Bette Bright

unreferenced|date=July 2007

Bette Bright (real name Anne Martin) is a former British rock singer.In the late 1970s Bright was a singer for art rock band Deaf School. After Deaf School disbanded, Bright went on solo with her backing band, "The Illuminations". Band members were Henry Priestman (formerly with band Yachts), Rusty Egan (Visage) and Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols). Their single debut "My Boyfriend's Back" in 1978 was followed by "The Captain of Your Ship" which became a minor airplay hit.

Their third single, "Hello, I Am Your Heart" entered the UK Singles Chart and spent a week at #50 (and featured Lee 'Kix' Thompson on saxophone).

In between, Bright (using her real name, Anne Martin) spent a while as singer of Dutch band Gruppo Sportivo, and she also appeared in Malcolm McLaren's Sex Pistols film, "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle".

In 1981, she issued the album "Rhythm Breaks the Ice", which featured songs she had written herself, but also classics like "Shoorah, Shoorah" as well as new interpretations of songs by Deaf School. Her backing band on this album - still called The Illuminations - looked very much like the band Clive Langer & the Boxes: Clive Langer (guitar/sitar), Ian Broudie (guitar), James Eller (bass); Jo Allen and Martin Hughes (drums); and Ben Barson, brother of Madness-keyboarder Mike Barson (keyboards). The album was produced by Clanger/Winstanley.

Working with Barson, Langer and Alan Winstanley, Bright got to know Madness, and she and Madness singer Suggs, fell in love. They married in 1982, and she retired to private life.

In 1988, however, she joined her fellow Deaf School-members for a reunion and a live album.

In recent years, she has joined the reformed Deaf School for one off gigs, most recently in December 2007 at The O2 venue Indigo2 for Madness' aftershow party, where the band were joined on stage by her daughters, who sang backing vocals. She also sang with her husband, Suggs of the band Madness.

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/bettebright81 Bette Bright at MySpace]