THE sudden death of his beloved cat, reaching his half-century and his daughters leaving home led Madness frontman Suggs to embark on a reflective journey through his life.

Now he is bringing My Life Story in words and music, a mixture of narrative, anecdote and song, to Salisbury City Hall on April 12 to share it with his many fans.

The upset of losing his cat triggered a personal quest to discover what happened to the father Suggs never knew.

“I was 50. My kids had recently left home and now the cat was dead. I was really upset. It triggered a deluge of emotion, an event that somehow tipped me over the edge.

“I began to consider my own mortality and, out of that, the idea for exploring my own past somehow crystallised.”

As the story unfolds, Suggs, pictured, describes his tough childhood on the streets of Soho and his rise to fame at the age of 18 as lead singer of Madness before the collapse of the band just a few years later.

With a wife and two small children to support, he was determined to rebuild his career through music production, solo albums, television, theatre, film and radio – despite numerous amusing setbacks.

Suggs, whose real name is Graham McPherson, illustrates his tale with a selection of Madness’ best loved anthems including Baggy Trousers.

“It’s a memoir,” said Suggs. “It’s not stand-up. It’s not An Evening With. I toyed with calling it Mad-Life Crisis. In the end, though, having gone all round the houses, I’ve called it My Life Story which won’t win any prizes for originality but does at least tell you what you can expect, the good bits and the darker moments.”

Suggs discovered that at the point he was deciding his nickname and launching his career, his father, a drug addict, was close to death, at the age of 40.

“I’ve always found that rather poignant,” he said.

Suggs has been married to his wife, a professional singer who works under the name Bette Bright, for 30 years, and said his family is one of his greatest achievements. “My family is a tremendous backbone to my existence.”

The past year has been a big one for Madness, who performed at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and Olympics closing ceremony.

“You wouldn’t have anticipated the Queen was going to invite us on her roof to play or that we were going to play at the Olympic closing ceremony. Like any human being we were insecure but we realise now we’re pretty good.”

The reformed band has just released its tenth album, Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da, and are planning a series of gigs in the UK this summer.