This article is taken from the XFM website from Suggs homepage. SUGGS Monday to Thursday 10.00 - 13.00 Madness frontman comes to Xfm! Suggs handles late morning and lunchtime duties, bringing his unique musical perspective to compulsive X-addicts and those who can't be bothered to get up for the Breakfast Session... What were you up to before Xfm? Before Xfm I've been doing all sorts of things. Obviously, or most obviously, I was in Madness for about 20 years and that just seems to come and go at a whim of it's own. We were together for about ten years then we had seven years off then we've been coming back recently - we did an album out last year - and now we're kind of having another pause again. But I may go back to do some more of that. I've also been doing a programme on Channel Five called Nightfever, which is very popular by all accounts and I'm also now doing a new programme now for the BBC - 'A Question of Pop'. So I've been really busy. What made you choose Xfm? I'd been thinking about doing radio for quite a while, in fact I've had various offers from numerous different people... Actually, it all started 'cos I went out with someone from Xfm and we ended up drinking absinthe in some hell-hole in Soho at four in the morning and he said 'You don't want to go there Suggs, you want to come to Xfm'. I thought about it for a week or so and I listened to the station and I thought that it was the most innovative of all the stations around. I thought it'd be a nice place to be. What would you like listeners to get out of your show? I've only been doing the show a couple of weeks now and I'm still kind of learning as I go along. It's a delicate balance I find - obviously people listen to Xfm mainly for the music and you don't want to get too ridiculous and comedic - but at the same time I would like some of my personality to come out. I would just really, ultimately, like to be able to do a show that's a little bit funny and a little bit on the edge slightly, without being nasty to people - maybe being sarcastic a little bit - and play great music. Which I'm sort of getting towards at the moment. What was the first record you ever bought? I think the first record I bought, not pinched, was 'Wallstreet Shuffle' by 10cc which was a funny old sort of American sounding rock thing by a band from Manchester. What was the first gig you went to? The first gig I went to was The Who at Charlton in, 1974 I think it was. It was a great gig, it had another mad band called the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and it was a complete revelation. They had a laser show - I think it was the world's first laser show - which consisted of one green light which bounced off a few mirrors. What's the most memorable gig you've been to? I think the most memorable would have to be seeing The Specials at the Hope and Anchor in maybe 1978 or 79. I'd already been in a band a little while and we thought we were pretty individual and then suddenly this band came along from Coventry - The Specials - and they were very similar to us in their outlook and the music that they played. What advice would you give to someone who wants to do what you do? Often it sounds stupid - but I would say 'stick together' is the most important thing in a band. You can do this and you can do that - basically you need a bit of luck - but what you mostly need is dedication. So many times - I know from my own experience with friends of mine - they've started bands and then just given up, just as the ball's started rolling. Sometimes you just have to keep trying. But in terms of being a DJ or a personality or whatever you just have to try to be yourself as much as possible. ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie - ______________________________________________________________ Visit the Total Madness Mailing List website for: latest news, madmeet info, list charter, games, and more ... http://members.xoom.com/totalmadmail/ Contact the TMML Moderators at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] and in the message body put: unsubscribe total-madness
