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Kajagoogoo were a British new wave band, best known for their 1983 hit single "
Too Shy "Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by English band Kajagoogoo, released in January 1983. The first single from their debut album ''White Feathers'', the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two wee ...
", which reached No. 1 in 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 ...
, and the Top 10 in numerous other countries.


History


Beginnings (1978–1982)

Formed in
Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is northwes ...
,
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
, in 1978, the band were originally known as Art Nouveau, a four-piece
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
group, with
Nick Beggs Nicholas Beggs (born 15 December 1961Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 270-271) is an English musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the Chapman Stick; he is a member of the Mute Go ...
on bass guitar, Steve Askew on lead guitar, Stuart Croxford Neale on keyboards, and Jez Strode on drums. Art Nouveau released a track called "The Fear Machine", which sold a few hundred copies and enjoyed airtime on John Peel's show. In spite of the song's success, the band failed to secure a record deal during this period. In 1981, Art Nouveau advertised for a new lead singer. They ultimately auditioned and chose Christopher Hamill, who then went under the stage name Limahl (an
anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...
of his surname). The group renamed themselves Kajagoogoo, a name coined phonetically from the first sounds that many infants make.


Success and decline (1982–1985)

The band signed with
EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...
in July 1982 after Limahl had met keyboardist
Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and only continuous member of the band Duran Duran. He is also informally monikered as "The Controller ...
of the group
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
while working as a waiter at London's Embassy Club. Rhodes proceeded to co-produce the band's first single, "
Too Shy "Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by English band Kajagoogoo, released in January 1983. The first single from their debut album ''White Feathers'', the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two wee ...
" with Duran Duran's EMI producer
Colin Thurston Colin Thurston (13 July 1947 – 15 January 2007) was an English recording engineer and record producer. Born in Brentford, Middlesex, Thurston played in bands in London before he "bluffed his way" into audio engineering.Pierre Perrone (24 ...
. The single was released on 10 January 1983 and topped 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 ...
, having done so before any of Duran Duran's singles (as Rhodes himself has lightheartedly noted). Follow-up singles " Ooh to Be Aah" and "
Hang on Now "Hang on Now" is a song by Kajagoogoo from their 1983 debut album, '' White Feathers''. The song peaked at No. 13 in the UK and reached No. 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record c ...
" also both reached the
UK Top 20 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 ...
, and the group's debut album ''
White Feathers ''White Feathers'' is the debut album by English new wave band Kajagoogoo, released on 18 April 1983 by EMI Records. The album contains their most successful single, "Too Shy", a UK No. 1 hit in February 1983, as well as two other UK Top 20 hit ...
'' reached No. 5 in the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. After being the support act for the
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
band
Fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
in late 1982, Kajagoogoo embarked on their own headlining ''White Feathers'' tour in Spring 1983. Their performance on 31 May at the London Hammersmith Odeon was filmed and released on home video. As success came, tensions began to rise in the band. These tensions culminated in Limahl being fired by the other band members in mid-1983 and Nick Beggs then taking over as lead singer. In response to his ousting, Limahl accused the others of being envious of him and said "I've been betrayed!" and "I was sacked for making them a success." The other band members countered Limahl's assertions, insisting that he had become egomaniacal and increasingly difficult to work with. Soon after the departure, Beggs commented, "It was a business decision and not one we took lightly. He wanted the band to go in a different direction to the rest of us. Eventually, we realised we were on a different planet to Limahl." Beggs also stated that the band harboured no ill-will towards Limahl, and blamed the press for sensationalising the matter. Guitarist Steve Askew commented "At first ... we did everything possible to make Limahl feel like part of the furniture but, you know, his lifestyle is so different from ours. We're very normal people whereas Limahl likes the bright lights." The first single by the new four-piece lineup, "
Big Apple "The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sportswriter for the ''New York Morning Telegraph''. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by th ...
", was released in September 1983 and reached the UK Top Ten. Their next single, "The Lion's Mouth", was released in February 1984 and made the UK Top 30. After this, public interest in the group waned, and their next single "Turn Your Back on Me" failed to make the Top 40. The subsequent new album, ''
Islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
'', was a commercial disappointment, peaking at No. 35 in the UK. In the U.S., the band first adopted the Kaja moniker at this time, and a different edition of the ''Islands'' album was released as '' Extra Play'', peaking at No. 185 on the Billboard charts. However, the single "Turn Your Back on Me" did well on the U.S. Dance Charts, peaking at No. 2 for two weeks. Meanwhile, Limahl went on to equally brief success as a solo artist and Strode left the band. In an attempt to regain credibility and lose their light-hearted image, the remaining three members relaunched as Kaja in the UK in 1985. Following the name change, the band released the single "Shouldn't Do That" (UK No. 63) in August 1985. The song was featured on their third album, ''
Crazy People's Right to Speak ''Crazy Peoples Right to Speak'' is the third album by English new wave band Kajagoogoo, released in 1985 by Parlophone. The album was not a commercial success and failed to make the UK Top 100. The only single from the album, "Shouldn't Do That" ...
''. After this proved unsuccessful, the group disbanded in December 1985.


