"Mark Morrison"
"Mark Morrison"
Mark Morrison (born 3 May 1972) is a British R&B singer. He was the most successful UK R&B singer of the mid-90s and the first black male solo artist to reach number one in the 90s. His single "Return of the Mack" became a #1 or Top 10 hit in several European countries in 1996. The song peaked at #2 in America the following year.
Born in Hanover, West Germany, to Barbadian parentage, Morrison lived in Leicester, before moving to Miami, Florida at a young age, where he discovered his love for music.
Mark Morrison's first official recording was "Where Is Our Love", pressed on Vynal in 1993, on his own Joe'Mel label.
Mark Morrison went on to become the most successful British R&B singer of the mid-90s. His breakthrough single, "Return of the Mack" became a Top Ten hit worldwide in 1996, and opened the US market for him the following year. Although he became a commercial success overnight, his career was plagued by run-ins with the law that prevented him from consolidating his position as a superstar.
In mid 1995 he released his debut single "Crazy", which became a Top-20 hit in the UK, and "Let's Get Down", the swing beat summer jam, entering the Top-40. They were followed in the spring of 1996 by the aforementioned "Return of the Mack", which became a smash hit worldwide, spending two weeks at number one in the UK charts. Morrison became the first black male solo artist to reach number one in the 90s.
His debut album, also titled Return of the Mack followed, and became a multiplatinum success. It reached number four in the UK chart, and sold 3 million albums worldwide. It spun off several more hit singles over the next year. "Crazy" (Remix), "Trippin'", "Horny" and "Moan & Groan" would all reach the UK Top-10, making him the first artist in British pop history to have five Top-10s from their debut album.
Although his career was going well, Morrison was constantly in trouble with the law. In 1997 he was imprisoned, the same year (coincidently) he received four Brit nominations, a Mercury Music Prize nomination, an MTV Europe award nomination and 5 MOBO nominations (including winning best R&B), as "Return of the Mack" began to climb its way to number two on the American Billboard charts receiving platinum status en-route. It stayed on the Billboard charts for an incredible 25 weeks.
He also performed at the 1997 Brit Awards. The performance at the Brit's influenced WEA and Morrison to release Only God Can Judge Me, a 9-track EP which contained live performances, interviews, prayers and three full-length songs including "Who's The Mack!" which reached #13 in the UK.