UB40 have finally arrived in New Zealand for their highly anticipated Red Red Wine Tour throughout the country's best vineyards.
More than 31,000 event-goers will converge on the Red Red Wine Tour in Kerikeri, Havelock North, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Queenstown, Waipara and Auckland to see in them over the next few weeks.
The family friendly events want to introduce what is “Reggae love” to the new generation. "We fell in love with Reggae music when we were young, and we want to make other young kids also to fall in love with Reggae" Campbell continues, "our mission was always to popularise Reggae. Reggae is universally loved, and we are really looking forward to having the new and the old generation enjoying the Reggae love throughout the country".
Featuring the original members Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue, the original founders of UB40, don’t like to talk much about The Dark Side, which is the other UB40 group that sued them a few years back because they were both using the band’s name. “The UB40 that you are going to see in New Zealand is the real UB40, we are the ones that created the band and we are the ones that sing and make it real,” says Campbell.
The idea of the Red Red Wine Tour came when they were visiting a Waiheke vineyard and thought how lovely would be to see the rest of New Zealand and enjoy a red red wine. “A Red Red Wine Tour is a good joke, and we thought we could go to all the beautiful wineries and carry out the concerts where there is great wine”.
No strangers to New Zealand, UB40 has been coming here for years but are really looking forward to seeing more of the country. Mickey Virtue is excited to see Mount Taranaki in New Plymouth. “It simply looks incredible, New Zealand is magical," says Virtue.
Astro says in excitement, "People can expect our best performances in a fantastic atmosphere and obviously, we are going to be playing all our hits. We have achieved 14 top 10 hits, so we will be playing most of these and a few of our personal favourites as well as some great songs from our current album. There will really be something for everyone, and we are ready to party with New Zealand, and I hope everybody is ready for it" Grab your tickets now and don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime event!
Kerikeri - 6 January - Kainui Road Vineyard
Hawkes Bay - 8 January - Black Barn Offsite
Rotorua - 9 January - Lakefront Reserve, Rotorua
New Plymouth - 10 January - TSB Bowl of Brooklands
Queenstown - 15 January - Waitiri Creek Winery
Christchurch - 16 January - Waipara Hills Winery
Auckland - 17 January - Matua Wines
