Labi Siffre: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|British singer, songwriter and poet (born 1945)}}
{{Short description|British singer, songwriter and poet (born 1945)}}
{{distinguish|Lalo Schifrin}}
{{for|Siffre's self-titled album|Labi Siffre (album)}}
{{for|Siffre's self-titled album|Labi Siffre (album)}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Labi Siffre
| name              = Labi Siffre
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| birth_name        = Claudius Afolabi Siffre
| birth_name        = Claudius Afolabi Siffre
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1945|6|25}}
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1945|6|25}}
| birth_place      =  
| birth_place      = [[Hammersmith]], London, England
| background        = solo_singer
| background        = solo_singer
| occupation        = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|poet}}
| occupation        = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|poet}}
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| years_active      = 1970–present
| years_active      = 1970–present
| label            = {{hlist|[[EMI]]|[[Pye Records|Pye]]|[[China Records|China]]}}
| label            = {{hlist|[[EMI]]|[[Pye Records|Pye]]|[[China Records|China]]}}
| website          = {{URL|https://www.intothelight.info/}}
}}
}}
'''Claudius Afolabi''' "'''Labi'''" '''Siffre'''<ref name="Independent"/> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|æ|.|b|i|_|s|ɪ|f|r|i}} {{respell|LAB|ee|_|SIF|ree}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYW5pffV2fY&t=14s|title=Disturbing Definitions: Labi Siffre|author=TEDxBrayfordPool|date=5 December 2017|via=YouTube|access-date=1 February 2023}}</ref> born 25 June 1945)<ref name="CL">{{cite book|last1=Larkin|first1=Colin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195313734|page=1218|edition=4th}}</ref> 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 (Labi Siffre song)|It Must Be Love]]", which reached number 14 on the [[UK Singles Chart]] in 1971 (and was later covered by the band [[Madness (band)|Madness]]),<ref name="CL"/> "[[Crying Laughing Loving Lying]]", and "[[(Something Inside) So Strong]]"—an [[Anti-Apartheid Movement|anti-apartheid]] song inspired by a television documentary in which white soldiers in [[South Africa]] 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]] for [[Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically|Best Song Musically and Lyrically]] from the [[British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors]], and it has been used in [[Amnesty International]] campaigns.
'''Claudius Afolabi''' "'''Labi'''" '''Siffre'''<ref name="Independent"/> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|æ|.|b|i|_|s|ɪ|f|r|i}} {{respell|LAB|ee|_|SIF|ree}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYW5pffV2fY&t=14s|title=Disturbing Definitions: Labi Siffre|date=5 December 2017|via=YouTube|access-date=1 February 2023}}</ref> born 25 June 1945)<ref name="CL">{{cite book|last1=Larkin|first1=Colin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195313734|page=1218|edition=4th}}</ref> is a British singer, songwriter and poet.


Siffre has published essays, the stage and television play ''Deathwrite'' and three volumes of poetry: ''Nigger'', ''Blood on the Page'', and ''Monument''.<ref name="soul">{{cite web|title=Labi Siffre Page|url=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Labi%20Siffre.html|website=Soulwalking.co.uk|access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> In 2022, his life and work was explored in the series ''[[Imagine (TV series)|Imagine]]'', under the title, ''Labi Siffre: This Is My Song''.
Siffre released six albums from 1970 to 1975 and four from 1988 to 1998. His compositions include "[[It Must Be Love (Labi Siffre song)|It Must Be Love]]", which reached Number 14 on the [[UK singles chart]] in 1971 (and was later covered by the band [[Madness (band)|Madness]]),<ref name="CL"/> "[[Crying Laughing Loving Lying]]", and "[[(Something Inside) So Strong]]" — an [[Anti-Apartheid Movement|anti-apartheid]] song inspired by a television documentary in which white soldiers in South Africa 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]] for [[Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically|Best Song Musically and Lyrically]] from the [[British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors]], and it has been used in [[Amnesty International]] campaigns.
 
He has published essays, the stage and television play ''Deathwrite'' and three volumes of poetry: ''Nigger'', ''Blood on the Page'', and ''Monument''.<ref name="soul">{{cite web|title=Labi Siffre Page|url=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Labi%20Siffre.html|website=Soulwalking.co.uk|access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> In 2022, his life and work was explored in the series ''[[Imagine (TV series)|Imagine]]'', under the title, ''Labi Siffre: This Is My Song''.


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Claudius Afolabi Siffre<ref name="Independent">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/culture/labi-siffre-eminem-my-name-is-sample-it-must-be-love-madness-a9439026.html|title=Labi Siffre, the black, gay musician whose music helped make Eminem famous|last=Pollard|first=Alexandra|date=1 April 2020|website=[[The Independent]]|language=en|access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> was born in 1945 as the fourth of five brothers<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bigissue.com/culture/music/labi-siffre-music-life-career-gay-black-husbands/|title=Labi Siffre: 'I've had far more difficulties in my life due to being a homosexual than being Black'|first=Jamie|last=Atkins|date=21 April 2024|work=The Big Issue}}</ref> to a British mother of [[white British]] and [[Barbadian British|Afro-Barbadian]] descent and a [[British Nigerian]] father. Siffre was brought up in [[Bayswater]] and [[Hampstead]] and educated at a Catholic independent day school, [[St Benedict's School, Ealing|St Benedict's School]], in [[Ealing]], [[West London]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Larkin, Colin|year=2002|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music|page=398|publisher=Virgin|isbn=978-1852279479}}</ref> Despite his [[Catholic school|Catholic education]], Siffre has stated that he has always been an [[atheist]].<ref name="New Humanist">{{cite news|url=https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/2915/qa-labi-siffre|title=Q&A: Labi Siffre|date=14 December 2012|work=[[New Humanist]]|access-date=12 March 2016|quote=I've always been an atheist. I've never had religious belief. Pre-teens, I assumed God was in the same make-believe category as Father Christmas; a game of pretend between children and grown-ups.}}</ref>
Claudius Afolabi Siffre<ref name="Independent">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/culture/labi-siffre-eminem-my-name-is-sample-it-must-be-love-madness-a9439026.html|title=Labi Siffre, the black, gay musician whose music helped make Eminem famous|last=Pollard|first=Alexandra|date=1 April 2020|website=[[The Independent]]|language=en|access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> was born in [[Hammersmith]], London in 1945 as the fourth of five brothers<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bigissue.com/culture/music/labi-siffre-music-life-career-gay-black-husbands/|title=Labi Siffre: 'I've had far more difficulties in my life due to being a homosexual than being Black'|first=Jamie|last=Atkins|date=21 April 2024|work=The Big Issue}}</ref> to a British mother of [[white British]] and [[Barbadian British|Afro-Barbadian]] descent and a [[British Nigerian]] father. Siffre was brought up in [[Bayswater]] and [[Hampstead]] and educated at a Catholic independent day school, [[St Benedict's School, Ealing|St Benedict's School]], in [[Ealing]], [[West London]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Larkin, Colin|year=2002|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music|page=398|publisher=Virgin|isbn=978-1852279479}}</ref>
 
Siffre studied music at the [[Eric Gilder School of Music]] in [[Wardour Street]], [[Soho]], London. Gilder is remembered with gratitude in Siffre's poem "education education education".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.intothelight.info/ozz/poems__poetry__political/index.html|title=Labi Siffre - poetry into the light: poems / poetry: political|website=Intothelight.info|access-date=9 July 2021}}</ref>


Siffre studied music at the [[Eric Gilder School of Music]] in [[Wardour Street]], [[Soho]], London. Gilder is remembered with gratitude in Siffre's poem "education education education".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.intothelight.info/ozz/poems__poetry__political/index.html|title=Labi Siffre - poetry into the light: poems / poetry: political|website=Intothelight.info|access-date=9 July 2021}}</ref> After leaving school, Siffre worked as a taxi driver and a deliveryman, before deciding to concentrate on music.<ref name="CL"/>
==Career==
After leaving school, Siffre worked as a taxi driver and a deliveryman, before deciding to concentrate on music.<ref name="CL"/>


