UB40 has distanced itself from a New York Times report that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh threw ice at a man who he suspected was band singer Ali Campbell, and ended up causing a bar fight while he was a student at Yale University.
“Obviously, there must have been an assault because the police were called and a report was filed, but this is a case of mistaken identity and has nothing to do with UB40,” UB40 founding member guitarist/vocalist Robin Campbell told Billboard.
Chad Ludington, Kavanaugh’s classmate at Yale, told the Times of the incident that took place in September 1985 at Demery’s in New Haven, Connecticut. There, Ludington said, Kavanaugh “threw his beer” at a man sitting at the bar who they believed to be Ali Campbell from UB40, who they had just seen in concert. When the attempt to connect failed, a fight ensued where the person who was hit by the beer went after Kavanaugh and former Yale/New York Knicks center Chris Dudley struck the victim of the attack with a bottle.
Dudley has denied the accusation.
The FBI is currently investigating the accusations of sexual assault levied against Kavanaugh. Last Thursday, Kavanaugh and one of his accusers, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, testified about the incident before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
For their part, UB40’s new album, “For The Many,” is slated to be released in 2019.