Graham McPherson

Graham "Suggs" McPherson, 2005 in Amsterdam

Graham McPherson (born January 13, 1961 in Hastings , East Sussex ) is an English singer , songwriter , actor and former radio DJ . He became known as the front man of the band Madness and had a few solo hits under the pseudonym Suggs in the second half of the 1990s .

biography

As a co-initiator, McPherson was involved in founding the ska band Madness in 1978 and became its front man. After some success, the group temporarily split in 1985. McPherson was u. a. Manager and producer of the rock band The Farm , moderated on television and founded the duo The Fink Brothers with his Madness bandmate Chas Smash . He was also involved in several Madness revivals.

With his first solo single as Suggs, I'm Only Sleeping , McPherson made it to number 7 on the English charts in August 1995 . Two months later Camden Town reached position 14 in the UK charts, followed by The Tune at number 33 in December . The accompanying pop album The Lone Ranger climbed to number 14 in the UK in October of that year.

Only on the re-release of the long player in 1996 were two features with Louchie Lou & Michie One included: Cecilia rose to number 4 in England and number 28 in Austria in April , No More Alcohol followed in September 1996 at number 24 in the UK charts . In 1997 the single Blue Day was released , which was recorded together with the team from Chelsea FC , and climbed to number 22 on the English charts in May.

The 1998 album The Three Pyramids Club , on which pop rock and ska can be heard, fell short of expectations and missed a chart listing. Only the release I Am was briefly listed in the English charts in September and reached number 38. Further albums and singles by Suggs were not released. With The Platinum Collection (2007), The Suggs Collection (2014) and The Very Best Of (2017), three more compilations were released .

Discography (Suggs)

Studio albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		AT	UK
1995	The Lone Ranger WEA 12478	-	UK14th silver (8 weeks)UK	First published: October 16, 1995 Executive Producer: Rob Dickens
1998	The Three Pyramids Club WEA 23815	-	UK82 (1 week) UK	First published: September 7, 1998 Producer: Stephen Lironi

Compilations

• 2007: The Platinum Collection ( Rhino 23140; release: June 30th)
• 2014: The Suggs Collection (3 CDs; Universal Music TV / Warner Music TV 5351948; release: June 2nd)
• 2017: The Very Best Of ( Rhino UK 0190295786731; Release: June 30th)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		AT	UK
1995	I'm Only Sleeping / Off on Holiday The Lone Ranger	-	UK7 (7 weeks) UK	First published: July 31, 1995 Authors: Lennon / McCartney / Graham McPherson Original (A-side): The Beatles , 1966
	Camden Town The Lone Ranger	-	UK14 (6 weeks) UK	First published: October 2, 1995 Authors: Graham McPherson, Mike Barson
	The Tune The Lone Ranger	-	UK33 (3 weeks) UK	First published: December 4th, 1995 Author: Mike Barson
1996	Cecilia The Lone Ranger ( Reissue )	AT28 (5 weeks) AT	UK4th silver (22 weeks)UK	First release: April 1st, 1996 feat. Louchie Lou & Michie One Author: Paul Simon Original: Simon & Garfunkel , 1970
	No More Alcohol The Lone Ranger ( Reissue )	-	UK24 (4 weeks) UK	First release: September 9, 1996 feat. Louchie Lou & Michie One Author: Graham McPherson
1997	Blue Day The Platinum Collection	-	UK22 (8 weeks) UK	First published: May 5, 1997 Suggs and Co feat. The Chelsea Team Author: Mike Connaris
1998	I Am The Three Pyramids Club	-	UK38 (3 weeks) UK	First published: August 23, 1998 Authors: Graham McPherson, Nick Feldman

More singles

• 1995: Sleigh Ride (Promo)
• 2002: Oranges and Lemons Again ( Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra feat. Suggs)

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: AT UK
2. ↑ ^{a b} UK gold / platinum database

Web links

• Graham McPherson at Discogs (English)
• Biography at Taurus Press