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Barry Biggs

Jamaican reggae singer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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]

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Career

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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.

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Discography

Studio albums

  • Mr. Biggs – (1976) – Dynamic Sounds (also issued in 1977 as Side Show)
  • Sincerely – (1977) – Dynamic Sounds
  • Wide Awake in a Dream – (1980) – Starlight
  • A Promise Is A Comfort to a Fool – (1982)
  • Barry Biggs & The Inner Circle – (1983) – Trojan
  • Coming Down With Love (1983) – Ariola
  • So in Love – (1989) – Starlight
  • Wide Awake – (1990) – Mango
  • Night Like This – (1994) – WEA
  • Love Come Down – (2000) – Wesgram Records
  • I've Got It Covered – (2021) – Burning Sounds[5]

Compilation albums

  • Sideshow: The Best of Barry Biggs – (1995) – Jamaican Gold
  • Vintage Series: Barry Biggs – (2001) – VP
  • Just My Imagination – (2002) – Disky Records
  • Sideshow: The Very Best of Barry Biggs – (2002) – Music Club
  • Sideshow (The best of) – (2004) – Trojan
  • Reggae Max – (2007) – Jet Star

Singles

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References

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