Siffre played jazz guitar at [[Annie Ross]]'s jazz club in Soho, London, in the 1960s as part of a [[Hammond organ]], guitar, drums house band.<ref name="New Humanist" />
Siffre played jazz guitar at [[Annie Ross]]'s jazz club in Soho, London, in the 1960s as part of a [[Hammond organ]], guitar, drums house band.<ref name="New Humanist" />
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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.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Mathur|first=Paul|date=August 1989|title=So Strong|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kPkc1_IBN2kC&pg=PA32|page=32|issn=0886-3032|access-date=23 May 2015|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]}}</ref> He wrote "[[(Something Inside) So Strong]]" (No. 4, 1987),<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> which he also performed on ''Top of the Pops'', and released four more albums between 1988 and 1998.
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.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Mathur|first=Paul|date=August 1989|title=So Strong|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kPkc1_IBN2kC&pg=PA32|page=32|issn=0886-3032|access-date=23 May 2015|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]}}</ref> He wrote "[[(Something Inside) So Strong]]" (No. 4, 1987),<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> 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]] songs in the 1990s, most notably in the 1999 [[Eminem]] single "[[My Name Is]]".<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|last1=Azpiri|first1=Jon|title=Artist Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/labi-siffre-mn0000098819/biography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> As a result of the song's newfound fame, it was finally released as a single in 2003.<ref name="Sampling">{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Lucy |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/when-sampling-goes-wrong-761965|title=When Sampling Goes Wrong|date=27 September 2012|work=[[NME]]|access-date=13 June 2018}}</ref> The track was also featured in the ''[[Better Call Saul]]'' episode "[[Bagman (Better Call Saul)|Bagman]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fogarty |first=Paul |date=8 April 2020 |title=Better Call Saul: Bagman's use of Labi Siffre's 'I Got The...' wins praise from surprised fans |url=https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/04/08/better-call-saul-labi-siffre-eminem-i-got-the-bagman-season-5-tv/ |access-date=9 November 2023 |website=HITC |language=en-GB}}</ref>
In 2023, Siffre's 1972 ballad ''[[Crying Laughing Loving Lying]]'' was used in the soundtrack of ''[[The Holdovers]]'', an Oscar-nominated film, "introducing Siffre to a new generation."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=A New Labi Siffre Compilation Will Finally Be Released in the U.S.|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/labi-siffre-best-of-release-1235399639/|website=Rolling Stone|date=5 August 2025|access-date=28 November 2025|language=en-US|first=David|last=Browne}}</ref> His music was also used in the 2020s on the soundtracks of [[Better Call Saul|''Better Call Saul'']], ''[[Hacks (TV series)|Hacks]]'', ''[[Sentimental Value]]''<ref>movie credits</ref> and other popular television and film soundtracks.<ref name=":0" />
 
In 2025, a remastered version of Siffre's 1971 single "Bless The Telephone" went viral online, further spurring on the Siffre revival.<ref>{{Cite news|title=People Are Rediscovering a '70s Folk Legend, 80: 'Truly Underrated Artist'|url=https://parade.com/news/labi-siffre-rediscover|work=Parade|date=10 October 2025|access-date=28 November 2025|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251010173728/https://parade.com/news/labi-siffre-rediscover|archive-date=10 October 2025|language=en|first=Lauren|last=Gordon}}</ref> Siffre also has a large social media following.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TikTok - Make Your Day|url=https://www.tiktok.com/@labisiffremusic|website=tiktok|access-date=28 November 2025|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250705203425/https://www.tiktok.com/@labisiffremusic|archive-date=5 July 2025|language=en}}</ref>
 
