Matt Goss | |
|---|---|
 Goss pictured in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Matthew Weston Goss 29 September 1968 |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, keyboards, programming |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Decca, Virgin |
| Website | mattgossofficial |
Matthew Weston Goss (born 29 September 1968) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer of 1980s pop group Bros, which also featured his twin brother Luke as the drummer. [1]
Goss was born on 29 September 1968 at Lewisham Hospital, in the London borough of Lewisham. He is the twin and younger brother of Luke Goss. [1]
The Goss twins, Matt and Luke, and their friend Craig Logan were just schoolboys when they became famous in 1986. [1] They sold 16 million records worldwide, hit the number one spot with tracks including "I Owe You Nothing" and "When Will I Be Famous?" and drove their fans wild with a hysteria dubbed "Brosmania". [1] Matt went on to become the youngest artist to headline Wembley Stadium, performing to 77,000 fans. [2]
Bros amassed millions of album sales, with their debut album, Push , going 4× Platinum in the UK and peaking at number two. It remained in the UK charts for 84 weeks. [3]
In 1989, Bros won the Brit Award for "Breakthrough Artist", receiving the award from Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood and Bill Wyman. [4]
After announcing a one-off Bros reunion show in the London O2 Arena in 2017, tickets sold out in a record-breaking seven seconds. [5]
After the breakup of Bros, Luke pursued a successful acting career, while Matt Goss set his sights on establishing himself as a solo artist in America. In 1995, Matt signed a promising two-album deal with Atlas Records and released his debut single, “The Key,” an upbeat pop anthem. Despite its potential, the single struggled to gain traction on radio, entering the UK Official Chart at a disappointing number 40 and the Belgium chart at number 35 and dropping out of the top 100 within a week. [6] [7]
Undeterred, Goss responded with a follow-up single, a cover of Alexander O’Neal’s “If You Were Here Tonight.” [8] This time, the reception was slightly better, with the single climbing to number 23 on the UK chart. However, it too quickly fell out of the top 100 after just three weeks. Despite these challenges, Atlas Records moved forward with the release of Matt’s album, also titled “The Key,” on August 26, 1995. Unfortunately, the album was met with scathing reviews that undermined Goss's credibility as a songwriter, and it ultimately failed to chart, selling fewer than 800 copies worldwide. [9] [10]
In the aftermath of this setback, Matt was quickly to blame Atlas Records, which had invested thousands in promotion and publicity yet faced considerable financial losses. Consequently, he was dropped from the label with immediate effect. [11]
The singer was eager to revive his career; Matt approached multiple record labels, yet none were willing to take the risk on an artist perceived to be struggling. [12] Matt would be absent from the music scene for nine-year before being signed by Concept Music, an independent label, in 2003. [13]
The small independent label decided to take a chance on the singer when others had given up. He released a pop/R&B single titled "I'm Coming With Ya," which was promoted for over six months. The single was officially released on November 15, 2003, and became his biggest solo hit todate, entering the UK official chart at number 22. However, it fell out of the top 100 within three weeks. [14] [15]
Concept Music continued to support the singer and invested thousands of pounds in promoting Matt's new album "Early Side of Later." The album combined songs from his unreleased project "Face the Wind." Released on June 21, 2004, "Early Side of Later" debuted at number 87 on the UK Official Chart but quickly fell out of the top 100, selling fewer than 1,000 copies worldwide. [16]
Matt again was quickly to blame Concept Music for the album’s failure, claiming they didn’t invest enough in its promotion, despite the album significant financial loss. As a result of his unproffessional conduct, he was dropped from the label with immediate effect.
The singer again would be absent from the music scene for a further five years before releasing his self-funded third album, "Gossy." The album, a collection of songs including singles from the unreleased album "Face the Wind,". The album failed to chart and received no radio airplay. Officially released on August 24, 2009, "Gossy" sold fewer than 500 copies worldwide and this time, Matt could only blame himself; it was evident that his former fans had lost interest in his music. [17]
Matt who dreamed of being the next George Micheal and who had betrayed his brother Luke had now come to dismal end. The Singer Mum Carol and his stepdad Tony step in to financially support the singer with Goss also having to sell his designer clothes and jewellery just to make end meet. Later that year, Matt borrowed money from his mom and flew to Vegas to reinvent himself as a Rat Pack singer. He met his new manager, Olly Rowland, who helped him secure a small 100-capacity room at the Palms Casino, named the "Gossy Room." [18] [19]
Despite the owner’s doubts, his daughter, a former Bros fan, convinced her dad to give Matt a chance. Matt performed two show's per week for stag and hen parties, but after nine months, the Gossy Room closed, with the singer moving his show to Caesars Palace Casino Hotel on a 3 year contract consisting of two show per week. [20]
Goss was given a 150 capacity room at the Cleopatra's Barge, Caesars Palace where again he name venue as the " Gossy Room". Caesar Palace went above and beyond to promoted the singer as the new king of Vegas in their in-house casino magazine. Matt again performed just two shows per week with prices for the show's costing $63 dollars around £39 in British currency. During his residency. Whilst at Ceaser Palce his manager, Olly Rowland, convinced Decca Records to sign the singer to a one-album deal in 2013. [21] [22] [23]
Matt released a Rat Pack-style album titled "Life You Imagine," hoping to finally break into the U.S. music market. He portrayed himself as the UK’s answer to Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublé, claiming he had a better show and singing voice than Bublé. Unfortunately, the album flopped in America, prompting Decca Records to collaborate with Virgin Music to reissue it for the British market. " Life You Imagine was officially released on October 26, 2013, where it charted at number 27 on the UK Official Chart before falling out of the charts in its second week. [24]
During his singing career and as part of "Bros" he has performed in venues all over the world, including Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden NY, The Royal Albert Hall, The O2 Arena.
