Founding member and saxophone player of Brit pop and reggae band UB40, Brain Travers has passed away at the age of 62. He died Sunday surrounded by family after long battle with his brain tumor. He did have two operations to remove both tumors and told Birmingham Mail he had “no fears” about his own mortality or the procedure.
He shared his opinion via USAToday : “You have got to live in the now, not in the past and not what’s going to be.”
His UB40 bandmates confirmed Travers’ passing via a statement made on Facebook.
In 1978, UB40 was co-founder by Travers and a group of friends from around Birmingham in the UK. The band got their name due to a form they filled out for unemployment benefits, during that time.
One of the bands most popular songs, “Can’t Help Falling In Love” was a hit internationally and sold nearly 100 million records while also being on the Top 40s in the UK. His last performance with UB40 was in his hometown’s Arena Birmingham in December 2019.
UB40’s lineup now consists of new frontman Matt Doyle (replacing Duncan Campbell due to health reasons), Robin Campbell, Jimmy Brown, Earl Falconer, Norman Hassan, Laurence Parry, Tony Mullings and Martin Meredith.
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