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Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Entertainment
Niall Doherty

"I get the opportunity to give people a little hope in the darkness, and that’s more important to me than any cheque": From council estates to festival stages, Skindred are still on the rise

Skindred group shot

While the world around him is sleeping, Benji Webbe is up with the lark. The Skindred frontman usually goes to bed around nine, wakes by 2.30am and spends the early hours being creative. This morning he was up at 4am writing lyrics. Now 56, he’s still is one of the most entertaining rock frontmen of our time, a man who was born to play ringleader to thousands in festival fields. But it’s here in this pre-dawn solitude where Webbe runs through the creative windmills of his mind. 

“I watch movies, and lines come from the movies and stay with me,” he says, chatting to Classic Rock in a hotel bar a short walk from Wembley Arena. It’s a sunny afternoon, and this evening Skindred will be at the venue to receive the Best UK Live Act award at the Heavy Music Awards 2023. 

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