Born on November 20th: Paul King, shooting star of English pop

He was born in Galway, Ireland, in 1960 before his parents moved to Coventry, England. From Prince to Queen, royalty has inspired many artists, but he simply used his real surname to name his band King!

 In Coventry in the early 1980s, following in the footsteps of The Selecter and The Specials, most local musicians had only one thing on their minds: becoming the best ska band and getting signed by the local label 2-Tone. With The Reluctant Stereotypes, and a few touches of rock, Paul King also dabbled in ska. With a bit of digging, you can even still find "Lofaska," one of their less-than-convincing attempts at this equally ephemeral genre.

A few years later, in the mid-1980s, with just two albums ("Steps In Time" in 1984 and "Bitter Sweet" a year later), King sparked a frenzy in the UK and became his label's number one priority. For several months, by sending journalists to England (I even remember a trip in a private turboprop to meet him in Brighton!) and offering numerous interviews, CBS's PR department tried everything to win over the Old Continent. It remained largely unmoved!

In retrospect, with the exception of the energetic (some would say irritating) "Love & Pride," one might wonder if it was the repeated covers in the teen magazine "Smash Hits" and the singer's look that made the difference, rather than tracks like "Sweet" or "Alone Without You." Four decades later, it's clear that these have aged considerably!

Most often dressed in a flamboyant red suit on stage, Paul King meticulously crafted his look from head to toe (a hairstyle that hair specialists dubbed a "cockatoo"!) (perched as he was in hand-painted Doc Martens). But teenage girls adored him and, during concerts, threw almost as many stuffed animals at him as they did at Paul Young! After "Joy," a solo album that went virtually unnoticed in 1987, Paul King became a VJ for MTV and still works for the music channel today…

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Paul King on stage at the Hammersmith Odeon in London in 1986