Junior Giscombe powered into the British and American charts with the infectious energy of his 1981 single "Mama Used to Say.” The song resonated with audiences from around the world, got him accolades from James Brown and Michael Jackson, the latter admitting that he stole a couple of his dance moves.
SUBSCRIBE to this CHANNEL here:
/ @popthehistorymakers
Despite the success Mama Used to Say, Junior wasn’t happy with the record company’s pigeonholing of him, let alone the racism he experienced, and against their advice took the decisions he wanted to make, adding depth to his lyrics, and making brave choices about his album Jr.
Before his solo success Junior toured as a backing vocalist for LINX - a Britfunk band; As he said at the time about their audience - “We all live here, we all come from the same areas, we all know where these guys are coming from”.
When the album Ji was released, he was compared to Stevie Wonder.
He wrote Too Late about domestic violence
He was the first British singer to appear on Soul Train since David Bowie
Michael Jackson stole a couple of his dance moves
He recorded tracks with Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) - and the record company didn’t even release the material.
Suffered from Racist attitudes at the time. On British TV when performing his duet with Kim Wilde he was introduced as Kym Wilde & friend! Not even mentioning his name.
Suffered terrible personal loss - his wife Nardia and daughter Jenique both died from Multiple Sclerosis.
But despite the successes, the trials and the loss, Junior’s interview is an uplifting interview about the power of music to heal.
For more information on Junior go to juniorgiscombe.co.uk/
For news of a new single titled “Sweet Tender Love” - out soon, and also tour dates.
3 июл 2024
