Yes. I’m on the road a lot doing two-hour shows so I’m active. I’ve got a stationary bike that I do 20km on several times a week.
I’m a couch potato by nature and I love watching telly, so at least if I’m on my bike at the same time I don’t feel so guilty.
Ali Campbell, pictured at The Pride of Birmingham Awards in 2014. He says he is a couch potato by nature and loves watching telly, but keeps fit on his exercise bike
GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?
I do try. I’ve had type 2 diabetes for a few years, so eating healthily is important.
I was quite heavily into juicing, having a couple of pints of something like carrot, apple and ginger a day, thinking I was being super-healthy.
But I was having so much fruit sugar that it made my diabetes worse, so I scaled it back.
ANY VICES?
Chocolate, especially Maltesers.
EVER DIETED?
I’ve always worried about my weight, partly because I used to be a heavy drinker.
I was hypnotised 15 years ago and had aversion therapy, where I had to visualise a giant ten-pint glass getting more and more disgusting.
I haven’t drunk clear beer since, but I still have the occasional Guinness. I’m 5ft 8in and about 14½ stone.
UB40 performing in Switzerland, 1984, with Ali (right) on guitar and Robin Campbell on drums
ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?
Type 2 diabetes. My mum’s got it too.
WORST ILLNESS?
My diabetes, because I’ve never had any symptoms (it was diagnosed by a random blood test), and I’m never really sure if I’m managing it right.
WORST INJURY?
On my 17th birthday I got caught in the middle of a fight and was hit with a glass — I had 90 stitches on the left side of my face.
I used my criminal injuries compensation to start UB40.
The singer is still on the road a lot, and says his two-hour shows keep him active. ‘My only fear is going on stage and everyone ignoring me,’ he says.
At the moment, I’m drinking fresh or powdered turmeric in hot water every morning. A friend in California swears by it.
I’ve also heard it can help type 2 diabetes by reducing blood sugar levels.
EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY?
No. I don’t want to look the same as everyone else.
EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?
I’m pretty positive but I used to get SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
Even as a child, I’d get very depressed because of the dark winters and horrid yellow lighting inside.
It’s part of the reason I moved to Jamaica for 17 years in the Eighties. It made a huge difference.
I live in Christchurch, Dorset, by the sea now. I still get SAD but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was.
WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE?
Nothing, I sleep like a brick.
BIGGEST PHOBIA?
My only fear is going on stage and everyone ignoring me.
LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?
God, no.
UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey have a new album, Unplugged + Greatest Hits, out now on Universal, price £9.99.
