19 November 2023 , 08:30
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As the frontman of one of the most iconic bands in British history, Madness legend Graham 'Suggs' McPherson has led an colourful life. On top of clocking up an incredible 16 top-10 hits over the course of the group's 40-year history, the North London singer-songwriter has also showcased his talents in various other ways, venturing into the worlds of musical theatre, TV acting, and radio DJ-ing.
Behind his many amazing successes, however, Suggs has also had plenty of personal difficulties to contend with, from his wild days as a young rockstar to his painful experiences with a drug that left him feeling 'paranoid and alone'.
The bandmates enjoyed plenty of wild times in their youth (Getty Images)Rock and roll youth
By their own admission, Suggs and his Madness bandmates got into plenty of trouble in their youth, and were reportedly always 'on the verge of going to prison'. Speaking with the Metro at the 2019 Q Awards, shortly after the release of the band's memoir Before We Was We, Suggs appeared to hint that there were plenty more hair-raising anecdotes to share, enough to fill a second volume.
Pointing toward the door of the Roundhouse, a Camden music venue where the ceremony was being held, Suggs recalled: "There's a place over there called the Marathon and I remember someone got an acoustic guitar and smashed over their head. I can't remember who it was, and it wasn't me. [...] Our lives were so crazy, we were all on the verge of going to prison pretty much for the whole of our lives."
When the reporter quizzed Suggs about what exactly they were getting up to, Suggs, 62, simply winked: "Things that we shouldn't have." Suggs also divulged some of their more illicit antics in their documentary, also named Before We Was We, claiming that music saved them from a 'life of crime'.
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He explained: "Being in the band was like an extension of being in a gang - apart from the fact it wasn't just us smashing up phone boxes and kicking traffic cones down the road together. It was at a crossroads. A lot of those people we knew at that time did get into serious crime. We were all a little bit involved in that sort of thing and graffiti was the first thing. Music was a huge step in the right direction."
Suggs felt a 'bit lost' after leaving the band, and developed a serious habit (Redferns)
At first, Suggs' drug use was just 'a bit of fun', but he soon became concerned (Getty Images)Serious drug habit and pain over father's death
In an exclusive interview with the Mirror back in 2018, Suggs opened up about developing a dangerous ecstasy habit after bowing out of the music scene, during a period when he was feeling a 'bit lost'. He became particularly concerned due to the fact that his photographer dad William had been addicted to heroin and died in 1975 when Suggs was just 14.
Suggs revealed: "The band had just split up. I had two young kids and I just wanted to get back to reality. 'F*** being a pop star for a bit', I thought. Because of what happened to my dad I'd always said to myself I'd never take heroin but then ecstasy came along and everyone was doing it, and it just seemed like a bit of fun.
"But then suddenly you realise that actually you've become all the things you didn't want to become. I was thinking, 'God knows what else I can do to make a living', so there was definitely a period where I was a bit lost and I started to get paranoid about taking too much ecstasy."
He continued: "I started seeing this therapist. The first thing he said to me was, 'stop taking ecstasy'. He said, 'you can make your own nightmares come true', because I was getting freaked out and paranoid which was to do with the fact I didn't know what I was going to do next. I started pushing away the people I loved because I was testing them all the time. I saw this guy a few times and he said, 'You are just a bit scared', and he was right. I had left the comfort zone of the band and I was on my own again trying to work out who I was. It was scary."