==Legacy==
Multiple parts of Siffre's 1975 track "[[I Got The...]]" were sampled in popular [[hip hop]] songs in the 1990s, most notably in the 1999 [[Eminem]] single "[[My Name Is]]".<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|last1=Azpiri|first1=Jon|title=Artist Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/labi-siffre-mn0000098819/biography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> As a result of the song's newfound fame, it was finally released as a single in 2003.<ref name="Sampling">{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Lucy |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/when-sampling-goes-wrong-761965|title=When Sampling Goes Wrong|date=27 September 2012|work=[[NME]]|access-date=13 June 2018}}</ref> The track was also featured in the ''[[Better Call Saul]]'' episode "[[Bagman (Better Call Saul)|Bagman]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fogarty |first=Paul |date=8 April 2020 |title=Better Call Saul: Bagman's use of Labi Siffre's 'I Got The...' wins praise from surprised fans |url=https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/04/08/better-call-saul-labi-siffre-eminem-i-got-the-bagman-season-5-tv/ |access-date=9 November 2023 |website=HITC |language=en-GB |archive-date=9 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109184959/https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/04/08/better-call-saul-labi-siffre-eminem-i-got-the-bagman-season-5-tv/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Siffre's 1972 track "My Song", the 10th track on his album ''[[Crying Laughing Loving Lying]]'', was sampled by rapper [[Kanye West]] on the song "[[I Wonder (Kanye West song)|I Wonder]]" on his third album ''[[Graduation (album)|Graduation]]''.<ref>{{cite web | author=Greenberg,August | title=Sample School: Labi Siffre| url=https://wvau.org/7522/uncategorized/archives/sample-school-labi-siffre/| publisher=[[WVAU]] | date=29 October 2018 | access-date=24 March 2023}}</ref>
Siffre's 1972 track "My Song", the 10th track on his album ''[[Crying Laughing Loving Lying]]'', was sampled by rapper [[Kanye West]] on the song "[[I Wonder (Kanye West song)|I Wonder]]" on his third album ''[[Graduation (album)|Graduation]]''.<ref>{{cite web | author=Greenberg, August | title=Sample School: Labi Siffre| url=https://wvau.org/7522/uncategorized/archives/sample-school-labi-siffre/| publisher=[[WVAU]] | date=29 October 2018 | access-date=24 March 2023}}</ref>


In February 2022, the [[BBC]] broadcast ''Labi Siffre: This Is My Song'', as part of the ''[[Imagine (TV series)|Imagine]]'' series, in which [[Alan Yentob]] presented a film exploring Siffre's life and work.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014jmn | title=BBC One - imagine..., 2022, Labi Siffre: This is My Song|publisher=BBC }}</ref>
In February 2022, the [[BBC]] broadcast ''Labi Siffre: This Is My Song'', as part of the ''[[Imagine (TV series)|Imagine]]'' series, in which [[Alan Yentob]] presented a film exploring Siffre's life and work.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014jmn | title=BBC One - imagine..., 2022, Labi Siffre: This is My Song|publisher=BBC }}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Siffre met his partner Peter Lloyd in July 1964 and they were together for 48 years. They entered into a [[civil partnership]] in 2005, as soon as it was [[Civil partnership in the United Kingdom|legally possible in the UK]].<ref name="New Humanist" /> From the mid-1990s until Lloyd's death in 2013, he and Siffre lived in a ''[[ménage à trois]]'' 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.<ref name="Guardian1">{{cite web |first=Tim |last=Jonze |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/31/i-had-the-perfect-life-then-both-my-husbands-died-singer-labi-siffre-on-love-loss-and-happiness |title='I had the perfect life – then both my husbands died': Singer Labi Siffre on love, loss – and happiness |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=31 January 2022}}</ref> As of 2022, Siffre lives in Spain.<ref name="Guardian1"/>
Siffre met his partner Peter Lloyd in July 1964 and they were together for 48 years. They entered into a [[civil partnership]] in 2005, as soon as it was [[Civil partnership in the United Kingdom|legally possible in the UK]].<ref name="New Humanist" /> From the mid-1990s until Lloyd's death in 2013, he and Siffre lived in a ''[[ménage à trois]]'' with Rudolf van Baardwijk in the village of [[Cwmdu, Powys|Cwmdu]], near Crickhowell, South Wales. Siffre and van Baardwijk married in December 2014. Van Baardwijk died in 2016.<ref name="Guardian1">{{cite web |first=Tim |last=Jonze |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/31/i-had-the-perfect-life-then-both-my-husbands-died-singer-labi-siffre-on-love-loss-and-happiness |title='I had the perfect life – then both my husbands died': Singer Labi Siffre on love, loss – and happiness |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=31 January 2022}}</ref> As of 2022, Siffre lives in Spain.<ref name="Guardian1"/>


