“WE KNEW that we wanted to funnel our politics into the music,” states UB40 drummer Jimmy Brown. “Most of the songs on that first album could easily apply today. People talk about the 1970s being overtly racist, and it was, but in some ways it’s worse today.”

That “first album” he’s telling me about is Signing Off, released in 1980. Its cover displays the yellow

UB40 unemployment benefit card stamped with those words writ large, marking the band’s leaving the world of joblessness behind.

A positive step but it’s an album that harbours darker connotations that still resonate. Racial injustice and social inequality ought to have been consigned to our dark past but, a listen to the debut album from the trailblazing band — considered by some as one of the great reggae records — brings home how its subject matter and concerns are unfortunately still as applicable today as they were back in 1980.

The record tackles racial tensions and social inequality in album opener Tyler, which questions the racial bias of a 1975 white jury and their flawed murder conviction of Gary Tyler.

“Tyler is guilty, the white judge has said so, what right do we have to say it’s not so,” the lyrics declare.

It’s an acute message, particularly in the current climate of the political injustice which played a huge part in sparking the Black Lives Matter protests and the demands for justice in the case of Breonna Taylor, shot dead on March 13 by three white police officers.

“The justice system hasn’t improved one iota. We were writing about young black men being locked up on trumped-up charges. Now we have a private prison system building a new slave labour force,” Brown says. “So I don’t see any improvement at all.”

That racial injustice still exists and is as significant as it was in 1980 is why the album is still so important.

“To be honest I think [the songs] are all still relevant,” Brown says.

“Over 40 years of neoliberal ideology has made things worse.”

He reels off a lengthy list: “Growing inequality, the attack on public services, privatisation, the collapse of the shadow banking system, the property bubble, the return of casual racism in public discourse.

“Just about everything is even more shit than it used to be.”

Vocalist Robin Campbell agrees: “We’re still writing about the same themes today. We tend to be speaking to and for like-minded people and we’re the soundtrack to their lives,” he says.

That’s certainly the case with Signing Off, whose striking imagery and combination of reggae, dub, synth and guitar make it an outstanding reflection of the social and political concerns of its time.

To mark its 40-year anniversary and to raise awareness now of the crucial issues it raises, UB40 have released an app that keeps fans connected with exclusive content, access to never-before released music and conversations with the group themselves.

The group’s latest record For The Many continues to reflect the band’s earliest concerns and with their newly launched app they’re looking to connect with their fans about them more directly than ever before.

The UB40 app can be downloaded at apps.apple.com/us/app/ub40/id1374138494.