Junior

British funk and soul singer, songwriter, and performer Norman Washington Giscombe, Jr. – born on June 6, 1957 in Wandsworth, England – is better known by his stage name Junior. He is best known for his 1982 single “Mama Used to Say”, which reached the Top Ten on the U.S. R&B Singles chart and the UK singles chart. He first came to prominence as backing vocalist for UK-based soul and funk group Linx. Led by vocalist David Grant, Linx was initially a full band but after scoring their first hit in 1980, the band was reduced to a duo and Junior began pursuing a solo career. His first single, “Get Up and Dance”, was issued under his name Norman Giscombe, Jr. in 1981 but did not fare well in the charts. His second single – and first to be credited to Junior – was “Mama Used to Say”, which became a British hit, reaching Number 7 on the singles chart. That success was repeated in the States, where the single climbed to Number 2 on the R&B chart and Number 30 on the Hot 100. Junior’s debut album, Ji, was issued in 1982 and featured the additional singles “Too Late” and “I Can’t Help It”, neither of which reached the heights of “Mama Used to Say”. The album itself reached the Top 30 in the UK charts. Junior’s subsequent albums – including Inside Lookin’ Out (1983) and Acquired Taste (1985) – didn’t fare as well on the charts either. After a collaboration with The Council Collective (1984), his duet with Kim Wilde, "Another Step (Closer to You)", reached Number 6 in 1987. He continued to release albums and singles throughout the 1990s and 2000s but did not achieve significant chart success. In 2016, he joined forces with Omar, John Leee (singer of the group Imagination), Don-E and Noel McKoy and formed the group The British Collective.