UB40 Declares Bankruptcy

Britain's UB40 performs

JOSEPH BARRAK/AFP/Getty Images

British reggae pop stars UB40 have declared bankruptcy. A judge in Birmingham County has ruled that the band's assets can be seized in order to help pay off their debts, which were largely accumulated by their former management company Dep International Ltd., which went into insolvent liquidation back in 2008.

Liquidators are now entitled to the band's royalty payments for their back catalog, including their hit recordings of Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine" and Elvis Presley's "(I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You." To make matters worse, the group must also pay the costs of their case, which is estimated to be around $88,000.

Photos: Random Notes
UB40 have faced major financial issues for many years now. Frontman Ali Campbell left the band in 2008 along with keyboardist Mickey Virtue as a result of money issues.

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Song Stories

“Baby Got Back”

Sir Mix-a-Lot | 1992

While watching a Budweiser commercial during the Super Bowl, Sir Mix-a-Lot thought the skinny female models in the ad didn’t represent reality. So he wrote this ode to ample bottoms, featuring its famous to-the-point lyric: “I like big butts and I cannot lie.” MTV banished the video, featuring shaking booties and sexually suggestive fruit, to 9 p.m. or later. “I thought my career was over,” he told Rolling Stone. “Then I called Rick Rubin, and I told him the video was banned, and he was like, 'Great!' We sold another 2 million records.”

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