In 2014, Siffre appeared on the [[BBC Radio 4]] series ''Great Lives'', championing the life of British author [[Arthur Ransome]]. Siffre said that Ransome's [[Swallows and Amazons series|''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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Lives, Series 34, Labi Siffre on Arthur Ransome |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04g8jh3 |website=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref>
In 2014, Siffre appeared on the BBC Radio 4 series ''[[Great Lives]]'', championing the life of British author [[Arthur Ransome]]. Siffre said that Ransome's [[Swallows and Amazons series|''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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Lives, Series 34, Labi Siffre on Arthur Ransome |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04g8jh3 |website=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> Siffre is an [[atheist]].<ref name="New Humanist">{{cite news|url=https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/2915/qa-labi-siffre|title=Q&A: Labi Siffre|date=14 December 2012|work=[[New Humanist]]|access-date=12 March 2016|quote=I've always been an atheist. I've never had religious belief. Pre-teens, I assumed God was in the same make-believe category as Father Christmas; a game of pretend between children and grown-ups.}}</ref>


==Discography==
==Discography==
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===Live albums===
===Live albums===
* ''The Last Songs (Re-mastered) (2006)
* ''The Last Songs (Re-mastered)'' (2006)


===Compilation albums===
===Compilation albums===
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|-
|-
! style="width:35px;"|<small>[[UK Singles Chart|UK]]</small><br><ref name="UK">{{Cite web|title=Labi Siffre {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14472/labi-siffre/|access-date=13 August 2020|publisher=Official Charts Company}}</ref>
! style="width:35px;"|<small>[[UK Singles Chart|UK]]</small><br><ref name="UK">{{Cite web|title=Labi Siffre {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14472/labi-siffre/|access-date=13 August 2020|publisher=Official Charts Company}}</ref>
! style="width:35px;"|<small>[[Kent Music Report|AUS]]</small><br><ref>{{Cite web|last=Grant|title=Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1972|url=https://www.top100singles.net/2011/11/every-amr-top-100-single-in-1972.html|access-date=13 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Grant|title=Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1987|url=https://www.top100singles.net/2011/10/every-amr-top-100-single-in-1987.html|access-date=13 August 2020}}</ref>
! style="width:35px;"|<small>[[Kent Music Report|AUS]]</small><br><ref>{{Cite web|website=Top100singles.net|title=Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1972|url=https://www.top100singles.net/2011/11/every-amr-top-100-single-in-1972.html|access-date=13 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|website=Top100singles.net|title=Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1987|url=https://www.top100singles.net/2011/10/every-amr-top-100-single-in-1987.html|access-date=13 August 2020}}</ref>
! style="width:35px;"|<small>[[Ö3 Austria Top 40|AUT]]</small><br><ref>{{Cite web|title=Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal|url=https://austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=labi%20siffre&cat=s|access-date=13 August 2020|website=Austriancharts.at}}</ref>
! style="width:35px;"|<small>[[Ö3 Austria Top 40|AUT]]</small><br><ref>{{Cite web|title=Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal|url=https://austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=labi%20siffre&cat=s|access-date=13 August 2020|website=Austriancharts.at}}</ref>
! style="width:35px;"|<small>[[Ultratop|BE (FLA)]]</small><br><ref>{{Cite web|title=ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/search.asp?search=labi%20siffre&cat=s|access-date=13 August 2020|website=Ultratop.be}}</ref>
! style="width:35px;"|<small>[[Ultratop|BE (FLA)]]</small><br><ref>{{Cite web|title=ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/search.asp?search=labi%20siffre&cat=s|access-date=13 August 2020|website=Ultratop.be}}</ref>
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{{notelist-ua}}
{{notelist-ua}}


