UB40 debut simmers with rage

UB40 : Burden of Shame

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On August 29, 1980 the Birmingham reggae band UB40 released their platinum debut album Signing Off to critical praise. The album entered the charts on October 2, 1980 and stayed there for 71 consecutive weeks. The band took their name and their album cover from a British unemployment benefit form and discovered their political voice by growing up in a city that had experienced the Birmingham pub bombings, IRA conflict, migrants families living in fear and the police using "sus laws" to detain Black citizens.

 Though the band has a worldwide reputation for its feel good covers, the debut simmers with rage. 

In "Burden of Shame" singer Ali Campbell recounts the misdeeds of British Imperialism.

There are murders that we must account for 

Bloody deeds have been done in my name 

Criminal acts we must pay for

 And our children will shoulder the blame

Campbell's smooth voice and the mellow vibe of the song might lead some listeners to miss the point of the songs, but most reviewers figured it out, including David Hepworth of Smash Hits:

Robert Christgau gave the album a  grade of B+ writing " They don't play no ska--they're songsmiths in a deep reggae groove. Like good reggaeheads (and unlike punk/mod ska speeders), they take their time instead of pressing on to the next one, and more than one instrumental outwears its welcome. But when they're singing 'Tyler is guilty' or 'King where are your people now?' or 'I'm a British subject, not proud of it' or--guess who--'Madame Medusa,' patience is rewarded."

Sounds awarded Signing Off five stars out of five, claiming that "it is an (almost) perfect album... It's rare to find a debut album so detailed, so excellently played and so packed with bite – I sometimes think it hasn't really happened since The Clash."

NME described the album as "a courageous debut... Their radical sentiments and trenchant lyrics are given all the more force by the soft-fist of UB40's measured musical delivery... The music might be mellow, but the hard-backed sentiments are hardly those of the nice reggae band you may have pigeonholed the UBs as."

Melody Maker said "The UBs, chirpy and still fully independent, have wrapped up their initial promise and persuasion and delivered a well-girthed winner of a debut album... Certainly the music of UB40 benefits far more in both quality and quantity from the exacting freedom of an LP than any of their close contemporaries... the band have broadened out the unique, shy commerciality of the two singles, "King" and "Food for Thought"... to an approach that sharpens the shape of their music and magnifies the message.

Record Mirror called the band "important" and observed that "their subtle dance music is opening up a lot of ears to the pleasures of British reggae"

UB40 would sell more than 120 records worldwide and have 50 singles in the UK charts, but here is where the band showed its edge.