Sad News, Astro's Former UB40 'Red Red Wine' Vocalist Dies

JAKARTA - The former vocalist and co-founder of the British reggae group UB40, Astro, died at the age of 64 on Saturday, November 6 local time.

“We are absolutely devastated and deeply saddened to have to inform you that Astro has passed away today after a very brief illness. The world will never be the same without him," wrote UB40 via their Twitter account quoted by AFP from Antara, Sunday, November 7th.

The man whose real name is Terence Wilson has been with UB40 until 2013. In that year, he separated from UB40 joining two other former members, Ali Campbell and Mickey Virtue, to form a new band.

UB40 rose to prominence in the 1980s with hits, such as "Red Red Wine" and "Can't Help Falling In Love", which made it to the UK charts for several weeks after their release. This group has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. The group from the city of Birmingham also voiced a wave of youth discontent with the economic and political status quo in Britain around the 70s.

The group name UB40 even refers to the name of the form given to people who claim unemployment benefits from the UK Department of Manpower, namely Unemployment Benefit, Form 40. The name “UB40” was suggested by a friend considering all the band members have unemployment status.

Earlier in August, UB40 saxophonist and songwriter Brian Travers also died at the age of 62, in Moseley, Birmingham, England.