Sydney Youngblood once declared “If only I could, I’d make this world a better place”. Did he? Sit and wait to find out…
Sydney Ford for born in Texas in December 1960 and from an early age he loved singing. He won a competition aged six in his home town where his grandmother called him ‘youngblood’ for his ‘vibrancy’ to perform. He played in a number of bands but aged twenty, he was drafted into the US army and served in Germany for five years. Sydney returned home and returned to music straight away, only this time seeking fame and fortune as a solo artist. Signed to Virgin Records, his first release was a cover of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine”, which made a short appearance in the lower section of the US singles chart in 1988.
His second single “Congratulations” did nothing and it seemed like his career was going nowhere till the second half of 1989 when he released the track “If Only I Could”. Although the song never made a dent in the American charts, it was a huge success the rest of the world over, reaching the top ten in over fifteen countries including the UK, where it sped will all hastiness up the chart to peak at No.3, selling over 200,000 copies. Sydney released his album “Feeling Free” soon after which would attain a Gold certification in the UK. It was later released in The States under the title of “Sydney Youngblood”.
Before the end of the year, he had released the dance anthem “Sit And Wait”, which again made the top ten across Europe and in parts of Asia but stopped at No.16 in the UK. A fifth single to come from the album, “I’d Rather Go Blind”, was released in the Spring of 1990, strangely this charted in America reaching No.46 there, whilst it was a minor hit elsewhere. Sydney released his second album “Passion, Grace and Serious Bass” in 1991, which featured the singles “Hooked On You” and “Wherever You Go”. The album was a minor hit in Australia and some parts of Europe. He released the albums “Just The Way it Is” in 1993 and “The Hat Won’t Fit” in 1994, with only the single “Anything” (1993) making a brief appearance in the UK and Belgian charts.
Sydney has continued to perform live, especially as his two biggest hits now turn thirty years of age. In 2018 he released a brand new album, “Tonight”, which also included a new recording of “I’d Rather Go Blind”. He has also found fame in Germany recently, where he appeared on their version of the TV reality series I’m A Star – Get Me Out Of Here. Unfortunately, he was eliminated at the end of the second round. After that, all he could do was sit and wait!
Remind yourself of the awesome music and also stay in touch with Sydney through his WEBSITE and his FACEBOOK page
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