OK, I was crazy about this group way back when. King, led by lead singer Paul King, the band sported incredibly 80s fashions down to the Doc Martens on their feet. The other band members were Mick Roberts, Anthony "Tony" Wall and Jim "Jackal" Lantsbery. The mixture of gawky movement and an abundance of hair products, the band burned brightly for just a few years, enough to whet my whistle and went their separate ways. Paul King turned up on MTV as a VJ in the early 90s, and now works for MTV & VH1 in Europe.
I felt for sure the band must be gay, with a song like Love & Pride, right? Well, not so much, but I loved the music anyway. The 80s were a deceptive time, as many of the str8 boys seemed to aspire to be drag queens with big hair and makeup. Or were they trying to be Cher? Or did any of the people I consider the quintessential acts of the 80s have a clue what they were up to?
Following you will see a video for Alone Without You, and there was also the single Won't You Hold My Hand Now. I bought both King CDs, Steps In Time and Bittersweet, and loved them dearly. I still listen from time to time. I have to admit I had no clue Paul King had put out a solo album, so now I have to go looking for that. It was, from all reports, a commercial failure, which led to the gig with MTV.
Paul King has a fansite set up and can be found here.
"The 80s were a deceptive time, as many of the str8 boys seemed to aspire to be drag queens with big hair and makeup."
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth! I remember seeing Poison's album cover for the first time. Men with more makeup and hairspray than women. At the time I didn't realize why I was so drawn to them.
Get out of my record collection. Because I still own my 12 inch of Alone Without You.
ReplyDeleteThey were a fantastic band and I saw them surporting Culture Club, fabulous times. I ony had them on vinyil and now need to listen to them again.
ReplyDeleteI had the Love & Pride single on 12" and loved it. I still also listen to this song on my ipod and it still sounds great!
ReplyDeleteOh, and at this point I'm starting to wonder when I'll hear some Aztec Camera.
ReplyDeleteMichael, I don't know how many times I thought a boy was hitting on me, only to find out he was str8. UGH!
ReplyDeleteKailyn, Alone Without You is my fave! And you never know what I might put up next, do you?
David, I never had the opportunity to see them live, I am jealous!
SteveA, I have Steps In Time on my iPod.
I hope you'll find the "Joy" album; it's a little gem. Some lyrics are just amazing. It's a shame Paul didn't get the audience he deserved.
ReplyDeleteAnon - I am going to look for that album. The man did fascinate me for a while.
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