UB40 Founding Member Astro Dies At 64
According to reports, Astro has died after a “short illness.”
His fellow band members are said to be devastated by the news. Terence Wilson, AKA Astro helped found the British pop band in 1978 and was still performing up until his illness.
Wilson was part of British reggae band UB40 for more than 30 years, before leaving the band to join breakaway group UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro in 2013.
UB40 formed in Birmingham in the late 1970s, and over the next three decades found success with hits including “Red Red Wine” and “(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love.”
The band dealt with social and political issues head-on in their songs, giving voice to working class dissatisfaction with the status quo of the time.
The other two current members of the group, Ali Campbell and Keyboardist Mickey Virtue put out a statement.
“We are absolutely devastated and completely heartbroken to have to tell you that our beloved Astro has today passed away after a very short illness,” a statement posted to the joint Twitter account for Ali Campbell and Astro reads. “The world will never be the same without him.
“We ask you to please respect his family’s privacy at this incredibly difficult time.”
We are absolutely devastated and completely heartbroken to have to tell you that our beloved Astro has today passed away after a very short illness. The world will never be the same without him.
We ask you to please respect his family’s privacy at this incredibly difficult time. pic.twitter.com/GRDjtApyzy
— ALI CAMPBELL & ASTRO (@UB40) November 6, 2021
Another of the band’s founding members, Brian Travers, died of cancer in August at the age of 62.
