Living in a Box, with Marcus Vere on keyboards and synthesizers, Anthony Tich Critchlow on drums, and Richard Darbyshire on vocals, formed in 1985. and released their first single, also titled Living in a Box in 1987. That track reached the top 5 in the Uk and the top 40 on the Billboard charts.

During my early days at MTV, their songs were played on heavy rotation. They released two successful albums and a string of hits singles. But in 1990, when Darbyshire left, the band split in accordance with the contract they had signed in 1985. In 2004, they reformed for one gig with the original lineup. But this was not to be. And over a decade later, Tich and Marcus returned to the stage with a new vocalist, Kenny Thomas. This year they are out on the road again, not with Kenny as he had other commitments but with Bryan J. Chambers, who has sung for Pink Floyd, and Beverly Knight, and who has been a backing singer for Prince, Marc Almond, and Grace Jones. The story of the band, and particularly Marcus Vere’s story, is intriguing, He might call it luck, the right place right time, but in the end, it’s also the story of a combination of great songwriting and the right talent. 

Look out for Part Two.

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