UB40 and the Brixton Academy: how the Birmingham reggae band helped save the borough’s most iconic venue

UB40 are one of the world’s biggest reggae acts. Less well known is the role they played in helping relaunch Brixton Academy after the collapse of its predecessor, the Fair Deal, in the early 1980s.

The Buzz are happy to report that UB40 still speak fondly of Brixton, even though they haven’t played here since the 1980s. Founder members Robin Campbell and Jimmy Brown sat down with us in a London pub ahead of their UK arena tour with Maxi Priest and Aswad.

“We did Hammersmith Odeon too, but people had to sit down,” says Brown. “Can you imagine a sit-down reggae audience?”
Brixton was different. “A great venue with good sound,” says Campbell, “we played at the Academy and before that, when it was called the Fair Deal. It was a black venue, a reggae venue.”

The Brixton reggae scene turned out for UB40’s shows — including Linton Kwesi Johnson, Dennis Bovell, Janet Kay, Winston Francis and members of the Cimarons. Brown still remembers smoking weed in a hotel room with the Cimarons’ drummer, getting pointers on his drum technique.

UB40 had headlined the Fair Deal’s opening night on 12 March 1982, when the building first reopened as a music venue.

It seemed a strong start, but within months the venue was in trouble. UB40 were booked back in for two nights in September – but their promoter pulled them out at the last minute when it emerged the Fair Deal had no proper entertainment licence.

Within days the venue went into liquidation. £6,000 of ticket money disappeared along with its director, and 1,500 UB40 fans were left out of pocket.

Johnny Lawes, who would become Parkes’s right-hand man at the Academy for the next decade, travelled to Birmingham to make the case. Five days later he returned with a signed contract.

Before going to print, the Buzz spoke separately to Parkes, who remembers the shows with equal warmth. “UB40 were the band (along with The Clash) that really put the Academy back on the map,” he says. “A great band, a great gig, and a crossover act.

Getting them back was a cue to the music industry – that we were under different management, that Brixton was a different proposition now. And I’ll always remember Johnny”, he laughs “taking Mick Hucknall down to Brixton Market to buy a hat to stuff all that red hair into.”

On 30 October 1985, UB40 played the relaunched Academy, selling out two nights. Support came from a little-known Manchester band called Simply Red. Their debut single, Money’s Too Tight to Mention, had only recently been released. Tickets were £5.

Brown remembers the gig vividly: “We got stranded in the streets, couldn’t get the bus down the road to the venue. We were probably an hour late going on. But the gig was dynamite.”

Back at the table with the band, we cheekily asked whether UB40 might play Brixton again on a future tour. They didn’t say no.

Until then, UB40 are in Wembley with Maxi Priest and Aswad this Friday 5 June, and out across the UK – details below.

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UB40 Unstoppable 2026 UK TOUR with Maxi Priest and Aswad

Wednesday 3 – June Cardiff Utilita Arena
Friday 5 June – London OVO Arena Wembley
Saturday 6 June – Manchester AO Arena
Sunday 7 June – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Tuesday 9 June – Hull Connexin Live
Thursday 11 June – Glasgow OVO Hydro
Friday 12 June – Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Saturday 13 June – Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tuesday 16 June – Swansea Swansea Building Society Arena
Wednesday 17 June – Plymouth Pavilions
Thursday 18 June – Bournemouth BIC
Saturday 20 June – Birmingham BP Pulse Live

Tickets are on sale now at tegeurope.com.

Fans can pre-order the new UB40 album now via the Official UB40 Store.