Cover Art of the Week #29: Signing Off, UB40

The debut album by the British reggae band UB40, Signing Off, was released back in 1980. Being the beginning of Margaret Thatcher’s era as a Prime Minister, it was perhaps appropriate to have an exact copy of an Unemployment Benefit Attendance Card as the album cover.

The band come from Birmingham, one of the key cities of the Industrial Revolution in England, which by the beginning of the 80s saw a rapid decline of manufacturing and uneven spread of benefits. The name UB40 is a direct reference to the document issued to people claming unemployment benefit from the Department of Health and Social Security. In short, UB40 stands for Unemployment Benefit, Form 40. Signing Off got its title as the band were signing off or closing their claim on the unemployment benefit. In other words, the cover art is a political gesture, but also a reminder of where the members of UB40 stood as individuals when they first started playing their unique brand of British reggae that is unlike anything else on either island, Jamaica or England. 

It might seem a little odd today to consider UB40 as a socially conscious band with politically charged lyrics, after all they are best remembered by cover versions of popular hits like Red Red Wine, Can’t Help Falling in Love and I Got You Babe that all made it to number one on the UK charts. Signing Off, however is packed with social commentry with songs like Food for Thought which delt with the Ethiopian famine, comparing it with the celebration of Christmas in the West, or Burden, a song that explores the dual tugs of national pride and shame over Britain’s oppressive past (and present). Signing Off is considered by many the best album UB40 ever released. It reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and stayed there for 71 weeks. It is now a Platinum Album.

Check out UB40 perform Food for Thought at the Sartory-Sale in Cologne in July 1981 and remember to listen to the UB40 AUPEO! Artist Station where you can expect to hear the band’s most notable gems and even more beautiful reggae from the likes of Aswad and Black Uhuru.