Their soca smash "Shape" is very popular and the band's versatility is expressed in Dugu-Dugu, their all-reggae release, and the preceding all-ska album Ska Time.
The musician and journalist Sonny Bradshaw said Fab 5 is the only Jamaican band still playing authentic ska.
[citation needed] In 2003, Fab 5 received the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts for its services to Jamaican music.
Fab 5 took their brand of Jamaican music around the world, working with artists including: Ray Charles; Dizzy Gillespie; the Grateful Dead; Rick James; Linda Ronstadt; the Neville Brothers; Roberta Flack; Fats Domino; Peter, Paul & Mary; Joe Jackson; The Chi‑Lites; Skeeter Davis (with whom they were working on a recording project at the time of her death); the Drifters; Miriam Makeba; Bob Marley; Jimmy Cliff; Chuck Jackson; The Mighty Sparrow; Aretha Franklin; Gladys Knight; Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes; Jerry Butler; The Manhattans; Ray Goodman & Brown; The Delphonics, Beres Hammond, Marcia Griffiths, Queen Ifrica, Mr Vegas, and Tarrus Riley.
festival drew a 5-minute ovation and their performances at the Irie Fest in Toronto during Caribana have become legendary.
The band consists of manager Frankie Campbell (bass); Harold (Jr) Bailey (guitar, flute, saxophone, and now part-time sound engineer); musical director Grub Cooper (drums and lead vocals); Sidney Thorpe (keyboards); Donovan Lee Palmer (keyboards); Romeo Gray (trombone); Andre Palmer (trumpet); Andrew Cassanova (vocals); and Cleveland Manderson (guitar and vocals) who has been working with the Unique Vision for more than 27 years.
Grub Cooper and Frankie Campbell have each been awarded the Order of Distinction (OD) from the government of Jamaica for their contribution to the development of Jamaican music.