Kajagoogoo

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Kajagoogoo

Kajagoogoo are a British

United Kingdom

Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
, "Too Shy

Too Shy

"Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by English New Wave music/pop music band Kajagoogoo in 1983. Released as the first single from their debut album White Feathers, the song was an immediate hit in Germany ,spending 5 weeks at number one; and in the UK two weeks at number one in the UK Singles Chart....
", which reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
(#5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
) in 1983.

Early beginnings
The band was originally founded in Leighton Buzzard

Leighton Buzzard

Leighton Buzzard is a town near the Chiltern Hills in Bedfordshire, and is between Luton and Milton Keynes. It adjoins Linslade and the name Leighton Buzzard is sometimes used to refer to the combination of the two towns; parts of this article also apply to Linslade....
, Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a county in England that forms part of the East of England Regions of England.Its county town is Bedford, Bedfordshire. It borders Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire....
, in 1979, as a four-piece avant-garde

Avant-garde

Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English, to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
instrumental

Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments....
group, called Art Nouveau, with Nick Beggs

Nick Beggs

Nick Beggs is a United Kingdom pop music musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the Chapman Stick; he is a member of Kajagoogoo and Iona ....
on bass guitar

Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
, Steve Askew

Steve Askew

Steve Askew was born on December 9 1957 in Middlesex.Later he moved with his family to Leighton Buzzard in 1962/63 and attended Beaudesert primary school, Pulford junior school and Brooklands School....
on lead guitar

Lead guitar

Lead guitar refers to the use of a guitar to perform melody lines, fill , and guitar solos within a song structure.In rock music, heavy metal music, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop music contexts as well as others, the lead guitar lines are usually supported by a second guitarist who plays rhythm guitar, which consists of accompan...
, Stuart Croxford Neale on keyboards

Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organ s as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic musical instrument....
, and Jez Strode

Jez Strode

Jeremy "Jez" Strode is best known as the drummer for the United Kingdom pop music band , Kajagoogoo.Strode began his musical career in a band called Art Nouveau, with future Kajagoogoo bandmates Nick Beggs, Steve Askew and Stuart Croxford Neale....
(born Jeremy) on drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
. Art Nouveau released a track called "The Fear Machine".

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Encyclopedia

Kajagoogoo are a British

United Kingdom

Single (music)

Too Shy

UK Singles Chart

Billboard Hot 100

Early beginnings

The band was originally founded in Leighton Buzzard

Leighton Buzzard

Bedfordshire

Avant-garde

Instrumental

Nick Beggs

Nick Beggs is a United Kingdom pop music musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the Chapman Stick; he is a member of Kajagoogoo and Iona ....
on bass guitar

Bass guitar

Steve Askew

Lead guitar

Keyboard instrument

Jez Strode

Drum kit

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, Order of the British Empire , known professionally as John Peel, was an England disc jockey, radio presenter and journalist....
show, but the band could not get a record deal.

In 1981, they advertised for, and auditioned, lead singers, and finally chose Christopher Hamill

Limahl

Anagram

An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place....
of his surname for his stage name

Stage name

A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, comedians, musician, and professional wrestling....
, becoming Limahl

Limahl

Christopher Hamill is a English people pop rock / dance music vocalist. He is better known by his stage name Limahl , and was the lead singer of the 1980s synth-pop/rock music/New Wave music band Kajagoogoo, before embarking on a briefly successful solo career, which reached its peak with the soundtrack hit "The NeverEnding Story ", m...
, matched with his typical double colour hairdo (blond on top and black on sides). The name of the group was then changed to the also catchier Kajagoogoo: writing out the phonetics of a baby's first sounds gave them 'GagaGooGoo' - with a little bit of an alteration, it became 'Kajagoogoo'.

Success and decline

The band attracted the interest of three record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
s (and Duran Duran

Duran Duran

Duran Duran are an English music group from Birmingham, United Kingdom. They were one of the most commercially successful of the 1980s bands and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States....
's Nick Rhodes

Nick Rhodes

Nick Rhodes is the keyboardist for Duran Duran. Rhodes and singer Simon Le Bon are the only members to have been with the band throughout its 29-year professional career ....
), while performing at the Embassy Club, in London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
. The group was eventually signed to EMI

EMI

The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
, in July 1982, and Rhodes was hired to produce their first album

Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
, White Feathers
White Feathers

White Feathers is the debut album by United Kingdom New Wave music band Kajagoogoo, released in 1983 in music. It was produced by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran and Colin Thurston, who was Duran Duran's producer at the time, except for track #5, the self-titled "Kajagoogoo", an instrumental , which was produced by Tim Palmer and the band....
along with Duran Duran's producer Colin Thurston

Colin Thurston

Colin Thurston was a British Audio engineering and record producer.Born in Singapore, Thurston played in bands in London before he "bluffed his way" into audio engineering....
. In between events, they supported Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. Birmingham is the most populous of England's English Core Cities Group, and is the List of United Kingdom cities by population British city after London, with a population of 1,010,200 ....
band Fashion

Fashion (band)

Fashion were a United Kingdom New Wave music musical ensemble consisting of Dee Harris, Al 'Luke Sky' James, Alan Darby, John Mulligan, Marlon Recchi and Dik Davis....
on tour. Their debut single, "Too Shy", was released in January of 1983 and went to the top of the charts (before any of Duran Duran's singles had done so, Rhodes noted ruefully). Follow-up releases, "Ooh to Be Aah" and "Hang on Now", both reached the UK Top 20 as well.

