Suggs
Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England. In a music career spanning 40 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the ska band Madness, which released fifteen singles that entered the top 10 charts in the United Kingdom during the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s, including " My Girl", "Baggy Trousers", "Embarrassment", " It Must Be Love", "House of Fun", "Driving in My Car", " Our House", " Wings of a Dove" and "Lovestruck". Suggs began his solo career in 1995, while still a member of Madness. Since then, he has released two studio albums and two compilation albums. His solo hits include "I'm Only Sleeping", "Camden Town", "Cecilia" and "Blue Day". Suggs has also been an actor, with roles in films, theatre and television. He is married and is the father of two children. Early life Graham McPherson was born on 13 January ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Madness (band)
Madness are an English ska and pop band from Camden Town, North London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up.Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Retrieved on 19 June 2007. Madness's most successful period was from 1980 to 1986, when the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. (UB40 shared the same number of weeks, the largest for any British group in the decade, but over a longer period.), IMDb.com, Retrieved on 10 June 2007. Madness have had 15 singles reach the UK top ten, including "One Step Beyond", "Baggy Trousers" and " It Must Be Love", one UK number-one single "House of Fun" and two number ones in Ireland, "House of Fun" and " Wings of a Dove". " Our House" was their biggest US hit, reaching number 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2000, the band received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cecilia (Simon & Garfunkel Song)
"Cecilia" is a song by American musical duo Simon & Garfunkel. It was released in April 1970 as the third single from the group's fifth studio album, '' Bridge over Troubled Water'' (1970). Written by Paul Simon, the song's origins lie in a late-night party, in which the duo and friends began banging on a piano bench. They recorded the sound with a tape recorder, employing reverb and matching the rhythm created by the machine. Simon later wrote the song's guitar line and lyrics on the subject of an untrustworthy lover. The song was a hit single in the United States, peaking at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On the ''Cash Box'' Top 100, it reached number one. "Cecilia" also did well in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, where it reached number two, and also in Switzerland and Belgium, where it peaked at number three, although it failed to chart in the United Kingdom, where it was released as a single about six months after the album. It has been the subject ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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House Of Fun
"House of Fun" is a song by English ska/pop group Madness, credited to Mike Barson and Lee Thompson. Retrieved on 28 June 2007. It was released as a one-off single on 14 May 1982 and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending nine weeks in the charts. Retrieved on 27 June 2007. The song was re-released in 1992, reaching number 40. It is the band's only number one single in the UK and in 2015 the British public voted it as the nation's 8th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV. Recording The song was originally recorded under the title "Chemist Facade", without the "Welcome to the House of Fun" chorus. While the song was being recorded, head of Stiff Records Dave Robinson insisted that the song should have a chorus, so band member Mike Barson immediately wrote the "Welcome to the House of Fun" refrain on his piano. Retrieved on 22 August 2007. At this point, the song had already been recorded, and the management decided not to re-record the whole song. Inste ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baggy Trousers
"Baggy Trousers" is a song by English ska/pop band Madness from their 1980 album '' Absolutely''. It was written by lead singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson and guitarist Chris Foreman,Woodstra, Chris. Retrieved on 1 July 2007. and reminisces about school days. (Mike Barson also received a writing credit in error, the correct McPherson/Foreman credit being used for subsequent releases). The band first began performing the song at live shows in April 1980. Retrieved on 1 July 2007. It was released as a single on 5 September 1980 and spent 20 weeks in UK charts, reaching a high of #3. It was the 28th best-selling single of 1980 in the UK. In October 2017, American punk rock/hip hop band the Transplants released a cover version of the song on their ''Take Cover'' EP. Music and lyrics Suggs later recalled in an interview that "I was very specifically trying to write a song in the style of Ian Dury, especially the songs he was writing then, which ereoften sort of catalogues of ph ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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My Girl (Madness Song)
"My Girl" is a song by British ska/ pop group Madness from their debut album, '' One Step Beyond...''. It was written by Mike Barson. The song was released as a single on 21 December 1979 and spent 10 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 3. The song was reissued in 1992 following the success of the reissued " It Must Be Love". It reached number 27 in the UK Singles Chart. Song history The song first made its way into the band's set when they were performing as The Invaders. The first performance of the song came in July 1978, when it was performed by the band at the "Blind Alley Shop" and simply titled "New Song". Barson originally performed lead vocals, and even sang on the demo for the song, having written the song about his then girlfriend, Kerstin Rodgers. However, Suggs took over the vocal duties before long, and sang the album version of the song. When the group performed the song on ''Top of the Pops'' in January 1980, they were the first band of the new deca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Audio Bullys
