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. 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'.
Early life Clive John Webbe was born on 11 March 1967 in Newport to Caribbean parents. His father, originally from St Kitts and Nevis, 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. He was also involved in drug dealing, but turned his life around with music.
Career Webbe was first inspired to perform music after attending a performance by his brother's band."We were a bunch of Black kids whose parents had passed away and we were feral." From falling out with Manic Street Preachers and writing songs for Ozzy to a number one album, how Skindred's Benji Webbe became a British metal icon Metal Hammer. 29 April 2026. Retrieved 30 April 2026. His first group was a sound system called Conqueror Hi Power, before joining the band Bismillah. With Bismillah he gained some attention with a performance on the BBC show Ebony in 1984. In 1993 Webbe joined the punk rock group Blood Brothers. At drummer Martyn Ford's insistence, Webbe started performing dancehall style vocals over the band's punk music, and the sound evolved into what became known as Dub War. With Dub War, he released 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. 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. As of 2026, Skindred have released nine 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").
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.
In 2018, commemorating Black History Month in the United Kingdom, Webbe was included on a list of 100 "Brilliant, Black and Welsh" people.
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.
Personal life Webbe has four children with his ex-wife and 19 grandchildren. In September 2022, he married his wife Julie Christian in a private wedding ceremony.
Discography
Solo discography YearTitle 2015 I Haven't Been Nicking in Ages
Skindred discography
YearTitle 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 2026 You Got This
Dub War discography YearTitle 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
Diamond Spider discography YearTitle 2021 Diamond Spider
Mass Mental? discography YearTitle 1999 How to Write Love Songs 1999 Live in Tokyo
Collaborations YearBandAlbumSong(s)1998SoulflySoulfly"Quilombo"; "Prejudice"2003Bong RaBikini Bandits, Kill! Kill! Kill!"Blood & Fire"2004Jeff Killed JohnJeff Killed John (EP)"Nation2Nation"2008Bullet for My Valentine Scream Aim Fire"Take It Out on Me"2010Forever NeverI Can't Believe It's Not Metal"Boombastic"2012diRTy WoRMzOutbreak"Blood & Fire"2015FarmikosFarmikos"Fragile"2015Silly Band!Water Is the Ruination of Everything"Save My Farm"2015CrossfaithXeno"Wildfire"2015ModestepLondon Road"Circles"2016Dubioza KolektivHappy Machine"Riot Fire"2017Sumo CycoOpus Mar"Move Mountains"2017As Sirens Fall"In My Mind"2018Florence BlackThe Final EP"Gunshot"2019Phil CampbellOld Lions Still Roar"Dead Roses"2021Dirty Shirt"Pretty Faces"2022Punk Rock FactoryA Whole New Wurst 2"Shiny"2022The AlarmOmega"Safe from Harm"2022Undead Corporation Doujin WorksJ.O.I.N.T"Get It"2022Massive WagonsTriggered!"Generation Prime"2023RusskajaTurbo Polka Party"Vozdukh"2024BLACKGOLDCypress Hill Mixtape"Insane in the Brain"
References
External links