As success came, tensions began to rise in the band, which eventually culminated in Limahl being fired by the other band members in mid-1983 and Beggs then taking over as lead singer. The first single by the new four-piece Kajagoogoo was "Big Apple

Big Apple (song)

"Big Apple", released in 1983, was the first single released from UK band Kajagoogoo's second album Islands . It became the group's fourth Top 20 hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number eight....
", which made the Top Ten in late 1983. Their next single, "The Lion's Mouth", made the Top 30 but then the hits dried up completely ("Turn Your Back on Me" failed to enter the UK Top 40, stalling at no.47), and the subsequent new album, Islands
Islands (Kajagoogoo album)

Islands is the second album by the United Kingdom pop band Kajagoogoo, released in 1984 in music on the EMI label. It was recorded without singer Limahl, who had left the band to pursue a solo career....
was a commercial failure, peaking at only Number 35 in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. Strode then left the band and, in an attempt to gain some credibility and to lose their bubblegum image, the remaining three members relaunched as Kaja in 1985. The four-piece version of the band, including Jez, had already made their appearance in the U.S. as Kaja, the previous year, when a different edition of the Islands album was released there as Extra Play
Islands (Kajagoogoo album)

Islands is the second album by the United Kingdom pop band Kajagoogoo, released in 1984 in music on the EMI label. It was recorded without singer Limahl, who had left the band to pursue a solo career....
, only peaking at Number 185 in the Billboard charts. However, this new version of Kajagoogoo was also a failure, and the band went their separate ways in 1986, after issuing the UK single "Shouldn't Do That" (UK #63). The single was taken from their last album Crazy People's Right to Speak and had also featured on the soundtrack for Santa Claus: The Movie

Santa Claus: The Movie

Santa Claus: The Movie is a 1985 in film Christmas film starring Dudley Moore and John Lithgow. It is the last major fantasy film movie producer by the Paris-based father-and-son production team of Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind....
.

The reunions

The original five-piece line-up of the band briefly joined forces again on VH1

VH1

VH1 is an United States cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in television, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slighter older demographic than its sister channel, focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music....
's Bands Reunited
Bands Reunited

Bands Reunited was a television program produced by VH1 in 2004. Hosted by Aamer Haleem, the show documented the attempted reuniting of a formerly popular musical ensemble for a special concert in either London or Los Angeles....
in 2004. Following the VH1 reunion, the original group received offers to continue to play in this line-up , but disagreements continued between band members and the reunion was short-lived. The group felt that the VH1 feature was unfairly edited to portray simplified reasons as to Jez's and especially Limahl's departure, and complained that it also suggested the band remained together in the fairy tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folklore characters such as Fairy, goblins, Elf, trolls, giant , and talking animals, and usually enchanted, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events....
ending .

In 2007, Nick Beggs, Steve Askew and Stuart Neale indeed decided to continue to play together as Kajagoogoo and released the track "Rocket Boy" on 24 June 2007, the first Kajagoogoo/Kaja single in 22 years. The single received airplay on Steve Wright's BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio radio station and the List of most-listened-to radio programs in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult contemporary music or Album-orientated rock, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres....
show in the UK, and was critically acclaimed . A new album, Gone to the Moon
Gone to the Moon

Gone to the Moon is an album by United Kingdom pop rock / new wave music ensemble Kajagoogoo, recorded in 2007 and early 2008, by the Kajagoogoo trio only, which will be released on compact disc as Kajagoogoo, and promoted by all 5 members of the recently reunited group some time in 2008....
, was also recorded and about to be released, but the hard copy release was then postponed. However, it may be downloaded for free on the band's official website until February 2009. Their fans have responded very positively to this.

In February 2008, the three Kajagoogoo members announced plans to reunite with original members, lead singer Limahl and drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
Jez Strode. The band also said it would play Retrofest

Retrofest

The Retrofest Music Festival was first held on Sept 1st and 2nd 2007. Held within the stunning location of Culzean Castle in Scotland, United Kingdom it was the first 1980s#Music festival in the UK & Europe....
again in August. Since then, Limahl and Strode actually rejoined the band. This was due in part to Bradley Snelling, the organizer of the Retrofest event and the band's new manager, who had succeeded in arranging for Kajagoogoo to have their first photo shoot

Photo shoot

A photo shoot is generally used in the fashion industry, whereby a Model poses for a photographer at a studio where multiple photos are taken to find the best ones for the required brief....
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."

