Barry Biggs | |
---|---|
Born | 1946 (age 77–78)
[1] St. Andrew, Jamaica |
Genres | Reggae |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 1960s–present |
Barry Biggs (born 1946 [1] St. Andrew, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer, best known in the UK for his cover of the Blue Magic song, " Sideshow", which got to number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1977. [2]
Biggs worked as a recording engineer and cameraman with the Jamaican Broadcasting Company, and also spent time as a member of the band the Astronauts, before becoming the lead singer for Byron Lee's Dragonaires. [1] [3]
It was at Lee's Dynamic Sounds studio (where he also worked as a producer and engineer) that Biggs recorded his first Jamaican hit, a cover of the Osmonds' " One Bad Apple". [1] [3] He broke through to international success in 1976 with "Work All Day", which had been recorded seven years earlier. [1] [3] Biggs had six hit singles on the UK Singles Chart between 1976 and 1981, the most successful of these, "Sideshow", reaching number 3 in January 1977. [2] He recorded two songs with Bunny Lee; "Sincerely" and "You're Welcome" which did well in the reggae charts. [3] He topped the reggae chart in the UK with "Wide Awake in a Dream" and "A Promise Is a Comfort to a Fool". [3]
Many of Biggs' recordings were reggae cover versions of popular soul hits, including songs such as Stevie Wonder's " My Cherie Amour"; " Sideshow" and "Three Ring Circus" by Blue Magic; and others originally by the Chi-Lites, the Moonglows (" Sincerely"), and the Temptations (" Just My Imagination"). [4] His version of " Love Come Down", originally recorded by Evelyn "Champagne" King, was a top 10 hit in 1983 in the Netherlands. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Biggs avoided the political and Rasta themes then popular in Jamaica. [1]
Biggs continued to perform occasionally in the 2000s, notably at a 2008 service of thanksgiving for his former bandleader, Byron Lee.
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BEL [6] |
NLD [7] |
UK [2] [8] | |||
1971 | " One Bad Apple" | ― | ― | ― | |
1972 | "How Could I Let You Get Away" | ― | ― | ― | |
1973 | " I'm Stone in Love with You" | ― | ― | ― | |
1975 | "Lonely Girl" | ― | ― | ― | |
1976 | "You're Welcome" | ― | ― | ― | |
"Work All Day" | ― | ― | 38 | ||
" Sideshow" | ― | 17 | 3 | ||
1977 | "You're My Life" | ― | ― | 36 | |
"Three Ring Circus" | ― | ― | 22 | ||
" Sincerely" | ― | ― | ― | ||
1978 | "Give Me a Call" | ― | ― | ― | |
"Surely" | ― | ― | ― | ||
1979 | " Too Much Heaven" | ― | ― | ― | |
"What's Your Sign Girl?" | ― | ― | 55 | ||
1981 | "Wide Awake in a Dream" | ― | ― | 44 | |
" Love on a Two-Way Street" | ― | ― | ― | ||
"Promise Is a Comfort to a Fool" | ― | ― | ― | ||
"You're My Life" | ― | ― | ― | ||
1982 | "This Is Good Life" | ― | ― | ― | |
" Break Your Promise" | ― | ― | ― | ||
"Rain from the Sky" | ― | ― | ― | ||
"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" | ― | ― | ― | ||
1983 | "One of the Poorest People" | ― | ― | ― | |
" Love Come Down" | 23 | 7 | ― | ||
"Reflections of My Life" (with Ruddy Thomas) | ― | 34 | ― | ||
1986 | "All I Have to Do Is Dream" | ― | ― | ― | |
"Conversation" | ― | ― | ― | ||
1987 | "If You Wanna Make Love" | ― | ― | ― | |
"Since You've Been Gone" | ― | ― | ― | ||
1988 | "A Night Like This" | ― | ― | ― | |
1994 | "Time for Love" | ― | ― | ― | |
1994 | "True Love" | ― | ― | ― | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart. |