Saxophonist and founding member of iconic 1980's reggae band UB40, Brian Travers has sadly died at the age of 62, after a heroic battle with cancer. 

In March 2019, he missed the band's anniversary tour after having a seizure at home and was found to have two tumors on his brain. He had surgery to remove the brain tumors and reportedly had another operation earlier this year. 

On Monday, the band released a statement that Travers died the day prior (August 22nd), saying: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our comrade, brother, founding UB40 member and musical legend, Brian David Travers," the band wrote on social media. "Brian passed away yesterday evening with his family by his side, after a long and heroic battle with cancer. Our thoughts are with Brian's wife Lesley, his daughter Lisa and son Jamie. We are all devastated by this news and ask that you respect the family's need for privacy at this time," the statement concluded".

Travers formed the band with a group of school friends in the late 1970s, and the lack of job opportunities led to their unique band name, a divertive of the form signed by people on the dole "Unemployment Benefit Form 40". Regarding the name, in 2010, Travers said, "We had just signed on, and somebody said 'UB40', and we all instantly knew that was the name of the band. 

Thank God for the dole. We got fed, it paid the rent, and it enabled us to concentrate on developing our careers. We commandeered a cellar and started rehearsing every day, nine till five. Our first experiences of playing an instrument started together, and we'd humiliate each other over mistakes. But we were very serious about our music."

Travers was a crucial part of the UB40 line-up as a saxophone player, arranger, and lyricist. The group hailing from Birmingham (UK) has recorded 39 UK top 40 singles and 28 top 40 albums and sold 100 million albums worldwide. With memorable 1980's hits such as "Food For Thought", "I Think It's Going to Rain Today", "One in Ten", and covers of "Red Red Wine" and "(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You", which both went to number 1 in the US charts. In addition, they were also nominated for four Grammy Awards, as well as for the Brit Award for best British group in 1984.

Travers' last performance with the band was at a hometown concert in December 2019 at the Arena Birmingham. 

_{Photo caption: Duncan Campbell (left) and Brian Travers of UB40 perform live onstage during the Rewind Scotland festival. The saxophonist died Sunday at 62.}