==Notable cover versions & samples of Siffre's songs==
==Notable cover versions and samples of Siffre's songs==
* "[[It Must Be Love (Labi Siffre song)|It Must Be Love]]" was covered by [[Madness (band)|Madness]] in 1981. The song reached Number 4 in the UK chart<ref name="Madness"/> and Number 33 in the U.S. in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|title=Madness Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography |url=https://www.musicvf.com/Madness.art|website=Music VF|access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> Labi Siffre also made a cameo appearance in the music video.
* "[[It Must Be Love (Labi Siffre song)|It Must Be Love]]" was covered by [[Madness (band)|Madness]] in 1981. The song reached Number 4 in the UK chart,<ref name="Madness"/> and Number 33 in the U.S. in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|title=Madness Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography |url=https://www.musicvf.com/Madness.art|website=Music VF|access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref name="So Strong">{{cite web |title=So Strong|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/so%20strong/|website=Official Charts Company|access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> [[Rik Waller]] also covered the song while a contestant on ''[[Pop Idol]]'', hitting number 25 in the UK Singles Chart in 2002.<ref name="So Strong"/>
* "[[(Something Inside) So Strong]]" was covered by singer [[Michael Ball]] in 1996, reaching Number 40 in the UK.<ref name="So Strong">{{cite web |title=So Strong|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/so%20strong/|website=Official Charts Company|access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> [[Rik Waller]] also covered the song while a contestant on ''[[Pop Idol]]'', hitting Number 25 in the UK Singles Chart in 2002.<ref name="So Strong"/>
* ”My Song” was sampled by [[rapper]] [[Kanye West|Ye, also known as Kanye West]], on his 2007 song “[[I Wonder (Kanye West song)|I Wonder]]” on the album ”[[Graduation (album)|Graduation]]”. Siffre received a songwriting credit on the track as a result.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pytlik |first=Mark |title=Kanye West: Graduation |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10658-graduation/ |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>
* "My Song" was sampled by [[rapper]] [[Kanye West|Kanye West, also known as Ye]], on his 2007 song "[[I Wonder (Kanye West song)|I Wonder]]" on the album ''[[Graduation (album)|Graduation]]''. Siffre received a songwriting credit on the track as a result.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pytlik |first=Mark |title=Kanye West: Graduation |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10658-graduation/ |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>
* "[[I Got The...]]" was sampled by producer [[Dr. Dre]] for rapper [[Eminem]]'s 1999 breakout single, "[[My Name Is]]" from the album ''[[The Slim Shady LP]].'' Siffre initially denied the duo permission to use the sample, based on his objection to homophobic and misogynistic lyrical content in the song, but ultimately agreed to let them release the record having heard only the song's clean version.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newhumanist.org.uk/2915/qa-labi-siffre|title=Q&A: Labi Siffre|date=14 December 2012|website=Newhumanist.org.uk|access-date=18 August 2025}}</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.intothelight.info}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b040hx6j ''Something Inside So Strong''], Soul Music, BBC Radio 4
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b040hx6j ''Something Inside So Strong''], Soul Music, BBC Radio 4
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04g8jh3 ''Arthur Ransome''], Great Lives, BBC Radio 4
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04g8jh3 ''Arthur Ransome''], Great Lives, BBC Radio 4
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Latest revision as of 21:06, 15 December 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Script error: No such module "For". Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Claudius Afolabi "Labi" Siffre[1] (Template:IPAc-en Script error: No such module "Respell".,[2] born 25 June 1945)[3] 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),[3] "Crying Laughing Loving Lying", and "(Something Inside) So Strong" — an anti-apartheid song inspired by a television documentary in which white soldiers in South Africa 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 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and it has been used in Amnesty International campaigns.

He has published essays, the stage and television play Deathwrite and three volumes of poetry: Nigger, Blood on the Page, and Monument.[4] 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[1] was born in Hammersmith, London in 1945 as the fourth of five brothers[5] to a British mother of white British and Afro-Barbadian descent and a British Nigerian father. Siffre was brought up in Bayswater and Hampstead and educated at a Catholic independent day school, St Benedict's School, in Ealing, West London.[6]

Siffre studied music at the Eric Gilder School of Music in Wardour Street, Soho, London. Gilder is remembered with gratitude in Siffre's poem "education education education".[7]

Career

After leaving school, Siffre worked as a taxi driver and a deliveryman, before deciding to concentrate on music.[3]

Siffre played jazz guitar at Annie Ross's jazz club in Soho, London, in the 1960s as part of a Hammond organ, guitar, drums house band.[8]

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) (later covered by and a No. 4 hit for Madness,[9] for which Siffre himself appeared in the video); "Crying Laughing Loving Lying" (No. 11, 1972); and "Watch Me" (No. 29, 1972).[10] In 1978, Siffre took part in the heats to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. 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 contest.[11] 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.[12] He wrote "(Something Inside) So Strong" (No. 4, 1987),[10] which he also performed on Top of the Pops, and released four more albums between 1988 and 1998.

