Claudius Afolabi "Labi" Siffre ( , born 25 June 1945) is a British singer, songwriter and poet. Siffre released six albums from 1970 to 1975 and four from 1988 to 1998. His compositions include " It Must Be Love", which reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart in 1971 (and was later covered by the band Madness), "

Crying Laughing Loving Lying ''Crying Laughing Loving Lying'' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Labi Siffre, released in 1972, by Pye International. All songs were written, performed and produced by Siffre, and the album was recorded at Chappell Stu ...

", and " (Something Inside) So Strong"—an anti-apartheid song inspired by a television documentary in which white soldiers in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

were filmed shooting at black civilians in the street—which hit number 4 on the UK chart. The latter song won Siffre the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...

, and it has been used in

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

campaigns. Siffre has published essays, the stage and television play ''Deathwrite'' and three volumes of poetry: ''Nigger'', ''Blood on the Page'', and ''Monument''. In 2022, his life and work was explored in the series '' Imagine'', under the title, ''Labi Siffre: This Is My Song''.

Early life and education

Claudius Afolabi Siffre was born in 1945 as the fourth of five children at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London, to a British mother of

white British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the White population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population was 49 ...

and

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descent and a British Nigerian father. Siffre was brought up in

Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

and

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

and educated at a Catholic independent day school, St Benedict's School, in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

, West London. Despite his

Catholic education Catholic education may refer to: * Catholic school, primary and secondary education organised by the Roman Catholic Church or affiliated organisations * Catholic higher education, higher education run by the Catholic Church or affiliated organisat ...

, Siffre has stated that he has always been an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. Siffre studied music at the Eric Gilder School of Music in

Wardour Street Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, London, Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century th ...

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

, London. Gilder is remembered with gratitude in Siffre's poem "education education education". After leaving school, Siffre worked as a taxi driver and a deliveryman, before deciding to concentrate on music. Siffre played jazz guitar at Annie Ross's jazz club in Soho, London, in the 1960s as part of a

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, guitar, drums house band. He released six albums between 1970 and 1975. In the early 1970s, three of his singles became hits: " It Must Be Love" (No. 14, 1971, and performed the song on the BBC's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'') (later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by and a No. 4 hit for Madness, for which Siffre himself appeared in the video); "

" (No. 11, 1972); and "Watch Me" (No. 29, 1972). In 1978, Siffre took part in the heats to represent the UK in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. He performed "Solid Love", co-written with Tom Shapiro, which placed fifth of the 12 songs up for consideration at the

A Song for Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English alphabet#Letter names, a'' (pronounced ), plural ...

contest. Additionally, he co-wrote the song "We Got It Bad", performed by Bob James, which came in 10th. Siffre came out of self-imposed retirement from music in 1985, when he saw a television film from Apartheid South Africa showing a white soldier shooting at black children. He wrote " (Something Inside) So Strong" (No. 4, 1987), which he also performed on ''Top of the Pops'', and released four more albums between 1988 and 1998. Multiple parts of Siffre's 1975 track " I Got The..." were sampled in popular

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

songs in the 1990s, most notably in the 1999

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

single " My Name Is". As a result of the song's newfound fame, it was finally released as a single in 2003. The track was also featured in the ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American legal crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for AMC. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–201 ...

'' episode "

Bagman The term bagman (or bag man) has different meanings in different countries. One group of definitions centers on the idea of traveling. In British usage, "bagman" is a term for a traveling salesman, first known from 1808. In Australian usage, it ...

". Siffre's 1972 track "My Song", the 10th track on his album ''

'', was sampled by rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

on the song " I Wonder" on his third album ''

Graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

''. In February 2022, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

broadcast ''Labi Siffre: This Is My Song'', as part of the '' Imagine'' series, in which

Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (11 March 1947 – 24 May 2025) was an English television executive and presenter. He held senior roles at the BBC, including head of music and arts, controller of BBC1 and BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadca ...

presented a film exploring Siffre's life and work.

Personal life

Siffre met his partner Peter Lloyd in July 1964 and they were together for 48 years. They entered into a

civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

in 2005, as soon as it was legally possible in the UK. From the mid-1990s until Lloyd's death in 2013, he and Siffre lived in a ''

ménage à trois A () is a domestic arrangement or committed relationship consisting of three people in polyamorous romantic or sexual relations with each other, and often dwelling together. The phrase is a loan from French meaning "household of three". ...

'' with Rudolf van Baardwijk in the village of Cwmdu, near Crickhowell, South Wales. Siffre and van Baardwijk married in December 2014. Van Baardwijk died in 2016. As of 2022, Siffre lives in Spain. In 2014, Siffre appeared on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

series ''Great Lives'', championing the life of British author Arthur Ransome. Siffre said that Ransome's ''Swallows and Amazons'' books had taught him responsibility for his own actions and also a morality that has influenced and shaped him throughout his life.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

* ''The Last Songs (Re-mastered) (2006)

Compilation albums

* ''The Best of Labi Siffre'' (1995) * ''It Must Be Love (The Best of Labi Siffre)'' (2016) * ''Gold'' (2019) * ''Watch Me'' (2023)

Singles

Notes

Notable cover versions of Siffre's songs

* " It Must Be Love" was covered by Madness in 1981. The song reached Number 4 in the UK chart and Number 33 in the U.S. in 1983. Labi Siffre also made a cameo appearance in the music video. * " (Something Inside) So Strong" was covered by singer Michael Ball in 1996, reaching Number 40 in the UK. Rik Waller also covered the song while a contestant on ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'', hitting number 25 in the UK Singles Chart in 2002.

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''Nigger'' (Xavier Books 1993) * ''Blood on the Page'' (Xavier Books 1995) * ''Monument'' (Xavier Books 1997)

Plays

* ''DeathWrite'' (Xavier Books 1997)

Essays

* ''Choosing the Stick They Beat You With'' (Penguin 2000)

References

External links

*
''Something Inside So Strong''
Soul Music, BBC Radio 4
''Arthur Ransome''
Great Lives, BBC Radio 4 {{DEFAULTSORT:Siffre, Labi 1945 births 20th-century Black British male singers 20th-century British male singers 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people Bell Records artists Black British LGBTQ people 20th-century Black British singers British soft rock musicians English atheists English expatriates in Spain English gay musicians English LGBTQ singers English LGBTQ songwriters English male poets English male songwriters English people of Barbadian descent English people of Belgian descent English people of Nigerian descent English soul singers Gay singers Gay songwriters LGBTQ people from London Living people Musicians from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham People educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing People from Bayswater People from Hammersmith People from Hampstead Pye Records artists Singers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Writers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham British political music artists