This week I’m going to be discussing That Close – the entertaining life story of the lead singer of Madness, Suggs.
That Close
First Crush
Full disclosure, before I begin – I think Suggs was my first celebrity crush! I guess it was around the time of the release of Madness’ song, House of Fun, in May 1982, which would make me 7 years old. Of course, I had no idea what the song was actually about (i.e. a 16 year old boy trying to buy condoms at the chemist but using euphemisms, which aren’t understood) but I was certainly drawn to the video on Top of the Pops, which featured the band larking about on a roller coaster at the Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach.
A fresh-faced 21-year-old Suggs caught my eye and, whilst, I wouldn’t have been able to articulate my feelings about him back then, I guess you could say I was a little bit fascinated. Madness were a regular feature on my car stereo, particularly when driving to and from university in Chester, and I have enjoyed their music for many years. I finally got to see them live at the O2 arena in 2018 and, whilst maybe a little bit greyer, their whacky energy endures – they certainly did not disappoint the 20,000 fans, in attendance.
Suggs
Suggs is undoubtedly one of pop music’s most enduring and likeable figures. In That Close, Suggs takes us through his colourful early life on a North London council estate, through the early days of the band and on to their enormous success in the eighties, as Madness became the biggest selling singles band of the decade.
Suggs relates in the book how he decided not to use a salacious ghost writer and I think this decision really paid off. It allowed him to be natural and honest in looking back over his life and his career. Perhaps a more judicious editor might have reduced the section about his newfound love of cycling but that might just reflect my own personal preferences!
That Close also revealed how Graham McPherson got his name. At school, not wanting to be teased for having a Scottish sounding surname, he randomly stuck a pin in an encyclopaedia of Jazz musicians and hit ‘Peter Suggs’. To create a myth around his new moniker, Suggs became a ubiquitous graffiti tag, often attached to the legend, ‘Suggs is our leader‘, on walls around London.
Narration
I love it when people read their own autobiographies because there is always something special in listening to a voice, which has experienced what it relates. Suggs’ offbeat sense of humour and occasionally odd speaking inflections are present and correct in this recording, which adds another level of fun to the proceedings.
Suggs is a natural raconteur, whose skills have clearly been honed through some small acting roles and through presenting various television programmes over the years but there is also a naturalness and a cheekiness, which lifts That Close above the average life story. Enjoy!