Paul King (20 November 1960) is a British-Irish

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, musician, VJ and

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

. King has released five albums in his musical career.

Biography

Paul King was born in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

, County Galway,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and moved to

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, England, with his parents at a young age. After graduating from Coventry Drama School, King considered joining the

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, ...

, but joined

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

the Reluctant Stereotypes. King's line up of the band – which also contained

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Paul Sampson – released an album ''The Label'' and three singles Confused Action, Plans For Today and Nightmares in the early 1980s on the back of

's vibrant 2 Tone ska scene. After the demise of the Reluctant Stereotypes, King formed the Raw Screens who perfected their act and style to what King and his manager Perry Haines called 'multi-tone', and then in 1983 relaunched the group as self-named 1980s band

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. As lead singer, King was famed for his

cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the orde ...

haircut A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human scalp. Sometimes, this could also mean an editing of facial or body hair. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming ...

and spray painted Doc Marten's Boots – a look described "like the

Child Catcher The Child Catcher is a fictional character in the 1968 film ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' and in the later stage musical adaptation. The Child Catcher is employed by Baron Bomburst and Baroness Bomburst to snatch and imprison children on the street ...

from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But, hell, the girls loved him," while

Richard James Burgess Richard James Burgess (born 29 June 1949) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, author, manager, marketer and inventor. Burgess's music career spans more than 50 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s a ...

produced and drummed on most of the band's

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

s. The band lasted just a couple of years, though both of their albums, ''

Steps in Time ''Steps in Time'' is the debut studio album by English new wave band King, released in November 1984 by CBS Records. The album peaked at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. The album included three singles. "Love & ...

'' and '' Bitter Sweet'', went Gold, and they had two Top 10 singles with "

Love & Pride "Love & Pride" is the debut single by Coventry band King, produced by Richard James Burgess and featured on the band's first studio album '' Steps in Time''. The single was first released in April 1984 but was not a success, spending only three ...

" and " Alone Without You". Paul King then went

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

with a 1987

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

entitled ''

Joy The word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, and is typically associated with feelings of intense, long lasting happiness. Dictionary definitions Dictionary definitions of joy typically include a sense of ...

'', produced by American musician

Dan Hartman Daniel Earl Hartman (December 8, 1950 – March 22, 1994) was an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Among songs he wrote and recorded were " Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits ...

. It produced a minor hit single on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, "I Know". After an unsuccessful solo career, King became a VJ on MTV in 1989, before moving over to VH1 in 1994, and then became known for his infomercials on 1980s collection albums. He is mostly remembered for the programmes '' MTV's Greatest Hits'', ''120 Minutes'' and XPO, later renamed First Look. First Look, programmed by Richard Godfrey, Peter Good, Peter Ruppert, showed new singles and album releases and it was presented by VJ Paul King until 30 July 1994. In 1998, a joint King & Paul King 18-track collection, entitled ''The Best of King – Love & Pride'', was eventually released, with hit singles, stand-out tracks, B-sides and remixes. Paul King still works for MTV Networks Europe where he has produced shows for VH1 and MTV.

Discography

Albums

* 1980 - ''The Label'' (Reluctant Stereotypes album) * Feb 1985 – ''

'' (King's debut album – UK No. 6) * Nov 1985 – '' Bitter Sweet'' (King's second album – UK No. 16) * 1987 – ''

'' (Paul King's solo album) * 1998 – ''The Best of King – Love & Pride'' (King and Paul King's joint collection)

Singles

Except where otherwise stated, all are releases by the band King. * 1980 - "Confused Action" (first Reluctant Stereotypes single featuring King) * 1980 - "Plans for Today" (second Reluctant Stereotypes single featuring King) * 1980 - "Nightmares" (third Reluctant Stereotypes single featuring King) * 1984 – "

" (UK No. 84) * July 1984 "Soul On My Boots" (UK No. 164) * 8 October 1984 – "Won't You Hold My Hand Now" * Jan 1985 – "Love & Pride" (re-release – UK No. 2, US No. 55) * Mar 1985 – "Won't You Hold My Hand Now" (re-release – UK No. 24) * Aug 1985 – " Alone Without You" (UK No. 8) * Oct 1985 – "The Taste of Your Tears" (UK No. 11) * Jan 1986 – "Torture" (UK No. 23) * May 1987 – "I Know" (Paul King solo – UK No. 59) * 1987 – "Follow My Heart" (Paul King solo – N.C.)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Paul 1960 births English male singers English new wave musicians English songwriters English television presenters Male new wave singers Musicians from County Galway People from Galway (city) People from Coventry English people of Irish descent Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom British male songwriters