Ali Campbell doesn’t act like a superstar. The New Zealand’s Got Talent judge and father of eight has sold more than 70 million records worldwide, and his years in UB40 mean he ranks alongside The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as one of the bestselling musicians in pop history.
But as he relaxes in the bar of the Auckland hotel he calls home while he’s filming the popular TVNZ show – ordering a “red, red wine” with only a hint of irony – there’s no fuss, no “starry” behaviour, just a lot of laughs.
Ali and his wife Julie are enjoying some all-too-precious moments together as they exclusively share with the Weekly the “fairytale” of their love affair that ultimately lead them down a Las Vegas aisle, to be married by an Elvis Presley impersonator almost 30 years after they first met.
“Our story is a true fairytale,” smiles Ali (53), who has two children with Julie, Louis (12) and Drew (10), and is also dad to Ali Junior (31), Max (25), Kibibi (24), Jack (21), Indica (19) and 18-year-old Kaya. “My whole life has been the real deal rags-to-riches story – it’s manufactured, which is quite rare nowadays.”
