Andrew Roachford

Last updated

Andrew Roachford
MBE
Andrew Roachford.jpg
Roachford performing with Mike + The Mechanics in 2011
Background information
Born (1965-01-22) 22 January 1965 (age 60)
London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • percussion
Years active1987–present
Labels
Member of
Website roachford.co.uk

Andrew Roachford MBE (born 22 January 1965) is a British singer-songwriter and the main force behind the band Roachford, who scored their first success in 1989 with the hits "Cuddly Toy" and "Family Man". He has also had a successful solo career.

Contents

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to music. [1]

Early life and career

Andrew Roachford was born on 22 January 1965 in London, England to parents of West Indian descent. A band of the same name was formed in 1987, the line-up featuring Andrew Roachford (vocals, keyboards, percussion), Chris Taylor (drums), Hawi Gondwe (guitars) and Derrick Taylor (bass guitar). [2] By 1988, the band were touring, supporting acts such as Terence Trent D'Arby and the Christians. [2] Shortly afterward, a seven-album recording contract with Columbia was signed. [2] They went on to have a string of success throughout the 1990s, becoming Columbia's biggest-selling UK act for ten years. [3]

Roachford released his first solo studio album, Heart of the Matter, in 2003. His next studio album Word of Mouth was released in June 2005 under the band name Roachford. In 2010, Roachford joined Mike + The Mechanics along with Tim Howar. The following year the band's seventh studio album The Road was released featuring Roachford and Howar as lead vocalists, as well as their eighth studio album Let Me Fly (2017).

Roachford collaborated with Beverley Knight on his studio album Twice In a Lifetime, which was released in September 2020. It charted at number 31 on the UK Albums Chart. This was the first Roachford album to chart in the top 40 after a 23-year absence, last charting in 1997 with Feel .

Discography

Albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertification
UK
[4] [5]
AUS
[6]
AUT
[7]
GER
[8]
NZ
[9]
SWE
[10]
SWI
[11]
US
[12]
Roachford
  • Released: 9 September 1988
  • Label: CBS
1148109
Get Ready!
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: Columbia
201763649
Permanent Shade of Blue 2525211
Feel
  • Released: 29 September 1997
  • Label: Columbia
1961473750
The Roachford Files
  • Released: 9 October 2000
  • Label: Columbia
88100
Heart of the Matter
  • Released: 4 August 2003
  • Label: Absolute
  • Released under the artist name Andrew Roachford
The Very Best of Roachford
  • Released: 30 May 2005
  • Label: Columbia
Word of Mouth
  • Released: 27 June 2005
  • Label: Peppermint Jam/SPV
88
Where I Stand
  • Released: 10 April 2011
  • Label: M3 Records
Addictive
  • Released: September 2011
  • Label: M3 Records
This Beautiful Moment
  • Released: 2013
  • Label: M3 Records
Encore
  • Released: 2016
  • Label: M3 Records
Twice in a Lifetime
  • Released: 11 September 2020
  • Label: Sony BMG
316872
Then and Now
  • Released: 8 December 2023
  • Label: Sony BMG
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbum
UK
[4] [5]
AUS
[6]
AUT
[7]
FRA
[14]
GER
[15]
IRE
[16]
NED
[17]
NZ
[9]
SWI
[18]
US
[19]
1988"Family Man" Roachford
"Cuddly Toy"6173
"Find Me Another Love"100
1989"Cuddly Toy" (re-release)44971725
"Family Man" (re-release)2515718
"Kathleen"43
1991"Get Ready!"223543 Get Ready!
"Stone City"7758
"Innocent Eyes"91
"Higher"
1994"Only to Be with You"2118574424 Permanent Shade of Blue
"Lay Your Love on Me"3626557
"This Generation"38536032
"Cry for Me"46103
1995"I Know You Don't Love Me"42
1997"The Way I Feel"201059146 Feel
1998"How Could I? (Insecurity)"34198
"Naked Without You"5371
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" (MOBO Allstars)+47Non-album singles
1999"Walk Away" (PF Project featuring Roachford)
2000"From Now On"90The Roachford Files
2001"Run Baby Run" (Bustafunk featuring Roachford)1160Bustafunk(Bustafunk album)
2003"The Pressure"Heart of the Matter
2004"Pop Muzak" (Mousse T. with Roachford)141973Word of Mouth
2005"River of Love"85
"Tomorrow"
2007"Ride the Storm" (Roachford & M.Y.N.C. Project)Non-album singles
"Ride the Storm" (Remix)
(Carl Kennedy vs. M.Y.N.C Project featuring Roachford)
2010"Survive" (Laurent Wolf featuring Andrew Roachford)9Harmony(Laurent Wolf album)
2011"Wishing You Knew"Addictive
"Complicated"
2019"Love Remedy"Twice in a Lifetime
2020"What We Had" (featuring Beverley Knight) [20]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

References

  1. "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B20.
  2. 1 2 3 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 1019. ISBN   1-85227-745-9.
  3. Biography Roachford.co.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 UK chart peaks:
  5. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 465. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  6. 1 2 Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
  7. 1 2 "austriancharts.at > Roachford in der Österreichischen Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  8. German albums chart peaks:
  9. 1 2 "charts.nz > Roachford in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  10. "swedishcharts.com > Roachford in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  11. "hitparade.ch > Suche nach: Roachford (alben)" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  12. "Roachford Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard . Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1995 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  14. "lescharts.com > Roachford dans les Charts Français" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  15. German singles chart peaks:
  16. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for Roachford (from irishcharts.ie)". Imgur.com (original source published by Fireball Media). Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  17. "dutchcharts.nl > Roachford in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  18. "hitparade.ch > Suche nach: Roachford (songs)" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  19. "Roachford Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  20. Millar, Mark (12 March 2020). "ROACHFORD has announced a new single 'What We Had' featuring BEVERLEY KNIGHT". xsnoize. Retrieved 19 August 2020.