UB40 Pop Musical to Open in UK, March 2006

A British musical based around the songs of the pop group UB40 will open at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in March 2006.

Titled Promises and Lies, the musical will be a collaboration with playwright Jess Walters.  With a plot set in the midlands, the show will not be a simple jukebox musical, according to UB40, who will not appear in Promises and Lies.  "We wanted to do more than simply string together our hits into a throwaway plot," UB40 told the BBC News.  The show will feature 12 tracks made famous by the band.

UB40 has been approached before by producers interested in bringing the group's sound to a musical theatre already heavy in pop and rock (such shows as Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You, Rod Stewart's Tonight's the Night).  However, the group decided to wait.  "It had to have a story that reflected our view of the world," they stated.

UB40's hits over the span of their 25-year career include "Red, Red Wine," "I Got You, Babe" and "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You."  With 37 UK hit singles, their albums include Labour of Love, Promises & Lies and Signing Off.