At the launch are (from left): Adam Regan (Hare & Hounds), Norman Hassan (UB40), Fay Easton (WMR), Robin Campbell (UB40), Jimmy Brown (UB40), Matt Doyle (UB40), Jez Collins (founder of Music Maps) and Earl Falconer (UB40).
WMR
A NEW ‘Musical Routes’ initiative to celebrate the musical heritage of the West Midlands was launched on November 26 at Hall Green station by legendary reggae band UB40.
Founding members Jimmy Brown, Robin Campbell, Earl Falconer and Norman Hassan were joined by new vocalist Matt Doyle to kick-start the project which will see music-themed information boards installed at dozens of railway stations across the city. Hall Green is near to King’s Heath where UB40’s first gig was held at the Hare & Hounds pub in 1979.
The ‘Musical Routes’ project is the brainchild of the Birmingham Music Archive and funded through WMR’s ‘Your Community, Your Fund’ scheme. For each station where musical heritage will be celebrated, 3D wooden maps will be produced by designers from city-based studio Space Play and will feature Spotify codes that connect to a curated playlist for each area.