Madness man reveals secrets of his Suggs-cessful career
DUE to huge popular demand, after his first tour-de-force, smash-hit, sell-out tour, My Life Story, Suggs is treading the boards again with a new show.
If the first show was about how on Earth he got there, Suggs: What A King Cnut is about the surprises that awaited him when he did.
Vertigo on the roof of Buckingham Palace, nearly blowing the closing ceremony of the Olympics, the embarrassing stuff that happened at Glastonbury.
Things have gone a smidge surreal since the Madness frontman was a 12-year-old in shorts on the tough streets of North London.
And he is constantly expecting that inevitable tap on the shoulder to hear: “What are you doing here, Sunshine? How has he got this far?”
In this business, you can be washed up at any minute. How has he managed to get away with it for so long?
Fame is a tightrope and Suggs has fallen off many times.
He lost his way when he left the band in 1986 but after some soul-searching forged a solo career before Madness (often referred to as the Nutty Boys) reformed in 1992.
He recalls stories such as sharing a stage with Band Aid star Sting but it was not your typical collaboration.
Suggs says: “I’ve got this thing about invading stages and Sting was playing at Henley and I was going down the river and there he was.”
He adds: “I heard Sting, one of the greatest British lyricists of all time doing a sound check to De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da ... so up I got before I was unceremoniously hauled off stage by my ankles.”
“My Life Story is about how I got to the top.
“The one-man show is going to be all about what happens when you get there. That’s when it gets really scary.”
With help from Deano, his trusty pianist, he tells his story in words and music with the help of some Madness classics and a couple more what he wrote all by himself.
Suggs: What A King Cnut comes to The Atkinson on Wednesday, October 24.
For more information and tickets, go to www. theatkinson.co.uk or call the box office on 01704 533 333.
Tickets cost £30, plus booking fee.
Booking fee is £1 per ticket online/phone.