Labi Siffre

Labi Siffre biography

Labi Siffre (born 25 June 1945) is a British poet, songwriter, musician and singer most widely known as the writer and singer of "(Something Inside) So Strong", "It Must Be Love" and "I Got The", the sampled rhythm track which provides the basis for a number of well-known hip hop tracks such as Eminem's breakthrough hit single, "My Name Is".

Life and career

Born the fourth of five children, at Queen Charlotte's Hospital Hammersmith, London to a British (Barbadian / Belgian) mother and a Nigerian father, Siffre was brought up in Bayswater and Hampstead and educated at a Catholic independent day school, St Benedict's School, in Ealing, west London.

Jazz and Blues records provided his musical education: Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Charles Mingus among many. Jimmy Reed and Wes Montgomery loomed large as guitar influences; Billie Holiday, Jimmy Reed and Mel Tormé as vocal influences.

Openly gay, Siffre met his partner, Peter Lloyd, in July 1964. Under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, they became legally recognized partners when the Act entered into force in December 2005.

While trying to become a full time musician, Labi worked as a warehouseman in Bethnal Green, a filing clerk at Reuters in Fleet Street and as a minicab driver and delivery man. In the early 60s, in a Jimmy Smith style trio, with Bob Stuckey on Hammond Organ and Woody Martin on drums, Labi, on guitar, played for nine months at Annie's Room, a jazz club fronted by the singer Annie Ross. He then toured as opening act and backing singer for Jackie Edwards, the Jamaican songwriter, soul and reggae star. Labi went on to form another three-piece group called Safari, playing London's Soho clubs. Then, though he didn't play folk songs, his first solo gigs came in Amsterdam at the folk club Het Kloppertje, and at the then haven of psychedelic hippiedom The Paradiso. Most of Siffre's thirty-year performing career has been as a solo artist.

In 1969, while Labi was working in Amsterdam, friends sent a tape of his songs to the DJ Dave Cash and music publishers Management Agency & Music Ltd. (MAM). Siffre soon signed a publishing and management contract with MAM. However, since the MAM Records label was not yet in operation Siffre's recordings were licensed to other labels. His first contract was with Festival Records. His recording debut in 1970 was released in the U.K. on the Pye International division of Pye Records. He had a "turntable hit" in 1970 with the single "Pretty Little Girl (Make My Day)/Too Late" which despite being heavily played on Radio Luxembourg never made it to the charts.

Six albums were released between 1970 and 1975, and four between 1988 and 1998. In the early 1970s he had UK hits with "It Must Be Love" (No. 14, 1971) (later covered by and a No. 4 hit for Madness, for which Siffre himself appeared in the video); "Crying Laughing Loving Lying" (No. 11, 1972); and "Watch Me" (No. 29, 1972). Both "It Must Be Love" and "Crying Laughing Loving Lying" were released as singles in the U.S. by Bell Records but failed to chart.

Biography from , the free encyclopedia.
It may not have been reviewed by a professional editor, and recent changes may not show up straight away. See the latest version of this article. Used under licence. Subject to disclaimers.