Goss wrote the theme song "Lovely Las Vegas" for the TV station Fox 5. [25] He also wrote the theme song "It’s The End of the Road" for the American TV show So You Think You Can Dance . [26] [27]
Goss contributed one song to the soundtrack of the movie Stuart Little , writing the song "Lucky Day'" The song was never used in the film but kept on the orignial soundtrack. [28] [29]
Goss has also worked with international DJ Paul Oakenfold on the single "Firefly", which was remixed and reached #1 on the world trance dance charts. [30]
In 2016, Goss won The SSE Arena award for best live show at SSE venue however this award was critised by many in the industry as people could vote who not even attended any SSE shows leaving the voting to manipulation. Matt 2016 show was attended by less then 4000 fans but he won the award by 12,000 votes. the singer even posted to all his social media followers begging them to vote with some voting over 500 times each, many felt this was unfair and complained SSE who then changed the format to one person one vote and you had provide evidence you actually attended the show. SSE eventually phasing out the award. [31] and in 2018 he was awarded the key to the city of Las Vegas. [32]
2018 saw the release of the 3 x BAFTA-nominated and BAFTA winning documentary Bros: After The Screaming Stops , which was about Matt and his brother's life. It premiered at the BFI London Film Festival. [33] It won "Best Documentary" at the National Film Awards and instantly received a 100% rating from Rotten Tomatoes. [34]
The film also won "Moment of the Year" at the 2019 BBC Radio & Music Awards. [35] Following a national theatre release, the movie went on to become the most downloaded BBC production in 2018 and has now been viewed more than 20 million times. [35] [36]
In 2023, Goss embarked on his 14 date UK tour, which began at the Royal Albert Hall due two previous shows being cancelled with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and his 15-piece MG Big Band. The singer promoters cancelled two more dates and reduced tickets prices to just £5 due to poor sales. The remaining show went ahead with reduced seating and many venues closing of upper floors and balcony areas. [37] He performed his biggest hits, new original music and his own personal tribute to one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Cole Porter. [37] [38]
As a brand ambassador, Goss was featured as one of the lead roles alongside P. Diddy, Frank Vincent (The Sopranos), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Michael K. Williams (Boardwalk Empire) and Chrissy Teigen in CIROQ's vodka American campaign, which included a national print, billboards and TV commercial for three years. [39]
He was awarded the United Nations Humanitarian Award, for his continued contribution with charity endeavors which include, Susan G.Komen Fight Against Cancer. [40] [41] Goss wrote and performed Susan G.Komen's anthem Strong and spearheaded the hashtag Strong initiative with them. He sang to over 50,000 people in Time Square NY to support the fight against cancer and also 100,000 people in LA. [42]
In early 2020, Goss recorded his version of If I Aint Got You, which was produced by Babyface. The song was released as a fundraiser for the National Health Service (NHS) during the COVID-19 pandemic. [43] His efforts resulted in supplying thousands of meals for first responders. [44]
Due to his continued work for the troops and their mental health around the world, Goss was made an honorary member in the 17th Special Battalion. On 7 June 2021, he was awarded the honoray membership Royal Society of St George medal. [45]
| Title | Details | Chart positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [46] | |||
| The Key |
| — | |
| Early Side of Later |
| 87 | |
| Gossy |
| — | |
| Life You Imagine |
| 27 | |
| The Beautiful Unknown |
| 7 |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [48] [49] | BEL | |||
| 1995 | "The Key" | 40 | 35 | The Key |
| 1996 | "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" | — | — | |
| "If You Were Here Tonight" | 23 | — | ||
| 2003 | "I'm Coming with Ya" | 22 | — | Early Side of Later |
| 2004 | "Fly" | 31 | — | |
| 2006 | "It's the End of the Road" | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Evil" | — | — | Gossy | |
| 2010 | "Firefly" (with Paul Oakenfold) | — | — | |
| 2011 | "Fighting for Love" | — | — | Non-album single |
| 2013 | "Strong" | — | — | Life You Imagine |
| 2014 | "I Do" | — | — | |
| "Nothing Like This" | — | — | ||
| 2016 | "A Vegas Summer" | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Gone Too Long" | — | — | ||
| 2018 | "Red Flares" | — | — | |
| 2020 | "If I Ain't Got You" | — | — | |
| 2021 | "Somewhere to Fall" | — | — | The Beautiful Unknown |
| "Better with You" | — | — | ||
| "Saved" | — | — | ||
| 2025 | "We are Not Broken" | — | — | |
| 2025 | "Come Home" | — | — | Non-album single |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| 1995 | "Supermodel Sandwich W/Cheese" (Terence Trent D'arby feat. Matt Goss) | — | Vibrator |
| 2004 | "I Need the Key" (Minimal Chic feat. Matt Goss) | 54 | Non-album Single |
| 2005 | "With Or Without You" (Minimal Chic feat. Matt Goss) | — | |
| 2013 | "Touch the Sky" (Paul Oakenfold, Matt Goss & The Concrete Sneakers) | — |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
