Sylvie Claire / November 7, 2021
The former singer and founding member of the British reggae band UB40, famous in the 1980s with hits like Red Red Wine and Can't Help Falling In Love, has died at the age of 64 following an illness, his band announced Saturday.
Terence Wilson, Astro by his stage name, played with UB40 until 2013 before forming another band.
We are totally devastated to have to tell you that our beloved Astro passed away today after a brief illness, his current group, which goes by the name UB40 featuring Ali Campbell & Astro, posted on Twitter late Saturday. The world will never be the same without him.
UB40's cover of Neil Diamond's Red Red Wine propelled the group to the top with over 100 million records sold.
The name of the group, founded in 1978 in Birmingham, refers to the British Unemployment Benefits form (Form 40).
Drummer Jimmy Brown told the Guardian this year that the band had been under surveillance by British domestic intelligence.
MI5 had tapped our phones and watched our homes, he said. We weren't planning a revolution, but if there was going to be a revolution, we knew which side we were on, he said.