Norman Giscombe was born 6 June 1957 in Wandsworth, London, England.

Junior first began singing in a local group at 14 years old, inspired by the sounds of doo-wop, early Motown, soul, and reggae. As time went on, the hobby became a full-time musical career and soon realized that his talents lay in writing and performing his own music.

He was a backing vocalist with Linx between 1980 and 1982.

Known simply as Junior, he scored a UK Top 10 hit with Mama Used To Say. His follow-up single, Too Late also made the Top 20 charts in the UK. After a period outside the charts, he made a brief return to the UK top 10 in 1987 when he sang a duet with Kim Wilde on Another Step Closer To You. He also became involved with the formation of Red Wedge in 1986 with Billy Bragg, Jimmy Somerville, and Paul Weller.

Norman Giscombe is the uncle of UK comedian Richard Blackwood who later covered this song in June 2000.