Benji Webbe | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Clive John Webbe |
Also known as |
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Born | Newport, Wales | 11 March 1967
Genres | |
Occupation | Singer |
Years active | 1993–present |
Website | skindred |
Clive John "Benji" Webbe (born 11 March 1967) is a Welsh singer, best known as the lead vocalist for the reggae metal band Skindred. Aside from his main project, he is also active in Diamond Spider, Dub War, Mass Mental and his own solo project. [1] He has featured on albums by Bullet for My Valentine, Soulfly, The Alarm, and Punk Rock Factory.
Webbe is a native of Newport, South Wales, and a veteran of the rock explosion of the mid-1990s which led to Spin magazine dubbing Newport as 'The New Seattle'. [2]
Clive John Webbe was born on 11 March 1967 in Newport to Caribbean parents. His father was brought to the UK on the Windrush ship which brought one of the first groups of West Indian immigrants to the United Kingdom. His father arrived in Manchester where he struggled to find a job and moved to Wales instead.
Webbe became an orphan at the age of 13 and was raised by his older brother in Newport. [2] He was also involved in drug dealing, but turned his life around with music.
Webbe first came to prominence with Dub War, releasing two studio albums, Pain and Wrongside of Beautiful. A third album was in the works before the band split in 1999. Benji left Earache after they refused to let him record a solo album, which was intended to move to a more hip-hop sound. [3] After a short lived project with Robert Trujillo, Mass Mental, which released one studio and one live album, Webbe formed Skindred with former members of Dub War. Due to a dispute with the record label, a new lineup moved to Bieler Bros. and has released six studio albums.
In 2006, Webbe performed with Korn at the 2006 Download Festival, while Korn's lead singer Jonathan Davis was seriously ill, he sang "A.D.I.D.A.S." He has also appeared on Bullet for My Valentine's 2008 album Scream Aim Fire (on "Take It Out on Me"), as well as Soulfly's debut album (on "Quilombo" and "Prejudice"). [4]
In 2012, Webbe collaborated with the rap metal band Dirty Wormz on their album Outbreak, appearing on the song "Blood & Fire".
In 2015, Webbe released his debut solo album, a purely reggae album entitled I Haven't Been Nicking in Ages, produced by Monsta Boy. He has also been performing intermittently with the reformed Mass Mental and in 2015, Dub War. [5]
In 2018, commemorating Black History Month in the United Kingdom, Webbe was included on a list of 100 "Brilliant, Black and Welsh" people. [6]
In 2020, Webbe unveiled a new studio project with Dub War bassist Richie Glover, entitled Diamond Spider. The "voodoo blues" project released its debut single in October that year, with a self-titled album due in 2021 along with Dub War's fourth studio album.
Webbe has four children with his ex-wife and 17 grandchildren. [2] In September 2022, he married his wife Julie Christian in a private wedding ceremony.
Year | Title |
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2015 | I Haven't Been Nicking in Ages |
Year | Title |
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2002 | Babylon |
2007 | Roots Rock Riot |
2009 | Shark Bites and Dog Fights |
2011 | Union Black |
2014 | Kill the Power |
2015 | Volume |
2018 | Big Tings |
2023 | Smile |
Year | Title |
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1993 | Words of Dubwarning |
1995 | Pain |
1996 | Wrong Side of Beautiful |
1998 | Step Ta Dis |
2009 | Demos 2010 |
2010 | The Dub, the War and the Ugly |
2021 | Declaration of Dub War |
2022 | Westgate Under Fire |
Year | Title |
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2021 | Diamond Spider |
Year | Title |
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1999 | How to Write Love Songs |
1999 | Live in Tokyo |
Year | Band | Album | Song(s) |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Soulfly | Soulfly | "Quilombo"; "Prejudice" |
2003 | Bong Ra | Bikini Bandits, Kill! Kill! Kill! | "Blood & Fire" |
2004 | Jeff Killed John | Jeff Killed John (EP) | "Nation2Nation" |
2008 | Bullet for My Valentine | Scream Aim Fire | "Take It Out on Me" |
2010 | Forever Never | I Can't Believe It's Not Metal | "Boombastic" |
2012 | diRTy WoRMz | Outbreak | "Blood & Fire" |
2015 | Farmikos | Farmikos | "Fragile" |
2015 | Silly Band! | Water Is the Ruination of Everything | "Save My Farm" |
2015 | Crossfaith | Xeno | "Wildfire" |
2015 | Modestep | London Road | "Circles" |
2016 | Dubioza Kolektiv | Happy Machine | "Riot Fire" |
2017 | Sumo Cyco | Opus Mar | "Move Mountains" |
2017 | As Sirens Fall | "In My Mind" | |
2018 | Florence Black | The Final EP | "Gunshot" |
2019 | Phil Campbell | Old Lions Still Roar | "Dead Roses" |
2021 | Dirty Shirt | "Pretty Faces" | |
2022 | Punk Rock Factory | A Whole New Wurst 2 | "Shiny" |
2022 | The Alarm | Omega | "Safe from Harm" |
2022 | Undead Corporation Doujin Works | J.O.I.N.T | "Get It" |
2022 | Massive Wagons | Triggered! | "Generation Prime" |
2023 | Russkaja | Turbo Polka Party | "Vozdukh" |
Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has released twelve studio albums, one tour EP, twenty-three singles, one video album, and twelve music videos. Their debut album, Soulfly, was released on April 21, 1998, while their most recent album, Totem, was released on August 5, 2022.
Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz is an American musician who has been the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies from 1989 to 1995, while also collaborating with Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir for funk metal supergroup Infectious Grooves. After leaving Suicidal Tendencies, he performed with Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Cantrell, and heavy metal band Black Label Society. Trujillo joined Metallica in 2003 and is the band's longest-serving bassist. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Metallica in 2009.
Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing early grindcore and death metal records between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Its roster has since diversified into more mainstream guitar music, working with bands such as Rival Sons, the Temperance Movement, Blackberry Smoke, Scarlet Rebels and the White Buffalo. The company also hosted the 'Earache Express' stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and 'The Earache Factory' at Boomtown 2018. The label's logo is a homage to Thrasher magazine, as Pearson was a skateboard culture enthusiast.
Skindred is a Welsh rock band that fuses heavy metal with other genres, most notably reggae. Formed in Newport in 1998, they are well known for their energetic and involving live performances and have won several awards including "Best Live Band" at the 2011 UK Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards and the "Devotion Award" at the 2011 Kerrang! Awards.
Dub War are a four-piece metal band from Newport, Wales. Formed in 1993, the band's musical style is a mix of metal, punk, and reggae.
Babylon is the debut studio album by Welsh heavy metal band Skindred. The band was formed from members of the disbanded band Dub War, including leader Benji Webbe, and signed to RCA Records in 2002, who released the album on 3 July. The band felt that they were being treated poorly by the label, and left in 2004, signing with Bieler Bros. Records, who released the album internationally in association with Lava Records. Each version released featured a significantly altered track listing.
Benji is a fictional dog in a series of films and a television series. Benji may also refer to:
Shark Bites and Dog Fights is the third studio album by Welsh band Skindred, released in September 2009.
"Nobody" is the debut single by Welsh reggae metal band Skindred, released in 2005 from the band's debut album Babylon. It peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 23 on its Modern Rock Tracks chart.
"Stand for Something" is the first single from Skindred's 2009 album, Shark Bites and Dog Fights, released as a digital download on Myspace on August 11, 2009.
Mass Mental is an American rock band. It was formed in 1995 by former Suicidal Tendencies and current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and former Dub War and current Skindred singer Clive "Benji" Webbe.
Union Black is the fourth album from Welsh reggae metal band Skindred. It was released on 25 April 2011 in the United Kingdom and on 1 July 2011 in Europe. The album is notable for featuring more usage of dubstep, hip hop and drum and bass elements than previous works.
How to Write Love Songs is the only studio album of the short lived rock supergroup Mass Mental? It was released solely in Japan, and has only gained attention worldwide due to internet uploads and imported CDs. A limited run was released in March 2016.
Kill The Power is the fifth studio album from Welsh rock band Skindred. It was announced on 29 April 2013, and was released on 27 January 2014. A Music video was released for "The Kids Are Right Now".
Jeff Killed John is an EP by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine, under their original name Jeff Killed John. This EP marks the last recorded material by the band before the name change, as well as the last with bassist Nick Crandle, before Jason James replaced him. Many song elements from this EP would be reworked into later tracks for Bullet for My Valentine music: "Routine Unhappiness" contains riff elements that would later become "Tears Don't Fall," with lyrical content that would appear on "10 Years Today;" "Nation2Nation" would eventually become the sampler track "Turn to Despair"; and "All These Things I Hate " is an early demo of the song of the same name that would eventually appear on Bullet for My Valentine's debut album The Poison. Skindred vocalist Benji Webbe, who performs guest vocals in "Nation2Nation", would also be featured in the song "Take It Out on Me" from Bullet for My Valentine's second album Scream Aim Fire.
The Dirty Youth are a Welsh rock band from South Wales that formed in 2007. The band's line-up consists of singer Danni Monroe, guitarist/keyboardist Matt Bond, guitarist Luke Padfield, bassist Leon Watkins and drummer Jacob Moseley.
Volume is the sixth studio album from Welsh rock band Skindred. It was released on 30 October 2015.
Big Tings is the seventh studio album from Welsh rock band Skindred. It was released on 27 April 2018.
Westgate Under Fire is the third studio album by Welsh ragga metal band Dub War, released on 5 August 2022 via Earache Records. It is the first album of new material by the band since Wrong Side of Beautiful in 1996.
Smile is the eighth studio album by Welsh rock band Skindred. It was released on 4 August 2023, through Earache.