Concert = Ali Campbell in Sofia

The coldest night of the year (-16 degrees Celsius) couldn't stop Jodie and me from going out, but the ice-covered plaza in front of the NDK Concert Hall almost stopped us. Nonetheless, we took our seats in the very comfortable chairs in row 12 to see the performance of Ali Campbell, formerly the lead singer of UB40.

A word about Ali Campbell. Until a year or so ago, he was UB40. But apparently there was a management dispute, and Ali left the band (along with at least one other band member), and decided to go solo. He recorded albums on his own, set up his own band, and began to tour. And last night he came to Sofia. Actually, in Bulgaria his concerts were advertised as "Ali Campbell's UB40", but his new band is actually called the Dep Band.

We went to the concert because of the songs we knew from UB40. Ali and his band performed many songs from his recent album, "Flying High", including "Whatcha Gonna Do," "She's a Lady," and "Nothing Ever Changes."

But the songs we really liked, and which brought the Bulgarian audience to its feet, were the classics from Ali's UB40 days. "Only Fools Rush In," "Kingston Town" and the show-ending "Red, Red Wine."

The concert was short (just over an hour), and Ali had this habit of leaving the stage and turning his back to the audience. Overall we would have enjoyed it more if we had known more of the music.


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