The Bowl of Brooklands during the day...
...and at night (This isn't the UB40 concert. They had a much better light show.)
We got there early and managed to bag a great spot. We didn't take our camera as the tickets said it was possible that cameras may not be allowed, and we didn't want to risk having ours confiscated or having to leave it in an unattended car for five hours. As soon as we sat down it started raining, and we thought, Uh-oh, here we go, but fortunately it was just the first in a series of light showers, which fizzled out before the concert began.
UB40's support band were a local guitar and drums trio whose name sounded like Loo Zips Free but almost certainly wasn't. They weren't bad at all. I'd say their style was funk/jazz inspired pop, but then I know nothing about these things and it might just as easily have been plain-song inspired hip-hop. They've got an album out in New Zealand at the moment, the name of which I didn't even manage to mishear, so I'll have to keep a look out for it. It'll be a miracle if I find it.
Although the concert started at 8pm, UB40 themselves didn't come on stage until quarter past nine, but they were well worth the wait. They played a good mix of songs from last twenty-five years, including lots of their best-known hits - Cherry oh Baby, Red, Red Wine, Rat in Mi Kitchen, I Can't Help Falling in Love, Don't Let it Pass You By, and they ended their encore with One in Ten (what else?)
Even though there were 'no standing' signs everywhere, everyone stood up when UB40 started their set - you can't listen to Reggae sitting down, can you? And like everyone else, I spent the entire hour-and-a-half dancing (or jiggling about in an uncoordinated fashion in my case). We had an absolutely brilliant time, and would recommend the gig to anyone. The tour finishes in the UK in June. For information on venues and dates, visit the UB40 official website here.
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