Cameron Andrew McVey (born 11 March 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and music
producer. He worked with the bands
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was releas ...
,
Portishead,
All Saints,
Sugababes
Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011.
Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...
/
Mutya Keisha Siobhan
Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011.
Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes release ...
and his wife
Neneh Cherry. He is the father of
Marlon Roudette
Marlon Roudette is a British singer, songwriter and producer. He is the former front man for the duo Mattafix, who had their first number 1, "Big City Life", in 2006. After the group split, Roudette embarked on a solo career with two number one ...
, Tyson, and
Mabel.
Early life
McVey grew up in
Cockfosters
Cockfosters is a suburb of north London to the east of Chipping Barnet, lying partly in the London Borough of Enfield and partly in the London Borough of Barnet. Before 1965, it was in the counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire.
Origins and ...
, North London. He was educated at
Queen Elizabeth's Boys' School, Barnet.
Career
McVey started out as a member of the
new wave band
Bim
''Bim'' is a 1974 Trinidad and Tobago film written by Raoul Pantin and directed by Hugh A. Robertson. It was described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago and... one of the classics of Ca ...
in the early 1980s, in which he was the
lead singer
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
. The band released one album in 1982, ''Boobams Out!'' and seven singles from 1980 to 1982.
In 1987, as one half of duo
Morgan-McVey
"Looking Good Diving" is a 1987 song performed by Morgan-McVey, who were vocalists Jamie Morgan and Cameron McVey. It was their only single. The single was released through Sony Records in 1987, produced by SAW and mixed by Phil Harding. The B- ...
, he released the single "
Looking Good Diving". Originally conceived as a
Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
-style male vocal duo who would harmonise over
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
beats, early demos failed to deliver on the concept.
Facing creative inertia, the act's record company convinced them to work with rising pop producers
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...
(SAW), a proposition that left them with mixed feelings.
Band member
Jamie Morgan says McVey was so "embarrassed" by the resulting record and video, the band quickly disintegrated.
However, McVey has since been complimentary of SAW's studio skills, calling the trio "more punk than the punks".
The track's B-side "Looking Good Diving with the Wild Bunch" would later be reworked into
Neneh Cherry's 1988 single "
Buffalo Stance
"Buffalo Stance" is a song by Swedish singer Neneh Cherry, released from her debut album, '' Raw Like Sushi'' (1989), in November 1988. The song peaked at 3 on both the UK Singles Chart and the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and it reached No. 1 in ...
".
CirKus
In 2006, McVey (under the name Burt Ford) along with Neneh Cherry, Matt Kent (aka Karmil) and Lolita Moon released the album ''
Laylow
Jeremy Larroux (born 1993), better known as Laylow is a French rapper from Toulouse. In 2018, Laylow released the EPs ''.RAW'' and ''RAW-Z''. His debut album, ''Trinity'', featuring collaborations with Lomepal, S.Pri Noir, Jok'Air, Wit. and Al ...
'', as a band called
CirKus
CirKus are a trip hop band formed by Burt Ford (Cameron McVey), Karmil (aka Matt Kent), Lolita Moon and Neneh Cherry.
History
DJ and producer Karmil was recruited by Burt Ford (Neneh's husband Cameron McVey) as an assistant recording engi ...
. In 2008, CirKus (with the same line-up) released their second album ''Medicine''.
Personal life
In 1983, McVey fathered a son,
Marlon Roudette
Marlon Roudette is a British singer, songwriter and producer. He is the former front man for the duo Mattafix, who had their first number 1, "Big City Life", in 2006. After the group split, Roudette embarked on a solo career with two number one ...
, with
Vincentian artist and designer Vonnie Roudette.
McVey met Neneh Cherry in 1987 at
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
while they were en route to Japan as fashion models as part of London Designer Ray Petri's Buffalo Posse. The couple married in 1990; they have two daughters, singers Tyson, born in 1989 (also known as Lolita Moon), and
Mabel.
The family lived throughout Europe. In 1993, they moved near
Málaga, Spain and lived there until 1999. Briefly in 1995, they lived in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, where they had purchased a home in the
Park Slope
Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush Aven ...
neighbourhood. Soon after moving in, the couple were held up at gunpoint and robbed by a teenage bandit. They headed back to London's
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of ...
.
Eventually they migrated to Cherry's native
Hässleholm, Sweden, living in the same schoolhouse-turned-home where Cherry was raised (featured in the
''Homebrew'' album's artwork).
[
]
Albums produced
Neneh Cherry albums
* ''Raw Like Sushi
''Raw Like Sushi'' is the debut studio album by Swedish musician Neneh Cherry, released 5 June 1989 by Virgin Records. The album includes the commercially successful single "Buffalo Stance".
Background
An early version of "Buffalo Stance" appe ...
'' (1989)
* '' Homebrew'' (1992)
* ''Man
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
'' (1996)
* ''The Cherry Thing
''The Cherry Thing'' is an album by vocalist Neneh Cherry and jazz trio The Thing, consisting of saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. It was recorded in 2011 and released the following yea ...
'' (2012)
Other works
* ''Shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
'' by Jamie J. Morgan
Jamie Morgan is a British photographer, filmmaker, and former musician.
Music career
Morgan formed half of the duo Morgan-McVey''Hitlåtens historia'', "Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance", Sveriges Television, 3 January 2012. who released just one ...
(1990)
* ''Blue Lines
''Blue Lines'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 8 April 1991 by Wild Bunch and Virgin Records. The recording was led by members Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "T ...
'' by Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was releas ...
(1991)*
* ''Shape
A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material type.
A pl ...
'', by Frente
Frente! (or Frente) were an Australian folk- pop and indie pop group which originally formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar (later re ...
(1996)
* '' All Saints'' by All Saints (1997)
* '' One Touch'', by the Sugababes
Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011.
Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...
(2000)
* ''How Do You Call It'', by Patrice Bart-Williams
Patrice Babatunde Bart-Williams (born 9 July 1979), better known as Patrice, is a Sierra Leonean-German singer-songwriter, music producer and film-maker. Raised by a Sierra Leonean father and a German mother, Patrice Bart-Williams grew up listenin ...
(2002)
* '' Revolution in Me'', by Siobhán Donaghy
Siobhán Emma Donaghy (born 14 June 1984) is an English-Irish singer and songwriter. She is best known as a founding member of the girl group Sugababes. Donaghy left the Sugababes in 2001 and released her debut solo album, '' Revolution in Me'', ...
(2003)
* ''Taller in More Ways
''Taller in More Ways'' is the fourth studio album by British girl group Sugababes, released by Island Records on 10 October 2005. It was primarily produced by Dallas Austin and Jony Rockstar, with additional production from Cameron McVey, Xenom ...
'', by the Sugababes
Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011.
Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...
(2005)
* ''11th Floor'' and ''Lights'', by Kitchen Party (2013)
* ''Spirit Of Minnie'' by Will Varley
Will Varley (born 7 March 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and visual artist. He is one of the founding members of the arts collective Smugglers Records. Since self releasing his debut album ''Advert Soundtracks'' in 2011 he has ...
(2018)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McVey, Cameron
1957 births
Living people
Musicians from London
People from the London Borough of Barnet
People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School for Boys
English male singers
English songwriters
English new wave musicians
English record producers
English expatriates in Sweden
Male new wave singers
British male songwriters
it:Massive Attack