Birth name Duncan Campbell Years active 2008–present Siblings Ali Campbell Instruments Lead vocals Role Musician | Occupation(s) Musician, singer Name Duncan Campbell Genres Reggae Associated acts UB40 Music group UB40 (Since 2008) | |
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Born 3 June 1958 (age 66) Birmingham, West Midlands, England ( 1958-06-03 ) Similar People Ali Campbell, Robin Campbell, Brian Travers, Earl Falconer, Norman Hassan | ||
Duncan Campbell (born 3 April 1958 in Birmingham) is an English musician and current lead singer of the reggae band, UB40. He joined the band in 2008 after the departure of his brother Ali Campbell.
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Early life
Campbell was born in Birmingham on 3 April 1958. He is the brother of former UB40 lead singer Ali Campbell and current bandmate Robin Campbell and the son of folk singer Ian Campbell.
Career before UB40
Campbell sang in a harmony group with his brothers as children and performed with their father on stage. He also recorded a reggae album in Jamaica for his brother Ali's record label, but it was never released. He was a professional spoon player. "I was the only professional spoon player in the country registered with the Musicians' Union – until they registered me as a vocalist," said Campbell. He also worked as a casino manager in Barbados, ran a fish and chip shop in Perth, Australia, and has worked as an actor.
UB40
On 24 January 2008, UB40 lead singer Ali Campbell announced that he was leaving the band after a dispute with the management; UB40 announced that they would carry on. On 30 April 2008 UB40 unveiled Duncan as their new lead singer.
Duncan was offered the position of the lead singer in 1978. However, he turned it down at the time, and said that he "wouldn't get the chance in another 30 years". Ali Campbell was "disappointed but didn't object" to him joining UB40. When asked why he did not join UB40 in 1978, he joked because they were "crap" and that he "was too smart for them and he knew that they would get nowhere". In 2014, Ali formed a rival version of UB40 with Astro and Mickey Virtue. He said of his brother's singing, "I sat back for five years and watched my brother Duncan murdering my songs. We're saving the legacy".