TROUBLED British reggae band UB40 says they are using their current European tour to pay off millions of dollars in debt.

A senior member of the group told the Sunday Mercury weekly newspaper that they expect little financial returns from Getting Over The Storm, their new album which is scheduled for a September 2 release.

Saxophonist Brian Travers told the Mercury that UB40’s extensive back catalogue — which includes several well-received Labor of Love cover albums — has been sold. That catalogue includes lucrative publishing and royalty rights.

The Labor of Love albums contain several versions of Jamaican rock steady and roots-reggae songs by artistes including Johnny Osbourne, Alton Ellis, The Meditations and Trinidadian Lord Creator.

Several of those songs were recorded at rival Kingston labels Studio One, Treasure Isle and Randy’s during the 1960s and 1970s. Some of the artistes whose songs were covered earned substantially from the

UB40 editions.

Maxine Stowe, a music industry veteran who has worked with major labels including Sony and Island, says the sale of the band’s catalogue should have little bearing on Jamaican performers.

“I don’t think it will have much impact on local companies and artistes as they were all earning from publishing which will pretty much stay the same if the group owned it,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“Even if they owned it other companies were managing it. It might even be worth more if the new companies get aggressive with working their catalogue,” she continued.

The 54-year-old Travers, who has been a member of the band since it was launched in 1978, also spoke to British disc jockey Robin Valk about UB40’s plight.

“We’re all still bankrupt. Can’t get out of it,” he revealed. “Is there an end to all this? Don’t know. We’re still touring, but all the money earned is going to the administrators.”

Travers said the band has played to packed venues in countries like Romania, Portugal, France and the United Kingdom.

Led by the Campbell brothers (Ali and Robin),

UB40 were one of the top pop groups during the 1980s to the mid-1990s. They had number one songs like Red Red Wine and I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You on both sides of the Atlantic, and sold over 120 million albums worldwide.

Ali Campbell left the band in 2008.

Travers says band members have never lived extravagantly, but hinted that record company politics may have contributed to their financial dilemma.

“We have been royally shafted,” he told the Sunday Mercury.