Reunions (2003–2011)

The original five-piece line-up of the band briefly joined forces again on VH1's ''
Bands Reunited 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, ...
'' in 2003. Following the much publicised VH1 reunion, the original group received many offers and incentives to continue to play together, but disagreements continued between the band members and the reunion was short-lived, as Limahl and Strode both departed the band again shortly thereafter, ultimately leading them to dissolve the following year. The group felt that the VH1 feature was unfairly edited to portray simplified reasons as to why Limahl was fired and Strode had left the band in the 1980s. In 2007, Nick Beggs, Steve Askew, and Stuart Neale decided to continue as Kajagoogoo, releasing the single "Rocket Boy" on 24 June 2007. The single received airplay on Steve Wright's
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
show in the UK, and a new album, '' Gone to the Moon'', was scheduled for release on the Spectra Records label later on that year. However, the album was postponed, and in February 2008, the three Kajagoogoo members announced plans to reunite with original members singer Limahl and drummer Jez Strode. This was due in part to Bradley Snelling, the organiser of the Retrofest event and the band's new manager. Snelling had succeeded in reuniting the band, arranging their first
photo shoot A photo shoot is the process taken by creatives and models that results in a visual objective being obtained. An example is a Model (person), model posing for a photographer at a studio or an outdoor location. A photo shoot is a series of images ...
together in 25 years. The band wrote on their official site that the "atmosphere was relaxed, jovial and, after 25 years, Kajagoogoo, in their original five-piece line-up are back". After reforming, the band wrote new material, released an EP, and toured extensively throughout Europe, performing first in Denmark on 14 June 2008 at the Esbjerg Rock Festival, where they performed the 16 tracks off the remastered edition of ''
Islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
'', including encores and B-sides, such as "Monochromatic" or "The Garden"). Their ''Gone to the Moon'' album, recorded as a three-piece outfit prior to the full reunion, was distributed via the live shows and "Kajashop", the band's online store. In August 2009, while in the middle of a tour, Kajagoogoo again took to the stage to headline the Hobble on the Cobbles music event in Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. This was followed in September by a compilation CD/DVD, released by the band's original label EMI Records, titled ''Too Shy – The Best of Kajagoogoo & Limahl''. It featured two newly recorded tracks and a promotional video for "Space Cadet", one of the new recordings. Quick to capitalise on the renewed interest in the band, EMI released the ''White Feathers (Manhattan Clique Remixes) EP'' in December 2009. In December 2009, Kajagoogoo performed their last remaining UK concert with a return to The Stables venue in Wavendon, Milton Keynes. In March 2010, dPulse Recordings released the Kajagoogoo track "First Girl on Mars" as a part of the ''Who Made Your Music?'' benefit CD, released to raise funds and bring awareness to the rights of marginalised women. On Saturday 17 July 2010, Kajagoogoo performed at the Midlands Music Festival in Tamworth and later performed at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames in August. Continuing to capitalise on renewed interest in the Kajagoogoo back catalogue, EMI Records released ''So80s Presents Kajagoogoo'' as a part of the ''So Eighties'' series curated by Blank & Jones. The album contains extended mixes of classic Kajagoogoo tracks and was released on CD and digital download format. Also made available digitally in April 2011, Kajagoogoo's ''Gone to the Moon'' album was given a digital release via iTunes. In June 2011, Kajagoogoo released their first single as a five piece since 1983. The track "Death Defying Headlines" was released as a digital single as both a single edit and an extended dance remix. In March 2017, bassist Nick Beggs said that Kajagoogoo was no longer active, stating "We did something about nine years ago, and that was good. It was almost like a kind of revisiting of it for old time’s sake and I felt that we did quite a lot of good with that. But in terms of moving forward, there’s no point in revisiting that project." In an interview with Cherry Red TV in 2018, Beggs talked about the reunion, stating "we reformed and we toured and we recorded an EP and remastered the back catalogue...and at that point I felt that we had done it all. It was a nice way to tie it up, put a bow on it and leave it alone and move on."


Members

* Steve Askew – guitars, programming, backing vocals (1978–1985, 2003–2004, 2007–2011) *
Nick Beggs Nicholas Beggs (born 15 December 1961Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 270-271) is an English musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the Chapman Stick; he is a member of the Mute Go ...
– bass guitar, Chapman Stick, guitars, keyboards, programming, percussion, backing vocals (1978–1985, 2003–2004, 2007–2011), lead vocals (1978–1982, 1983–1985, 2003–2004, 2007–2011) * Stuart Neale – keyboards, programming, piano, backing vocals (1978–1985, 2003–2004, 2007–2011) * Jez Strode – acoustic and electronic drums, percussion (1978–1984, 2003, 2008–2011) *
Limahl Christopher Hamill (born 19 December 1958), known professionally as Limahl (an anagram of Hamill), is an English pop singer. He was the lead singer of the pop group Kajagoogoo beginning in 1981, before embarking on a brief solo career, garnering ...
(Chris Hamill) – lead vocals (1982–1983, 2008–2011)


Discography


Studio albums

*''
White Feathers ''White Feathers'' is the debut album by English new wave band Kajagoogoo, released on 18 April 1983 by EMI Records. The album contains their most successful single, "Too Shy", a UK No. 1 hit in February 1983, as well as two other UK Top 20 hit ...
'' (1983) *''
Islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
'' (1984) *''
Crazy Peoples Right to Speak ''Crazy Peoples Right to Speak'' is the third album by English new wave band Kajagoogoo, released in 1985 by Parlophone. The album was not a commercial success and failed to make the UK Top 100. The only single from the album, "Shouldn't Do That" ...
'' (1985) as Kaja *'' Gone to the Moon'' (2008)


References


Bibliography

* Paul Gambaccini (1983), ''Kajagoogoo''


External links


KajaFax - The Officially Approved Kajagoogoo Community & Fan Club

Unofficial Limahl & Kajagoogoo YouTube video archives
{{Authority control English new wave musical groups English synth-pop groups English pop rock music groups British synth-pop new wave groups Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1985 Musical groups reestablished in 2003 Second British Invasion artists