Audio Bullys are an English electronic music project, originally consisting of Simon Franks and Tom Dinsdale. The group were once managed by the DJ and presenter George Lamb. Franks and Dinsdale released their debut album '' Ego War'' in 2003, and two years later followed up with ''Generation'', which featured a collaboration with Suggs and keyboardist Mike Barson of Madness on the track "This Road" and a collaboration with Suggs and Madness saxophonist Lee Thompson on the subsequent track "Struck by the Sound". Their 2005 hit " Shot You Down", which sampled the Nancy Sinatra version of the song " Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. Their third album '' Higher Than the Eiffel'', released on 29 March 2010, featured another collaboration with Suggs and Barson on the track "Twist Me Up", with Suggs' daughter Viva providing backing vocals on the track "Smiling Faces". On 18 February 2012, it was announced through the group's official Fa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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It Must Be Love (Labi Siffre Song)
"It Must Be Love" is a song written and originally recorded and released in 1971 by English singer Labi Siffre on his 1972 album ''Crying Laughing Loving Lying''. It was also recorded by ska/pop band Madness in 1981. Labi Siffre original The original Labi Siffre recording was released as a single in 1971, and reached Number 14 in January 1972 in the UK singles chart. It also appeared on his 1972 album ''Crying Laughing Loving Lying''. In 1994, a version of Siffre's original, with altered lyrics, was featured in an advertisement for Midland Bank. In 2007, it was featured in a UK TV advertisement for Vodafone. Labi Siffre track listing #"It Must Be Love" – 3:42 #"To Find Love" – 1:57 Charts Madness version Madness's version was originally issued as a standalone single in late-1981, reaching #4 on the UK singles chart, and appeared on their UK number one compilation album ''Complete Madness'' the following year, and on many other Madness compilations since. In 1983, it p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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I'm Only Sleeping
"I'm Only Sleeping" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 studio album '' Revolver''. In the United States and Canada, it was one of the three tracks that Capitol Records cut from the album and instead included on '' Yesterday and Today'', released two months before ''Revolver''. Credited as a Lennon–McCartney song, it was written primarily by John Lennon. The track includes a backwards (or backmasked) lead guitar part, played by George Harrison, the first time such a technique was used on a pop recording. Since the standardisation of the Beatles' catalogue for its international CD release in 1987, the song has appeared on ''Revolver'' in North America. The 1996 ''Anthology 2'' compilation includes outtakes of the song from the ''Revolver'' sessions, including an instrumental version that features the Beatles' first use of a vibraphone. In 2018, the music staff of ''Time Out London'' ranked "I'm Only Sleeping" at number 12 on their list of the best B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Farm (British Band)
The Farm are a British band from Liverpool. Their first album, ''Spartacus'', reached the top position on the UK Albums Chart when it was released in March 1991; ''Spartacus 30'' was released in 2021 to commemorate the anniversary. ''Spartacus'' includes two songs which had been top 10 singles the year before. In 2012, they toured with their Spartacus Live shows and formed part of the Justice Tonight Band, supporting the Stone Roses at Heaton Park, Phoenix Park, Lyon and Milan. The Justice Collective had the 2012 Christmas number one with their recording of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". History The band was formed in early 1983 and initially comprised Peter Hooton, Steve Grimes, John Melvin and Andrew John "Andy" McVann, who was killed in a police chase on 1 October 1986 at the age of 21, and to whose parents the band's subsequent album, ''Spartacus'', is dedicated. The band evolved from an earlier group called The Excitements, initially including Phil Stephenson on bas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Embarrassment (song)
"Embarrassment" is a song recorded by ska/ pop band Madness, predominantly written by Lee Thompson, but partially credited to Mike Barson.Woodstra, Chris. Retrieved on July 1, 2007. The band first began performing the song at live shows in April 1980, Retrieved on July 1, 2007. and it was featured on their second studio album, '' Absolutely''. The song was released as a single on 14 November 1980 and spent 12 weeks in the UK singles chart, reaching a high of number 4. The song was remixed for issue as a single, which is different from the album version, although they both have the same running time. Lyrical content The meaning behind the song was particularly dark, considering the band's previous material. Primarily written by Lee Thompson, the plot of the song reflected the unfolding turmoil following the news that his teenage sister, Tracy, had become pregnant and was carrying a black man's child. The subsequent rejection by her family, and the shame felt, was reflected in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wings Of A Dove (Madness Song)
"Wings of a Dove" (also known as "Wings of a Dove (A Celebratory Song)") is a song by English ska band Madness. It was released in 1983 as a stand-alone single and later in 1984 it was included on the American version of their studio album '' Keep Moving''. The single spent 10 weeks in British charts peaking at number 2. It peaked at number 1 in Ireland. "Wings of a Dove" was written by Suggs and Chas Smash and they also share lead vocals here. The song featured steel drums by Creighton Steel Sounds and the gospel choir The Inspirational Choir of the Pentecostal First Born Church of the Living God. In 1985, Madness offered the song as their contribution to the multi-artist compilation ''Greenpeace – The Album''. The song enjoyed a brief resurgence in popularity in 1999 when it was featured in the movie ''10 Things I Hate About You''. Madness performed a version live on BBC One on New Year's Eve, 2018. Promotional music video The music video for the song depicts all involved ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Camden Town
Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential district from 1791 and originally part of the manor of Kentish Town and the parish of St Pancras, Camden Town became an important location during the early development of the railways, which reinforced its position on the London canal network. The area's industrial economic base has been replaced by service industries such as retail, tourism and entertainment. The area now hosts street markets and music venues that are strongly associated with alternative culture. History Toponymy Camden Town is named after Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden. His earldom was styled after his estate, Camden Place near Chislehurst in Kent (now in the London Borough of Bromley), formerly o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |