The Story Behind The Resurgence of Interest In UB40

Brett Kavanuch circa 1980ish Ali Campbell

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh allegedly once got into a bar fight with a man he thought might be the lead singer of UB40. But what exactly is UB40?
According to the L-A Times citing other news reports Monday, Kavanaugh was questioned by the New Haven, Conn., Police Department in September 1985 for an altercation at a bar where a fellow patron accused him of throwing ice at him. (Kavanaugh was not arrested in the incident.)

A number of Kavanaugh’s former Yale University classmates have spoken up about the judge’s past drinking habits since his testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. One of the former classmates, Chad Ludington, recalled a visit to a bar after a UB40 concert.

Ludington says the 1985 fight happened because Kavanaugh and his friends kept staring at a man sitting near them trying to figure out if he was Ali Campbell, the lead singer of UB40. He wasn’t.


For those who may not be familiar with what may have been on playlists (er, mix tapes) of college-aged men in the 1980s, UB40 is an English pop reggae band that formed in 1978. Their hits included covers for the Neil Diamond tune “Red Red Wine” and Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” (which appears on the soundtrack for the 1993 movie “Sliver”). The group also made an appearance in the 1997 film “Speed 2: Cruise Control.”