UB40 featuring Ali Campbell announces Big Love UK arena tour 2026

UB40 featuring Ali Campbell have unveiled The Big Love Tour, a run of arena dates across late November and December 2026 that outlets variously list as eight UK shows or a ten‑date UK and Ireland itinerary. Skiddle, Totalntertainment and the band’s own site publish a schedule that includes shows in Castlebar and Dublin as well as the UK arenas.

Skiddle and Totalntertainment list the run beginning Friday 27 November at TF Royal Castlebar and Saturday 28 November at Dublin 3Arena, then continuing Monday 30 November at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, Tuesday 1 December at OVO Hydro Glasgow, Thursday 3 December at The O2 London, Saturday 5 December at Utilita Arena Birmingham, Sunday 6 December at Co‑op Live Manchester, Tuesday 8 December at First Direct Bank Arena Leeds, Wednesday 9 December at Utilita Arena Cardiff and Saturday 11 December at Brighton Centre.

Absolute Radio 80s and the initial music press coverage present an eight‑date UK arena tour that omits the two Irish dates. Absolute’s list opens Monday 30 November at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena and runs through Friday 11 December at Brighton Centre, with the same Glasgow, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Cardiff stops included in the longer itinerary.

Ticketing details vary by partner but align on timing. Skiddle and Absolute Radio 80s both state presales begin at 10am on Thursday 5 March, with Skiddle describing a presale for "selected dates" and Absolute offering a "24‑hour pre‑sale" that starts at 10am on 5 March and saying that general sale "follows on Friday." Totalntertainment names Friday 6 March at 10am via MyTicket.co.uk as the on‑sale for tickets. The UB40 official site carries a sign‑up call to "SIGN UP FOR EXCLUSIVE EARLY ACCESS TICKETS FOR THE BIG LOVE WORLD TOUR 2026."

Promotional copy and career context accompany the dates. Skiddle calls Ali Campbell "one of the most celebrated voices in British reggae" and lists classics such as "Red Red Wine", "Kingston Town" and "I Got You Babe." Absolute Radio notes UB40’s commercial footprint with "over 100 million records sold worldwide, more than 50 UK chart hits" and highlights that the album Rat In Mi Kitchen "celebrates its 40th anniversary this year." Totalntertainment frames the run as a homecoming and writes that the tour is "a celebration of the band’s extraordinary legacy" and will offer "wall‑to‑wall classics, deep cuts, and the kind of communal Big Love."

Skiddle also flags that "Support for the tour is yet to be announced." Source material carried a handful of typographical variants in venue names across listings, with Skiddle spelling Birmingham’s arena as "Utlita" and First Direct Bank Arena appearing as "First Direct Band Arena" in one extract, while Totalntertainment once rendered Castlebar as "Castlbar." The UB40 site content in the dataset shows a copyright date of © 2025 alongside the tour sign‑up.

A Facebook announcement snippet highlighted the Nottingham stop specifically, stating the Big Love Tour is "heading to Nottingham Monday, 30th November 2026." With presales beginning at 10am on Thursday 5 March and general sale at 10am on Friday 6 March, ticket availability is the immediate story — and confirmation of which dates are official for the full itinerary will rest with the band’s final published schedule and box offices.