UB40 was named after the paper form issued by the UK government's Department of Employment at the time of the band's formation for claiming unemployment benefit.  The band members began as mates who knew each other from various colleges and schools across Birmingham. Before any of them could play their instruments, Ali Campbell and Brian Travers traveled around Birmingham promoting the band, putting up UB40 posters. The band purchased its first instruments with £4,000 in compensation money that Campbell, who would become the lead singer, received after a bar fight during his 17th birthday celebration.

UB40 caught their first break when Chrissie Hynde noticed them at a pub and gave them an opportunity as a support act to her band, The Pretenders. UB40's first single, "King"/"Food for Thought" was released on Graduate Records, a local independent label run by David Virr. It reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart and was the first record to reach the UK top ten without the backing of a major record label.  Their first album was titled "Signing Off," as the band were signing off from or closing their claim on the unemployment benefit. It was recorded in a bedsit in Birmingham and was produced by Bob Lamb. Norman Hassan said of the recording: "if you stripped my track down, you could hear the birds in the background." This is because his tracks were recorded outside in the garden. Signing Off was released on September 6, 1980, and entered the UK Albums Chart on October 2, 1980. It reached as high as No. 2 in the UK and spent 72 weeks in total on the chart. Signing Off is now a Platinum album.  Their most successful single release is the cover of the Elvis Presley ballad "(I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You" which was intended to be the main title to the 1992 Sharon Stone movie Sliver and was a number one hit across Europe and in the U.S.  See UB40 LIVE!  Purchase your UB40 tickets today!