Singh grew up in Leytonstone and began playing the tablas as a child. At the age of 16, Singh went to India for two years where he studied tabla under Sangeet Acharya Ustad Lachman Singh Seen of Punjab Gharana. He then returned to the UK after just one year. In spite of this classical training, Singh's tabla playing was not accepted by British promoters of classical Indian music, as he incorporated too strongly his western influences. By the late 1980s, Singh had decided to turn towards the fusion of sounds. In 1991, he came to prominence by both playing tabla and singing on the "Kiss Them for Me" single by Siouxsie and the Banshees : the single peaked in the "Billboard" Hot 100 at number 23. Singh then became the sixth member of the Banshees and took part with them as second headliners of the inaugural Lollapalooza tour. Two years later in 1993, he was recruited by Björk to be her percussionist and director on her 1993 album, "Debut".