Duncan James

Duncan James, one quarter of the British boy band Blue, entered the world on April 7, 1978, in Salisbury, England, before his grandparents brought him up in Dorset. Once he finished secondary school, he relocated to London in hopes of launching a music career, where he connected with Anthony Costa, Simon Webbe, and Lee Ryan—three acquaintances who would later become his bandmates. Blue issued its debut single in May 2001, and during the ensuing four years the quartet moved millions of albums throughout Great Britain and the rest of Europe. Although no formal statement ever appeared, the group disbanded in 2005, prompting each member to launch individual endeavors; nevertheless, James had already placed a duet with Keedie titled “I Believe My Heart,” taken from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Woman in White, on the British market in 2004. His actual first solo single, “Sooner or Later,” surfaced in spring 2006 and was quickly followed by the album Future Past. While the record failed to reach the same British chart heights Blue had attained, it fared better in Italy and Belgium, territories where James and his former bandmates retained a loyal, predominantly female audience.