Suggs (singer)

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Suggs
Background information
Birth name	Graham McPherson
Born	January 13, 1961 (age 46)
Origin	Hastings, England
Genre(s)	Ska/Pop
Occupation(s)	Vocalist
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1978-
Associated acts	Madness
Website	www.madness.co.uk

Suggs (born Graham McPherson on January 13, 1961 in Hastings) is an English singer, actor, radio DJ, and TV personality — most famous as the frontman of the band Madness.

Contents 1 Music 1.1 Musical Collaborations 2 Acting 3 Radio 4 Television 5 Trivia 6 Solo discography 6.1 Albums 6.2 Singles 7 Notes 8 External links

[edit] Music

Main article: Madness (band)

Suggs is best known as the vocalist of the popular 2 Tone ska/pop band, Madness. After Madness disbanded in 1986, he formed the band The Madness, releasing a self-titled album in 1988 reaching no. 66 in both the UK and US charts. As of 2006, Suggs was touring Europe and Japan with Madness, and was set to return to the UK with Madness to tour in December 2006.

As a solo artist he released two albums The Lone Ranger and The Three Pyramids Club. His most successful song was a cover of the Simon and Garfunkel song "Cecilia" which was produced by Sly and Robbie and went to no. 4 in UK charts, selling over 500,000 copies. He also had a top-ten hit with his cover of the Beatles "I'm Only Sleeping", reaching no. 7 in the UK charts. Other single releases from his first album include "Camden Town" and "No More Alcohol". From his second album he released the single "I Am" which featured on the film soundtrack for The Avengers.

[edit] Musical Collaborations

Suggs worked with Morrissey and sang backing vocals on the track "Picadilly Palare" in 1990. He managed the 1990s band The Farm, as well as producing most of their first album Spartacus which reached #1 in the UK charts and spawned the international hit "All Together Now." As a songwriter, he has been influenced by Ian Dury and Ray Davies.

Suggs is a supporter of Chelsea F.C., and in 1997 he recorded a song called "Blue Day" with Chelsea players. It was the official song of the team for the FA Cup, which Chelsea eventually won. The song reached #22 in the UK charts.

He has collaborated with Jools Holland twice on his Small World Big Band and Friends albums — first in 2001 with the song "Oranges and Lemons Again," and again on 2003's "Jack O the Green". He also performed with Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra in 2003 for a television special where he performed the songs "Madness", and "Enjoy Yourself" with veteran ska singer Prince Buster, who is one of Madness' great influences.

In July 2005, shortly after the terrorist attacks in London, Suggs and Chas Smash performed the Bob Marley song "So Much Trouble in the World" with Billy Bragg at a concert in London's Brockwell Park in aid of the victims. Both Suggs and Smash appeared in the video for the Bob Marley song "One Love".

Also in 2005, Suggs collaborated with electronic group Audio Bullys on the track "This Road" from their Top 40 album Generation. In 2006, Suggs performed the Madness classic "My Girl" with The Ordinary Boys at the Brixton Academy — which was released as a B-side on their UK #6 hit single "Nine2five".

[edit] Acting

Suggs has acted in films such as The Tall Guy (1989) and Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1998). He starred in the Channel 4 drama The Final Frame (1990), in which he played a pop star named East. He also played a pop star (called Jason Woods) in the 1990 Press Gang episode "Friends Like These". He played the part of Joe's dad in the stage musical Our House, featuring the songs of Madness, for a limited period in London's West End in 2003.

[edit] Radio

Suggs was a principal and original DJ on the BBC radio station BBC 6 Music when it launched in March 2002.^[1] He also worked with Bob Monkhouse on the BBC Radio 4 musical sitcom I think I've got a Problem, which also starred comedian Phil Cornwell.

He became a DJ on Virgin Radio with the show Virgin Party Classics, and was nominated for a Sony Award in 2005. In 2006, Virgin launched the Party Classics radio channel, available via digital television. The channel was hosted by Suggs, but was short-lived, being pulled just four months after its launched. He regularly features on Virgin Radio competitions where listeners can win the chance to meet him and have a drink with him. 2007 sees him presenting a new show on the station five days a week entitled Afternoon Tea. Whilst presenting his radio show, he constantly includes his producer, Mark, in the show.

[edit] Television

Suggs has hosted a celebrity karaoke game show on the UK TV channel Five called Night Fever, which was one of the channel's highest rating programmes. He was a team captain in the BBC music trivia game show A Question of Pop, hosted by Jamie Theakston, opposite Noddy Holder. Suggs is a frequent guest on BBC2 show Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

He has hosted a series of hour-long programmes called Salvage Squad, in which a group of engineers restored rare old machinery. Some of the items restored included a steamroller, a ploughing engine called "Margaret", a Blackpool "Coronation" tram, a Scammell Mechanical Horse, a Revopak dustcart, various boats, World War II tanks, early C20 motor launches, railway locomotives and vintage cars.

In 2005 he filmed a series called Disappearing London for ITV in the London area, in which he investigates architectural and other curiosities that are vanishing. The series won 3 Royal Television Society awards with Suggs collecting a gong in the 'Presenter of the Year' category. A second series was filmed in 2006 for transmission in early 2007. In 2005 he filmed a similar one-off programme for the BBC entitled A Picture Of London by Suggs, which featured the newly penned song "Cracks In the Pavement". Suggs has twice been a guest presenter on the BBC's long-running chart show Top Of The Pops; once in 1995 and another time in 2005.

As of October 2006, Suggs was the main presenter of the BBC London series Inside Out, a weekly programme for Londoners looking at surprising stories in the capital. He was part of Declan Donnelly's Boy Band on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in October 2006, and performed "It Only Takes a Minute" by Take That

In 2007, Suggs presented a series of shows for Sky Digital called 'Disappearing London'. It looked at different aspects of the changing architecture, communities and geography of London.

[edit] Trivia

• Suggs is married to singer Bette Bright, who was the vocalist of the 1970s British band Deaf School.
• Suggs is a patron of the charity Children In Need, and has frequently appeared on the annual television fundraiser; performing various Madness tracks with other celebrities.
• Suggs is a member of the Useless Information Society (founded 1995) a society of journalists, writers and entertainers which focuses around useless esoteric information and has released books such as the Book of Useless Information. Other members include Keith Waterhouse, Richard Littlejohn, Noel Botham, Ken Stott and Brian Hitchen.

[edit] Solo discography

[edit] Albums

• The Lone Ranger UK #14 (Oct 1995)
• The Three Pyramids Club UK #82 (Aug 1998)

[edit] Singles

From The Lone Ranger

• "I'm Only Sleeping"/"Off On Holiday" UK #7 (Aug 1995)
• "Camden Town" UK #14 (Oct 1995)
• "The Tune" UK #33 (Dec 1995)
• "Cecilia" UK #4 (Apr 1996)
• "No More Alcohol" UK #24 (Sep 1996)

Non album single

• "Blue Day" UK #22 (May 1997)

From The Three Pyramids Club

• "I Am" UK #38 (Sep 1998)

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Suggs page at BBC 6 Music in 2002

[edit] External links

• Madness official website
• The Madness Information Service Online
• VirginRadio.co.uk - Suggs' Party Classics
• Suggs' profile at VirginRadio.co.uk
• Salvage Squad
• The nutty forum