Bette Bright (born Catherine Anne Martin 23 December 1953) is an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

Personal life

Anne Martin was born in Tankerton. She lived at Tankerton Road, with her elder sister Alanah. Her father was Malcolm Martin. She attended

Rochester Grammar School Rochester Grammar School (known as Rochester Grammar School for Girls until 2006) often abbreviated to RGS is a grammar school for the education of girls between the ages of 11 and 18. It has Academy (English school), academy status. It is now k ...

, with A-levels in English, French, and Art. Afterwards she attended Notre Dame College of Education, in Liverpool. Anne Martin married to Graham McPherson aka Suggs, lead singer of Madness in 1981. Her sister Alanah, who became a broadcaster and scriptwriter for the BBC, was born on 17 January 1952; Alanah died in October 2012 of pancreatic cancer. Her husband was Keith Porritt.

Career

In the late 1970s, Bright was a singer for the

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

Deaf School Deaf School is an English art rock/New wave music, new wave band, formed in Liverpool, England, in January 1974. Overview Between 1976 and 1978, the year in which they split up, Deaf School recorded three albums for the Warner Brothers Music, ...

. After Deaf School disbanded, Bright went

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

with her

backing band A backup band or backing band is a Band (music), musical ensemble that typically Accompaniment, accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a Studio recording, recording session, and the ...

, 'The Illuminations'. Band members were Henry Priestman (formerly with band

Yachts A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

Rusty Egan Rusty Egan (born 19 September 1957 in London) is a British-Irish musician and DJ. Along with former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock (bass and vocals), Steve New (guitar and vocals), and Midge Ure (guitar, vocals, and keyboards), Egan was the ...

( Visage) and

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only offic ...

(

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

). Their

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

debut, a cover of " My Boyfriend's Back" in 1978, was followed by another cover, " Captain of Your Ship", which became a minor

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

hit. Bright's third single, "Hello, I Am Your Heart", dropped the Illuminations from the billing, and was her only chart hit. Issued in February 1980, the track entered the UK Singles Chart and spent a week at No. 50. Featured on the single (and receiving credit on the sleeve) was Lee 'Kix' Thompson on

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

. Around this same time, Bright (using her birth name, Anne Martin) spent some time as the singer of the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

band Gruppo Sportivo, and she also appeared in

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

's Sex Pistols

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, ''

The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'', also known as ''The Great Rock and Roll Swindle'', is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex P ...

''. In 1981, she issued the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

''Rhythm Breaks the Ice'', (Apparently erroneously linked to an album titled ''Lei Ana'' by Teresa Bright, a singer of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

an pop music) which featured songs she had written herself, but also classics like "Shoorah, Shoorah" as well as new interpretations of songs by Deaf School. Her backing band on this album - still called The Illuminations - was completely different from the group on her earlier singles, and had a similar line-up to Clive Langer & the Boxes: Clive Langer (

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

Ian Broudie Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (somet ...

(lead guitar), James Eller (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

); Jo Allen (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s); and Ben Barson,

brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

of Madness

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

Mike Barson ( keyboards). Martin Hughes subbed for Allen on two cuts; Clive Langer & The Boxes consisted of Langer, Eller, Barson and Hughes. The album was produced by Clanger/Winstanley. Working with Barson, Langer and

Alan Winstanley Alan Kenneth Winstanley (; born 2 November 1952) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer. Early life He was born in Fulham in November 1952 to parents Ken and Doreen. ...

, Bright got to know Madness, and she and Madness singer

Suggs Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is a British singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the ska band Madness, which ...

, fell in love. They

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

in 1982, and she retired. She appeared in 1984 as a homeless person in the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

of " One Better Day" by Madness and rejoined her fellow Deaf School members for a reunion and a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

in 1988. In 1992, she provided spoken word on "Walk You Home", a track on

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songw ...

's fourth album, '' Before & After''. In recent years, she has joined the reformed Deaf School for one-off appearances. In December 2007, at

The O2 The O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, Town square, piazzas, ...

venue Indigo2 for Madness' aftershow party, the band were joined on stage by her daughters, who sang

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

. She also sang with her husband, Suggs. Bright reunited with Deaf School once again in December 2009, for a selection of UK dates in London and Liverpool, including a date at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

References

External links

Deaf School Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bright, Bette 1953 births Living people 20th-century English women singers 21st-century English women singers Art pop singers Alumni of Liverpool Hope University British women punk rock singers Deaf School members British women new wave singers English new wave singers English women rock singers Musicians from Kent People educated at Rochester Grammar School People from Whitstable Protopunk musicians Radar Records artists

Personal life

Career

See also

References

External links