Duncan Faure - In My View

Duncan Faure, recently signed with EMI SA, was born a musician. Playing in bands since the age of eleven, Faure has been crafting his trade non-stop for more than thirty years and each new CD proves his continuous growth as a lyricist and musician.

My first introduction to Duncan was on the 70's television show "Kids Are People, Too". He had very recently taken over as lead singer of the immensely popular rock group, the Bay City Rollers. Many Roller fans were upset at the change in the most prominent band position and quit following them, but I was immediately captivated by the new singer. I could see in his face and demeanor someone who would be worth knowing, even before I heard him sing.

I lost complete track of the Rollers just after the show, being in a small mid-west farm town, and didn't have the chance to hear any of his work until 1999 when I found the Rollers online. Quickly managing to find copies of the last three albums, with the new lead, I was pleasantly surprised at the change. Despite the completely young and innocent look of Duncan in 1979 when he joined the band, he brought a maturity to the music that took the Rollers into the Eighties with a quality that would easily rival any of the popular groups of the times. The other band members were finally able to show off their skills with the more intricate rhythms and more adult lyrics. The Faure/Faulkner (lead guitarist Eric Faulkner) tunes, along with Faure's amazing voice, should have catapulted the group to a 'second coming'.

After twenty years of wondering what Duncan and the Rollers were doing with their lives since their break-up in 1981, I was especially glad to find the Official Duncan Faure web site (www.duncanfauremusic.com) highlighting his professional career. Rabbitt, South Africa's most popular and best-known pop group, had been fortunate to have Duncan in their roster. Finding two of their albums, I much preferred the Faure tunes to any of the others.

Maybe I'm biased. I had always thought the musician would be well worth getting to know as a person, not simply as a musician. To be honest, there are very few entertainers I would actually care to meet and talk with now that I'm an adult. I can completely enjoy their music, acting, whatever and still have no interest in getting to know them. Not so with Duncan Faure. He is worth getting to know.

His music is personal, heart-felt, and reflects his inner nature. He likes people. He believes in peace. He's a big Beatles fan, which is reflected in his style. I anxiously await each new album, and each new album somehow surpasses the last. "Take the Good", the newest Faure release, on EMI SA, is everything Duncan is himself: upbeat, easy-going, fun, inspiring and full of pure talent polished with a lot of hard work.

Pop over to his site to read reviews of his albums and shows, stop at the message board to say hello, then order the CD. Those of you with fast enough internet connections can even request the single "Take the Good" and listen to it on one of over 20 South African radio stations giving it a lot of air play (a few are listed on his board).

I wish lots of well-deserved success to Duncan with "Take the Good" and all future endeavors.

"Let it be right in the world tonight…."

(LK Hunsaker October 2002)