Richard Darbyshire (born Richard Simon Darbyshire in Stockport on 8 March 1960; died 10 November 2025) was an English singer, songwriter, record producer and songwriting coach who is remembered as the frontman of the 1980s pop band Living in a Box. In his youth, Darbyshire played with various bands, including some on the Northern Music scene, such as Gammer and his Familiars. After university, Darbyshire briefly joined a Manchester band called Zu Zu Sharks (with Adam and the Ants bassist Gary Tibbs and Alistair Gordon on keyboards). Darbyshire left the band in 1983, unhappy with their pop sound. He continued writing songs. One of them, "Put Your Foot Down" was recorded by The Temptations for their album Together Again, released in 1987. He also co-wrote songs with singer Tessa Niles. In 1985, he signed with Chrysalis Records asked him to be the vocalist/guitarist for a fledgling band consisting of drummer Anthony 'Tich' Critchlow and keyboardist Marcus Vere while working on a song called "Living in a Box". The band adopted that name. His debut solo album, How Many Angels, was released in 1994. In 1999, he released Love Will Provide. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
