On Saturday 13 July, some of the biggest names in rugby will join forces for a day of family fun at the Legends Rugby Festival at Wimbledon Rugby Club - and closing the night with a spectacular finale are reggae legends, UB40.
Today, I was lucky enough to chat to the band’s drummer, Jimmy Brown, about the big night.
Jim, congrats on your headline slot at the Rugby Legends Festival – what can we expect from your set?
“We will be playing songs from the 33-years of our career, so it’ll be a big sing-a-long party for everyone. We have got a trillion songs from over the years to choose from – and I love performing them all, but obviously being the drummer, I do go for the up-tempo ones that get everybody dancing. I like playing Red Red Wine too because everyone always sings along, they know all the words. Building the momentum over the evening is the best part of the gig. We love going home with sore feet and a sore throat but feeling really good.”
Are there any songs that you’re not so keen on performing?
“Ironically, it’s the same answer as the last. I love playing Red Red Wine in front of an audience because everyone gets involved and sings along but I can’t stand playing it in rehearsal because we’ve played it that many times - you could do it while you’re asleep. But it really is so much fun to play to an audience – no matter what the weather, how miserable it is, that song instantly gets everyone going, and it doesn’t matter where you are in the world.”
There’s so much going on at the festival, including karaoke, rugby for kids and DJ slots – will you be bringing your families down?
“I’ll definitely be looking to see what’s happening but it sounds great for the family. We have plenty of kids between us – including the grandkids so it's definitely worth it. You probably won’t see us doing karaoke though – when we finish a gig, we like to sit around, smoke, chat. It’s a bit like a gentleman’s club – we all like each other’s company, we get out the dominos or cards, so it’s lovely to be with a bunch of mates, sitting around and talking s***. We don’t go for the glitz and glamour.”
Why does working with the Legends Rugby team mean so much to you?
“When England won the World Cup a couple of years ago, we did a version of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot for the tournament and we got to know some great names in the game. They came to see us on tour. I’m hoping Lawrence Dallaglio and Johnny Wilkinson will all be around so we can see them again. I admire those boys – what they put themselves through to entertain people, which is what they are doing essentially, is phenomenal.”
Tell us a little about your experiences in London. What do you love about the capital?
“We all still live in Birmingham but we’ve had some great gigs in London and I hope that continues in the future. We have a couple of mates who always take us to some of the coffee shops around Peckham. I always find the underbelly is more interesting than a lot of other places. I love the multicultural aspect of London too, it’s so diverse.”
What's the most rock and roll thing you've done as a band?
“We’ve smashed up a few hotel rooms in our time – and we’ve completely flooded the top floor of hotels and been told we can never go back there again. We had a party with Madness once in Montreux in Switzerland once and somebody threw the telly out of the window and it landed on a Mercedes. We’ve skinned up in embassies. It’s hard to pick the most rock and roll one of those!”
UB40 will be performing at the Legends Rugby Festival at Wimbledon RFC on 13th July. For more information and tickets go to legendsrugby.co.uk
