Suggs

The couple had married in the Paddington area of London in 1960 and Suggs was raised in Hastings by his mother.

His father had left by the time Suggs was three.

Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor.

Graham McPherson was born on 13 January 1961 in Hastings to a Scottish father, William Rutherford McPherson (1935–1975) and Welsh mother, jazz singer Edith Gower.

"I was born in Hastings on a stormy evening on 13 January 1961. I only lived with my mum, so we were free agents. She was a singer in the pubs and clubs. We moved to Liverpool then London. I lived with relations in Wales for a while and came back to London. Because I was an only child, I was pretty insular and stubborn. All the upheaval made me lazy academically, so by the time I got to Quintin Kynaston school in St John's Wood I didn't bother much, I stayed onto the sixth form for social security reasons, and got two O-levels and a CSE on the way. I met Mike Barson hanging around Hampstead School."

Suggs got his nickname from randomly sticking a pin in an encyclopaedia of jazz musicians (hitting Peter Suggs) while he was still in school, to avoid being labelled as the member of an ethnic minority owing to his Scottish surname.

To capitalise on the name he went as far as to create a myth about it, writing lines like "Suggs is our leader" on the walls and only answering to that name.

After leaving school, he worked at a butcher's shop for eight months, his first proper job.

He also worked as a painter and decorator.

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 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".

The first gig he went to was the Who supported by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band in 1976.

In 1976 Mike Barson, Chris Foreman and Lee Thompson formed the North London Invaders, which later became the band Madness.

The original members recruited were John Hasler, Cathal Smyth and vocalist Dikran Tulaine.

This six-piece line-up was stable until 1977, when Suggs took over the lead vocals and Tulaine left the band.

After a decline in hits, the band broke up in 1986.

Suggs has said that he felt "a bit lost" after the band split up, and he saw a psychotherapist on four occasions.

After Madness' reformation for Madstock! in 1992 and 1994, Suggs went to work on his first solo album with the production help of reggae producers Sly and Robbie.

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.

In 1995 The Lone Ranger was released on Warner Music and peaked on the UK Albums Chart at No. 14.

The first single to be released from the album was a cover of the Beatles song "I'm Only Sleeping" entering the UK Top 10 at No. 7. Its music video featured appearances from Madness bandmates Mike Barson and Chas Smash.

This was followed by "Camden Town", a homage to Suggs's favourite part of London, which reached No. 14 in the UK.

In December of that year, Suggs released The Christmas E.P. featuring his song "The Tune" (co-written with Mike Barson) plus covers of "Sleigh Ride" and "Alright" by Supergrass.

In 1996 the third single from the album, a version of the Simon & Garfunkel song "Cecilia", became his most successful release, peaking at No. 4 in the UK and being certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry.

The final single to be released from the album was "No More Alcohol", charting at No. 24.

In 1997, Suggs recorded the song "Blue Day" for Chelsea F.C. with Chelsea players.

It was the official song for the team for the FA Cup, which Chelsea eventually won.

The song reached No. 22 in the UK charts.

In 1998, Suggs released his second solo album, The Three Pyramids Club, on Warner Music, which was produced by Steve Lironi.

The first and only single to be released was "I Am" charting at No. 38 in the UK.

The song was also featured on the soundtrack to The Avengers.

In a 2009 interview, Suggs responded when asked about what happened to him:

"I don't know, but what I've heard hasn't been good: heroin, injecting his eyeballs with paraffin, being sectioned. He must be dead now. I mean, he would have got in touch if he was alive, wouldn't he? Yeah, he must be dead, poor bugger."

Three years later in 2012, Suggs learned, through reading this very Wikipedia article, that his father had passed away decades earlier.

Suggs spent three years of his childhood in his mother's hometown of Haverfordwest, Wales, and had just started at a grammar school there when his mother moved to London.

He then went to the Quintin Kynaston comprehensive school at St John's Wood.

On the official Madness website, he has stated: