UB40 featuring Ali Campbell plays St. Petersburg concert

Two different bands are calling themselves UB40. Both would seem to have a legitimate claim to the name. Each thinks the other one doesn’t. England’s High Court is going to decide who gets to be UB40, in a case that has siblings from the Campbell family suing each other.

Meanwhile, one of the UB40s — the one that features singer Ali Campbell, keyboardist Mickey Virtue and percussionist/trumpet player Astro from the band’s classic lineup — will perform at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg on Sunday.

Campbell, Virtue and Astro had all separately quit UB40, which carried on without them. But then, a year later, Campbell, Virtue and Duncan decided to reunite and call themselves UB40, which did not sit well with the members of the preexisting UB40. Ali Campbell’s two brothers were in the other band, so when legal lines were drawn, there were Campbells on each side.

Legality and morality aside, the casual fan is going to care mostly about seeing the front man of a band, and the version of the band that will be in St. Petersburg features the voice behind the biggest UB40 hits in this country, their pop-reggae versions of Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine,” Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe,” in which the band teamed with Chrissie Hynde. (UB40 is much bigger in England, where the band has had dozens of hits.)

Jo Mersa Marley, a grandson of Bob Marley, opens.

Details: 7 p.m. Aug. 14, Mahaffey Theater, 401 First St. S., St. Petersburg. $49.50-$69.50. 727-892-5767, themahaffey.com.

This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 4:25 PM with the headline "UB40 featuring Ali Campbell plays St. Petersburg concert."