In 2023, Siffre's 1972 ballad Crying Laughing Loving Lying was used in the soundtrack of The Holdovers, an Oscar-nominated film, "introducing Siffre to a new generation."[13] His music was also used in the 2020s on the soundtracks of Better Call Saul, Hacks, Sentimental Value[14] and other popular television and film soundtracks.[13]

In 2025, a remastered version of Siffre's 1971 single "Bless The Telephone" went viral online, further spurring on the Siffre revival.[15] Siffre also has a large social media following.[16]

Legacy

Multiple parts of Siffre's 1975 track "I Got The..." were sampled in popular hip hop songs in the 1990s, most notably in the 1999 Eminem single "My Name Is".[17] As a result of the song's newfound fame, it was finally released as a single in 2003.[18] The track was also featured in the Better Call Saul episode "Bagman".[19]

Siffre's 1972 track "My Song", the 10th track on his album Crying Laughing Loving Lying, was sampled by rapper Kanye West on the song "I Wonder" on his third album Graduation.[20]

In February 2022, the BBC broadcast Labi Siffre: This Is My Song, as part of the Imagine series, in which Alan Yentob presented a film exploring Siffre's life and work.[21]

Personal life

Siffre met his partner Peter Lloyd in July 1964 and they were together for 48 years. They entered into a civil partnership in 2005, as soon as it was legally possible in the UK.[8] From the mid-1990s until Lloyd's death in 2013, he and Siffre lived in a ménage à trois 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.[22] As of 2022, Siffre lives in Spain.[22]

In 2014, Siffre appeared on the BBC Radio 4 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.[23] Siffre is an atheist.[8]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album UK
[24]
1970 Labi Siffre —
1971 The Singer and the Song 47
1972 Crying Laughing Loving Lying 46
1973 For the Children —
1975 Remember My Song —
Happy —
1988 So Strong —
1991 Man of Reason —
1998 The Last Songs —
Monument (Spoken Word) —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

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

Year Single Chart positions Certifications
UK
[24] 		AUS
[25][26] 		AUT
[27] 		BE (FLA)
[28] 		IRE
[29] 		NL 40
[30] 		NL 100
[31] 		US R&B
[32]
1970 "Too Late" — — — — — — — —
"A Little More Line" (Germany-only release) — — — — — — — —
1971 "Thank Your Lucky Star" — — — — — — — —
"Get to the Country" 53Template:Efn — — — — — — —
"It Must Be Love" 14 46 — — — 21 25 —
1972 "Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying" 11 — — — — — —Template:Efn —
"Watch Me" 29 — — — 7 16 14 —
1973 "Give Love" — — — — — — — —
"If You Have Faith" — — — — — — — —
"(Just) A Little More Line" (Netherlands-only release) — — — — — — — —
1974 "Dreamer" — — — — — — — —
1975 "Another Year — — — — — — — —
"Love-a-Love-a-Love-a-Love-a-Love" — — — — — — — —
"Second Time Around" — — — — — — — —
1976 "Staride to Nowhere" — — — — — — — —
"You've Got a Hold on Me" — — — — — — — —
"Doctor Doctor" (France and Italy-only release) — — — — — — — —
1977 "Do the Best You Can" — — — — — — — —
1978 "Solid Love" — — — — — — — —
1980 "One World Song" (with Jackie) — — — — — — — —
1981 "Run to Him" — — — — — — — —
1982 "Nightmare" — — — — — — — —
1987 "(Something Inside) So Strong" 4 76 — 14 2 3 4 49
"Nothin's Gonna Change" 52 — — 8 — 21 24 —
1988 "Listen to the Voices" 81 — 5 25 — 23 22 —
1989 "I Will Always Love You" — — — — — — — —
"And the Wind Blows" — — — — — — — —
1991 "Most People Sleep Alone" — — — — — — — —
"A Matter of Love — — — — — — — —
"City of Dreams" (promo only) — — — — — — — —
2003 "I Got The..." — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Notes Template:Notelist-ua

Notable cover versions and samples of Siffre's songs

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

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  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ movie credits
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

Template:Authority control

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