McLean (born Anthony McLean, 24 June 1980) is an English singer from

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

east East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

London. He was signed to

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

and then

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. His debut single "Broken" was released on 26 October 2009. The song was produced by The Schizofreniks and first released independently on 26 March 2007 on Schizofreniks Records, and has since then accrued over 20 million hits across major

social networking A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...

sites, including YouTube and MySpace.

Early life and career

McLean was born in 1980 in East London and grew up in Dagenham, Essex. He is the son of the

lovers rock Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.Larkin, Col ...

musician, John McLean. He is the brother of the footballer

Aaron McLean Aaron McLean (born 25 May 1983) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level he gained five caps for the England C team during his time in non-league. McLean began his senior career with Leyt ...

. Under the pseudonym of "Digga", he collaborated with

MJ Cole Matthew James Firth Coleman, better known by his stage name MJ Cole, is an English garage DJ, recording artist, record producer and remixer. Career Born in London, in his youth, Cole was classically trained on the oboe and piano, and won sch ...

on "Gotta Have It"; then with

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

duo

Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in ...

on the song "Take U There", which featured on the debut album, '' More Than Alot''. “Broken” was the underground song that caught the eye of big record companies and Mclean was signed to Atlantic.

Debut album

McLean worked with record producers

Fraser T Smith Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith (born 8 February 1971), known professionally as Fraser T. Smith, is an English record producer, songwriter and musician. Some of the singles he collaborated on include Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain", James Morrison's " ...

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American audio engineer and mixer. He is a three time Grammy Award recipient, having received 14 nominations for the award. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in ...

, Dylan "3D" Dresdow, Nate 'Danja' Hills, plus

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan (; born 1 January 1981), known professionally as Naughty Boy, is an English DJ, record producer, music programmer and songwriter. In 2012, Khan signed a three-year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a recording contract wit ...

(of Wiley and Chipmunk fame). Confirmed songs included " My Name", "Great Escape", "Try Me", "Finally in Love", "Broken" and the Smith-produced "One More Night". However, the album was never released. In 2013, Mclean released a free album on SoundCloud called ''Digga’s House''. In 2019, there were rumours McLean was soon to release a much anticipated EP.

Personal life

He is the nephew of 1990s singer

Bitty McLean Delroy Easton "Bitty" McLean (born 8 August 1972) is a British reggae, lovers' rock and ragga singer. He is best known for his three UK Top 10 hits in 1993 and 1994, including his debut offering " It Keeps Rainin' (Tears from My Eyes)". Caree ...

and is the older brother of professional footballer

. McLean has two daughters from a past relationship and is currently residing in Essex with his partner.

Discography

Singles

Guest appearances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLean 1980 births Living people 21st-century Black British male singers 21st-century British male singers British hip-hop singers British contemporary R&B singers English soul singers Asylum Records artists Atlantic Records artists English people of Guyanese descent People from Dagenham Singers from the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham