauss & Union Station and more: Summerfest at Henry Maier Festival Park Chicago and more: Summerfest at Henry Maier Festival Park Death Cab For Cutie and more: Summerfest at Henry Maier Festival Park Snoop Dogg and more: Summerfest at Henry Maier Festival Park Chance The Rapper, Usher and more: Special Olympics 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert at HB Pavilion Reggae roots, island vibes link England’s Sting and Jamaica’s Shaggy