{{short description|Jamaican reggae singer|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} {{Use British English|date=January 2015}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Barry Biggs | image = | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1946}}<ref name="Leggett"/> | birth_place = St. Andrew, Jamaica | death_date = | death_place = | instrument = Vocals | genre = Reggae | occupation = Singer | years_active = 1960s–present | label = | associated_acts = | website = | current_members = | past_members = }}
'''Barry Biggs''' (born 1946<ref name="Leggett"/> 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.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book|first=David|last=Roberts|year=2006|title=British Hit Singles & Albums|edition=19th|publisher=Guinness World Records Limited|location=London|isbn=1-904994-10-5|page=57}}</ref>
==Career== 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.<ref name="Leggett">{{cite web|author=Leggett, Steve|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/barry-biggs-mn0000139674/biography|title=Barry Biggs Biography|publisher=AllMusic}}</ref><ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|author=Larkin, Colin|year=1998|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae|publisher=Virgin Books|ISBN=0-7535-0242-9|page=26}}</ref>
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".<ref name="Leggett" /><ref name="Larkin" /> He broke through to international success in 1976 with "Work All Day", which had been recorded seven years earlier.<ref name="Leggett" /><ref name="Larkin" /> 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.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> He recorded two songs with Bunny Lee; "Sincerely" and "You're Welcome" which did well in the reggae charts.<ref name="Larkin" /> He topped the reggae chart in the UK with "Wide Awake in a Dream" and "A Promise Is a Comfort to a Fool".<ref name="Larkin" />
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").<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.coversproject.com/artist/barry%20biggs|title=Coversproject.com|access-date=26 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928084334/http://www.coversproject.com/artist/barry%20biggs|archive-date=28 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Leggett" />
Biggs continued to perform occasionally in the 2000s, notably at a 2008 service of thanksgiving for his former bandleader, Byron Lee.
==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<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/barry-biggs-mn0000139674/discography|title=Barry Biggs | Album Discography|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=30 June 2021}}</ref>
===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=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title ! scope="col" colspan="3"| Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Certifications |- ! style="width:40px;"| <small>BEL</small><br><ref>{{cite web|title=Discografie Barry Biggs|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Barry+Biggs#charts|website=ultratop.be|access-date=11 July 2022}}</ref> ! style="width:40px;"| <small>NLD</small><br><ref>{{cite web|title=Discografie Barry Biggs|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Barry+Biggs|website=dutchcharts.nl|access-date=11 July 2022|language=Dutch}}</ref> ! style="width:40px;"| <small>UK</small><br><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/><ref name="UK">{{cite web|title=BARRY BIGGS - full Official Chart History|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/15830/barry-biggs/|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=11 July 2022}}</ref> |- | rowspan="1"| 1971 | "One Bad Apple" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="1"| 1972 | "How Could I Let You Get Away" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="1"| 1973 | "I'm Stone in Love with You" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="1"| 1975 | "Lonely Girl" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="3"| 1976 | "You're Welcome" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "Work All Day" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | 38 | |- | "Sideshow" | align=center | ― | align=center | 17 | align=center | 3 | * BPI: Silver<ref>{{cite web|title=Barry Biggs - Sideshow|url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/5867-2712-1|website=bpi.co.uk|access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref> |- | rowspan="3"| 1977 | "You're My Life" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | 36 | |- | "Three Ring Circus" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | 22 | |- | "Sincerely" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="2"| 1978 | "Give Me a Call" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "Surely" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="2"| 1979 | "Too Much Heaven" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "What's Your Sign Girl?" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | 55 | |- | rowspan="4"| 1981 | "Wide Awake in a Dream" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | 44 | |- | "Love on a Two-Way Street" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "Promise Is a Comfort to a Fool" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "You're My Life" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="4"| 1982 | "This Is Good Life" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "Break Your Promise" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "Rain from the Sky" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="3"|1983 | "One of the Poorest People" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "Love Come Down" | align=center | 23 | align=center | 7 | align=center | ― | |- | "Reflections of My Life" <small>(with Ruddy Thomas)</small> | align=center | ― | align=center | 34 | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="2"| 1986 | "All I Have to Do Is Dream" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "Conversation" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="2"| 1987 | "If You Wanna Make Love" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | "Since You've Been Gone" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="1"| 1988 | "A Night Like This" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="1"| 1994 | "Time for Love" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | rowspan="1"| 1994 | "True Love" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |- | colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.kinkyjam.com/artisiti/ita/barry_biggs.htm Mini biography at Kinkyjam.com] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090523165227/http://roots-archives.com/artist/314 Discography] at Roots Archives
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Biggs, Barry}} Category:Living people Category:People from Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica Category:20th-century Jamaican male singers Category:Trojan Records artists Category:1946 births