Hugo Duncan (Hugh Anthony Duncan) MBE (born 26 March 1950, in

Strabane Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...

) is a singer and BBC broadcaster born in

, County Tyrone,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in 1950. His nickname is "The wee man from

" or "Uncle Hugo". In the early 70s, he was spotted on a TV talent show on

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

and signed by the then fledgling Release Records, which later spawned such stars as Philomena Begley, Ray Lynam, and Eurovision star Johnny Logan. By the time he was twenty-one he had formed his own band, Hugo Duncan and the Tall Men, and had a number one hit in the Irish charts with "Dear God". Hugo joined Radio Foyle during the 1980s doing holiday relief, after which he was offered a job presenting his own show on a weekly basis. He also presents a show on Radio Foyle, every Sunday from 14:00 to 16:00. From 1997 to 2002, Duncan co-hosted "Town Challenge" with George Jones,

Christine Lampard Christine Louise Lampard (''née'' Bleakley, born 2 February 1979) is a Northern Irish television presenter. She has presented various television programmes with Adrian Chiles, such as '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–2 ...

and Tom McDermott. In October 1998, he was given the opportunity to present ''Hugo Duncan's Country Afternoon'' on Radio Ulster each weekday from 13:30 to 15:00. The theme tune used on his

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster is a Northern Ireland, Northern Irish national radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. Acc ...

show is " Rocky Top", while he closes each programme with " Yakety Sax" (also known as the theme to ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...

''). In 2023, Duncan celebrated 25 years with Radio Ulster. In 2001, along with

Eamonn Holmes Eamonn Holmes (; born 3 December 1959) is a Northern Irish broadcaster and journalist. He co-presented the breakfast television show ''GMTV'' (1993–2005) for ITV, before presenting ''Sunrise'' (2005–2016) for Sky News. Holmes co-presente ...

, Hugo appeared in episode two of series one of popular BBC NI comedy '' Give My Head Peace''. Hugo is also a member of BBC Northern Ireland's team during their annual ''

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

'' appeal. In 2006, Hugo dressed up as

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

and performed a version of her song " ...Baby One More Time". In 2017 Duncan was declared

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

. In addition to his radio work, and

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its e ...

column, Duncan plays regularly on the live circuit with shows throughout Ireland on a nightly basis, and regular tours to England and Scotland.

References

External links

''Hugo Duncan''
(BBC Radio Ulster)
Discography

Photos Of Hugo Duncan Outside Broadcast in Portadown Co. Armagh
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Hugo 1950 births Living people Male singers from Northern Ireland Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Strabane Musicians from County Tyrone Irish country singers