from 1979 until he left the group in November 2013. His nickname comes from his childhood as he wore a pair of Dr. Martens boots with the model name "Astronaut". He went to school with the future keyboard player of UB40, Virtue. While DJ-ing, he met the Campbell brothers, and bonded so well with them over a love of Jamaican music that they invited him to join them as their MC. He believed that reggae music was for everyone, and shouldn't just be for Jamaican Rastafarians. In the band's 1983 version of Red Red Wine, he added his own "toasting" lyrics, which is a Jamaican forerunner to rapping. This became an integral part to the group's sound. Astro offered the band a more militant edge, rapping about social injustice and racism. He encountered racism himself when he was refused admittance to nightclubs on account of his dreadlocks, when white members of the band were welcomed. He eventually quit the band in 2013 after they decided to record a set of country songs. He wasn't interested in this genre of music and was only interested in performing and promoting reggae. He went on to join Ali Campbell and Virtue in a Rival band to UB40. Astro died following a short illness on 6 November 2021, at the age of 64. Duncan Campbell Duncan Campbell (born 3 April 1958 in Birmingham) is an English musician and former lead singer of UB40. He joined the band in 2008 after the departure of his brother Ali Campbell, the former UB40 lead singer. Current bandmate Robin Campbell is also his brother, and he is the son of the late folk singer Ian Campbell. Campbell announced his retirement from live concert performances after suffering a seizure in August 2020. His replacement as lead singer was announced on 5 July 2021 as Matt Doyle, formerly of the band Kioko. 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