Some people’s choice of a summery drink might be a fruity cocktail, maybe an ice-cold beer, but if your drink of choice is a red, red wine and you like to party in the sunshine, then Bedford Summer Sessions presents UB40 featuring Ali Campbell is the place to be.
Located in the heart of Bedford at Bedford Park, the Summer Sessions brings big-name artists to town and is always an exciting weekend to look forward to.
We are lucky this year and have been treated with glorious weather to enjoy the music, and this is particularly the right vibe for today’s show, as reggae in the rain just doesn’t seem right.
Opening up today’s show is Reggae Roast, a reggae, dancehall and jungle sound system crew known for their influence in the dub music scene.
Joining them is MC Horseman (also known as Winston Williams), a veteran of the reggae scene with 40 years’ experience in the game, MCing and drumming.
Their performance is a mix of a DJ set featuring Horseman’s MCing, and they brought the reggae hits to Bedford Park, opening their set with “Do It Again”, the Reggae Roast track which also features Horseman himself and Natty Campbell.
The summery vibes of their set take the crowd straight to Kingston with Horseman providing excellent MC skills, including scatting and call and response with the crowd such as the classic “oggy oggy oggy! Oi oi oi!”.
There was even a reference to legendary presenter Bruce Forsyth, with Horseman telling the crowd “nice to see you, to see you nice.”
The set included various classic reggae tracks such as “Who Say Me Dun” by Cutty Ranks, and “She’s Royal” by Tarrus Riley, which started a sing-along in the crowd.
When the crowd weren’t singing, they were skanking to dance-a-long tracks such as “Go Down Deh” by Spice featuring Shaggy and Sean Paul and “Call Mi A Leader” by Stylo G.
Their super fun set went down a treat with the crowd and nicely warmed everyone up for the night.
Sweet, sweet reggae music
Next up on the Summer Sessions stage was Bitty McLean, a reggae, lovers rock and ragga singer from Birmingham.
Bitty previously worked with UB40, co-producing and singing on their 1993 album “Promises and Lies”, and also had a string of top ten hits himself in the early 90’s.
A full band, including saxophone players, joins Bitty on stage for his set.
Bitty announced to the crowd he is here to play “sweet, sweet reggae music” and opened his set with “Never Let Me Go” which featured his smooth, almost jazz-like vocals and an uplifting rhythm which continued the positive vibes following Reggae Roast and Horsemans’ set.
Bitty says he is here representing rub-a-dub music (not rubber duck music, and I originally misheard his statement as!), which, for those who are unaware, is a style of reggae with a slower tempo and a heavy bass line.
His set includes tracks such as “The Real Thing”, “To Fall in Love” and “You Baby”, which had couples in the crowd slow dancing together.
Bitty asks the crowd if they “don’t mind going back to 1993” for his track “True True True” and states “time flies when you are enjoying yourself.”
This track had an upbeat, sunshine vibe and was perfect for a little shoulder shimmy and two-step.
Bitty himself was even grooving away. The crowd clearly loved Bitty as they had their hands in the air, swaying along to his track “It Keeps Rainin’”.
He delivered a joyful and sleek performance that set a jubilant atmosphere before our headline act.
Finally, it’s time for our headliner UB40 featuring Ali Campbell.
Hit after hit
The much-loved reggae and pop band formed in Birmingham in 1978, and have an astonishing number of hits, record sales and accolades under their belt.
The band has a slightly complicated history, with the band splitting in 2008, but since then Ali created what is now UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, boasting an eight-piece band that is here to perform the hits with Ali’s legendary vocals.
Ali Campbell’s track “Big Love” plays as the band take their place on stage, and once Ali himself is on stage, they launch into “One In Ten”, with Ali on both vocals and guitar.
The track has a funky drumbeat and saxophone elements, which get their set off to a flying start.
This is followed by the track “Cherry Oh Baby”, which starts an instant sing-along in the crowd, who also have their hands in the air, riding the rhythm of this classic track.
As dusk starts to settle, the audience members’ light-up flower crowns begin to brighten the night, and throughout the crowd, heads are bopping and bouncing as audience members dance along to the tracks, including “Homely Girl” and “The Way You Do the Things You Do.”
The band slows things down a little as they play “Please Don’t Make Me Cry”, the perfect track for a slow dance, which I did try and give a go but then inelegantly stumbled over my handbag…
Ali smiles brightly at the crowd as the band launches into “Impossible Love”, and I hear some out-of-tune singing along from a crowd member beside me – I suppose not everyone can sing like Ali.
The audience certainly loved the show, and amongst the grooving I even spotted someone playing the air trombone to “Stick by Me”.
This track made Bedford Park feel like a tropical beach and had Ali winding his hips (sadly there were no air trombone moves from him) as his band came to the front and centre of the stage to show off the funky brass sections’ impressive skills.
“Many Rivers to Cross” was the final track before the encore, and the crowd put the torches on their phone and raised them in the air for this soulful track, and when it finished, there were many whistles and cheers.
When the band came back on stage, the full crowd were still on their feet, which is a testament to their enjoyment of the night and the power of the set – there were no dull tracks which required a little sit down.
The encore opened with “Flying High” before going into “Here I Am (Come and Take Me),” and then, of course, that famous track “Red Red Wine.”
The sky lit up with red lights as the crowd joyfully sang along and jammed to this reggae classic.
To close their set, the band played “Kingston Town”, which had crowd members hugging each other, and “(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love With You”, which had lovers smooching.
As the band left the stage, there was rapturous applause and cheers from the crowd, who slowly transported themselves back from Jamaica to Bedford, dancing all the way home.
The reviewer was gifted concert tickets to facilitate this review.