Current activities

Several live dates are scheduled in Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
and Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
as for 2008. The group's members are currently writing new material, with a view to be recording during the year, for release some time in 2008-2009. Meanwhile, the Gone to the Moon album is also to be released as a compact disc

Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
, but the Beggs, Neale and Askew songwriting team highlighted that the album was recorded before Limahl and Strode actually rejoined the band.

The debut for the newly reformed band has taken place in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
, on the latest June 14, 2008, at Esbjerg

Esbjerg

Esbjerg Municipality is a municipality in Region Syddanmark on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Johnny S?trup, from the Venstre Politics of Denmark....
Rock Festival

Rock festival

A rock festival, or a rock fest, is a large-scale Open air concert rock music concert, featuring multiple acts, often spread out over several days....
. It will be followed, on the next August 30, soon to be, by their very first British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
gig as a five-piece act (the 'Kaja' trio, i.e. Nick, Stu and Steve, has already performed there not that long ago, soon after the 2004 reunion on VH1), at Retrofest 2008

Retrofest

Festival

A festival is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community.Among many religions, a feast or festival is a set of celebrations in honour of God or Polytheism....
in Scotland

Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
.

Discography

Studio albums

1983 - White Feathers
White Feathers

White Feathers is the debut album by United Kingdom New Wave music band Kajagoogoo, released in 1983 in music. It was produced by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran and Colin Thurston, who was Duran Duran's producer at the time, except for track #5, the self-titled "Kajagoogoo", an instrumental , which was produced by Tim Palmer and the band....
(UK #5, U.S. #38)
1984 - Islands
Islands (Kajagoogoo album)

Islands is the second album by the United Kingdom pop band Kajagoogoo, released in 1984 in music on the EMI label. It was recorded without singer Limahl, who had left the band to pursue a solo career....
(as Kajagoogoo: UK #35) - Extra Play
Islands (Kajagoogoo album)

Islands is the second album by the United Kingdom pop band Kajagoogoo, released in 1984 in music on the EMI label. It was recorded without singer Limahl, who had left the band to pursue a solo career....
(as Kaja: U.S. #185) [the U.S. album is a shorter, remixed version of the UK release]
1985 - Crazy People's Right to Speak (as Kaja)
2008 - Gone to the Moon
Gone to the Moon

Gone to the Moon is an album by United Kingdom pop rock / new wave music ensemble Kajagoogoo, recorded in 2007 and early 2008, by the Kajagoogoo trio only, which will be released on compact disc as Kajagoogoo, and promoted by all 5 members of the recently reunited group some time in 2008....
(as Kajagoogoo: free Internet
Internet

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels. Typically, a computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast array of available server and other computers by moving information from them to the computer's local memory....
release until February 2009 - soon to be released on CD
Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
format too) [recorded by Kajagoogoo without Limahl and Jez Strode]

Compilations

1993 - Too Shy: The Singles and More (also includes five singles and two 12" remixes of Limahl's)
1996 - The Best of Kajagoogoo & Limahl
1996 - The Very Best of Kajagoogoo (also includes Limahl's "The Never Ending Story" and "Only for Love")
2000 - Best of the 80's Kajagoogoo & Limahl
2003 - The Very Best of Kajagoogoo & Limahl

Singles

1979 - "Fear Machine" (as Art Nouveau)
1983 - "Too Shy
Too Shy

"Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by English New Wave music/pop music band Kajagoogoo in 1983. Released as the first single from their debut album White Feathers, the song was an immediate hit in Germany ,spending 5 weeks at number one; and in the UK two weeks at number one in the UK Singles Chart....
" Germany #1; UK #1, Switzerland #2; Sweden #4; Austria #4; Netherlands #5; U.S. #5
1983 - "Ooh to Be Ah" (UK #7)
1983 - "Hang on Now" (UK #13, U.S. #78).
1983 - "Big Apple
Big Apple (song)

"Big Apple", released in 1983, was the first single released from UK band Kajagoogoo's second album Islands . It became the group's fourth Top 20 hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number eight....
" (UK #8)
1984 - "The Lion's Mouth" (UK #25)
1984 - "Turn Your Back On Me" (UK #47)
1985 - "Shouldn't Do That" (as Kaja) (UK #63)
2007 - "Rocket Boy" (Internet
Internet

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels. Typically, a computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast array of available server and other computers by moving information from them to the computer's local memory....
release) (as Kajagoogoo; Beggs, Neale and Askew only)

Audio sample

Footnotes

External links

(2006)