80s rockstar’s long lost sister secretly supported him for years

Suggs, the legendary frontman behind the 80s band Madness, once learned that he has a long-lost sister – who secretly supported his career for decades.

The musician and songwriter, 63, revealed how his mother had a daughter before he was born and put her up for adoption.

When his long-lost sibling made contact in 2012, the family reconnected – and Suggs learned that she had been showing up in the audience in some of his shows for years throughout his career.

Suggs, whose real name is Graham McPherson, rose to fame as the band’s frontman, racking up 16 top 10 hits over the course of 40 years.

Hit singles include their iconic numbers House of Fun, One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers and Our House, showcasing their distinctive blend of ska and pop punk.

Upon connecting with his sister, Suggs learned that his hitherto secret relative had been in the audience at a number of the band’s performances over the years.

As reported by The Mirror, Suggs said his mother, Edith Bower received a message from her estranged daughter while he was showing her an invite from Buckingham Palace, asking Madness to play at the Diamond Jubilee Concert.

He said: ‘She put the letter to one side, opens the laptop and says: “Look at this.” She had a friend request from someone she didn’t know saying, “I think you are my mum.”

‘It was a marvellous surprise to discover my mum had found her. It was a very miraculous thing for sure.’

Suggsy’s family revelation comes amid a wild life and career for the ’80s rocker. Releasing the band’s memoir in 2019, he told Metro.co.uk how he and his bandmates were always on the verge of prison following a lifetime of ‘drink, drugs and debauchery.’

‘Our lives were so crazy, we were all on the verge of going to prison for pretty much the whole of our lives,’ he laughed.

Formed in 1976, Madness originally consisted of Mike Barson, Chris Foreman, Lee Thompson, Cathal Smyth and Dikran Tulaine. They were later joined by Suggs, who took over from Dikran as lead vocalist after seeing the band perform in a friend’s garden.

Success followed their debut studio album, One Step Beyond in 1979, which propelled the band to fame, and stayed in the British charts for 78 weeks, peaking there at number 2.

As members of the line-up came and went, and the band clashed over musical differences, Madness broke up in 1986 – with Suggs and three other members launching their own spin-off, named The Madness.

When that band’s album and two singles failed to break the top 40, the band once again broke up.

In 1992, the band reunited with its original line-up at the reunion concert Madstock! in Finsbury Park, London.

Madness has continued to perform in the years which followed, appearing in a series of concerts and festival appearances, and producing six studio albums since 1999.

The band’s memoir was turned into the three-part documentary Before We Was We: Madness By Madness in 2021, featuring original footage from both former and current members of the line-up.

”I don’t remember thinking about whether it was going to last,’ Suggs recalled. ‘The idea that I was ever going to make a career of it was totally beyond my comprehension.’

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