UB40, one of Birmingham’s best exports, have given one of their classic songs a revamp in honour of their beloved Birmingham City Football Club.
‘Forever True’ is the brand-new BCFC anthem, with new lyrics set to the beat of ‘Food For Thought’. ‘Food For Thought’ has a permanent home at Birmingham City Football Club. The iconic sax is chanted by fans every time the team score a goal. The song is also blasted out around the football ground at the end of every winning match. Now, ‘Food For Thought’ has been turned into an epic football anthem called ‘Forever True’.
Robin Campbell said: “We’re life-long supporters of Birmingham City, so it was a no-brainer for us to celebrate our home team and town by re-recording the song that fans know and love. It fills us with so much pride to, in our own way, be a part of the club’s story. It’s humbling and never gets old hearing fans chant the song every time a goal is scored. We hope that they’ll love this new version, “Forever True” as much as we do.”
The track comes ahead of a special concert on April 1 at Birmingham City’s ground, St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, held to mark the release of UB40’s forthcoming album, UB45, out April 19. After the Birmingham City v Preston North End match, UB40 will take to the stage with a free, one-hour concert for match goers that will be packed full of hits, fan favourites and songs from the new album.
Listen to ‘Forever True’ by UB40 on our Birmingham City Fan Playlist on Spotify.
A limited edition BCFC / UB45 branded vinyl and CD, featuring bonus track ‘Forever True’ will be available to celebrate the partnership between two of Birmingham’s most iconic brands. Both versions feature BCFC’s classic royal blue pantone colour, making this the perfect collector’s item for Blues fans.
Over the course of their career, UB40 have garnered over 100 million album sales, 50 UK Top 40 singles and 10 UK Top 10 albums. ‘Food For Thought’ was UB40’s breakthrough single, taken from the critically acclaimed debut album, Signing Off (1980). It reached #4 on the UK singles charts and became the first single in history to reach the UK Top 10 without the backing of a major record label.
UB45 celebrates a huge 45-year milestone for the band, honouring more than four decades of touring the world together and recording music shot through with an unbreakable bond, fostered by the band’s long-standing friendships and shared Birmingham roots. It features seven brand new songs plus seven fresh recordings of some of the band’s best loved hits.
New tracks include singles ‘Gimme Some Kinda Sign’ and ‘Home’, plus a beautiful rendition of Bill Withers’ ‘Hope She’ll Be Happier’ (1971), ‘Trouble’, ‘Say Nothing’, ‘Fool Me Once’, and ‘Champion’, which was the official anthem of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. ‘Food For Thought’, ‘King’, ‘Tyler’, ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘Cherry Oh Baby’, ‘Sing Our Own Song’ and ‘Kingston Town’ have all been given a new recorded treatment while retaining the spirit, timbre and melodies that fans know and love.
The 45-year celebrations will continue well into 2024, when UB40 head out on the road for a headline UK arena tour with special guests Soul II Soul. Kicking off in London on November 1, they will visit Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Nottingham, before finishing in Belfast on November 23.
