Suggs Interview
Daily Express Magazine 1998
Following world-wide fame in the 80's with pop group Madness, Suggs 37, has a successful so career: his new single is from The Avengers soundtrack and he hosts Night Fever. He lives with his wife Anne and children, Scarlett 16, and Viva 13, in Camden, North London. Andrew Marshall hears his kiss-and-tell confessions.

Q: How would you word a lonely hearts ad?

A: Outwardly confident but inwardly shy man, who is remarkably unscathed despite rollercoaster existence, seeks highly organised, widely driven but passionate kisser.

Q. Who was the first person you chucked and why?

A: I met my wife when I was 18, so she was the first person I was really serious about. Up to that point, it had been very brief encounters, although I'm sure there will be girls reading this who'll claim to have been chucked by me, but I don't remember them. Honest.

Q: Have you ever turned down a marriage proposal, or made one and been turned down?

A: No. My proposal was not only accepted but positively encouraged! I was 21. After three years, it seemed right.

Q: If you could go back and change one thing in your lover life, what would it be?

A: More kissing. Once you stop being a teenager, you give up snogging. It's a shame. At first, you practice frantically and it's all you do. Sadly, It becomes less important as you get older.

Q: Could you forgive an infidelity?

A: Yes. People make mistakes, but if you love someone, you forgive them. I wholeheartedly believe in monogamy, but also believe you shouldn't end a good relationship over a thing deeply regretted.

Q: What was your most romantic moment?

A: Anne and I couldn't have a proper honeymoon because I was working, so we had a couple of nights at the Ritz in London. Apart from the night together, the most memorable moment was breakfast. Five blokes arrived pushing this enormous table with a linen cloth, flowers and champagne. After they left I jumped out of bed, naked, and marveled at our treasures - but the door opened again and another eight men wheeled in the rest of the breakfast. I had to wrap the tablecloth round me.

Q: Have you ever fallen in love with a friends partner?

A: If there is any chance of a long term relationship, go for it. It makes life easier and happier to have someone you love and trust than to keep changing. And don't undo a good relationship because you are aiming for perfection all the time.

Q: What are the three qualities in a potential partner?

A: Beauty passion and loyalty. It's what I thought at 18 and I haven't changed my mind.

Q: What nationality makes the best lovers? How do you know?

A: Irish. My wife has classic Irish looks: auburn hair and green eyes to match a fiery temper. I've also heard that men who live in Camden are not half bad either!

Q: Have you ever had sex outside?

A: In the sea on the beach. It was a bit salty, gritty and the sand gets into the most extraordinary places. There was no danger of us upstaging Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster.

Q: Have you ever had a holiday romance?

A: I have a holiday romance with my wife every time I go on holiday. We don't actively go out looking for a second honeymoon, but with fewer distractions it is easier to rediscover each other.

Q. Have you ever had a one-night stand?

A: Yes, when I was younger.

Q: What's the most useful thing you could tell your child about sex or relationships?

A: I was reading Scarlett's magazines. They're a torrent of advice, so I'm learning myself, but perhaps it would be, "Don't believe everything you read."

Q: Where were you when you lost your virginity?

A: There were a few fumbled half attempts, but I think it was really with my wife.

Q: Have you ever watched a porn film, or been to a sex shop?

A: I've never been to a sex shop. On tour, I've seen a bit of porn in European Hotel rooms but it does nothing for me. It's the grateous detail of the close-up I don't like.

Q: Do you believe in platonic friendships?

A: Yes, but there is an ambiguous sexual frisson in the atmosphere all the time.

Q: Do you kiss with your eyes open or closed?

A: Sometimes I want to share my feelings through my eyes, while at other times I want to lose myself in the experience without being distracted.

Q: Have you ever been in requited love, or been the object of it?

A: Appropriately enough, as my new single is from the 'The Avengers' movie Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. I think Uma Thurman is my ideal of a modern-version Emma Peel - only mistake is that they should've had me as Steed rather than Ralph Fiennes.