Kajagoogoo

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Kajagoogoo


Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias = Kaja, Art Nouveau
Origin = Bedfordshire, England
Genre = New Wave
Synthpop
Pop rock
New Romantic
Years_active = 1982-86
2003-present
Label = EMI Records
Parlophone
Spectra Records
Associated_acts = Limahl
Art Nouveau
URL = [http://www.kajagoogoo.com/ Official Website]
Current_members = Limahl
Nick Beggs
Steve Askew
Stuart Croxford Neale
Jez Strode
Past_members =

Kajagoogoo is a British pop band, best known for their first single, "Too Shy", which reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart (Number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100) in 1983.

Early beginnings

The band was originally founded in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, in 1979, as a four-piece avant-garde instrumental group, called Art Nouveau, with Nick Beggs on bass guitar, Steve Askew on lead guitar, Stuart Croxford Neale on keyboards, and Jez Strode (born Jeremy) on drums. Art Nouveau released a track called "The Fear Machine". The single sold a few hundred copies, and was played on the John Peel show, but the band could not get a record deal.

In 1981, they advertised for, and auditioned, lead singers, and finally chose Christopher Hamill. He made his profile, and therefore that of the band, catchier by using an anagram of his surname for his stage name, becoming Limahl, 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'.

uccess and decline

The band attracted the interest of three record labels (and Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes), while performing at the Embassy Club, in London. The group was eventually signed to EMI, in July 1982, and Rhodes was hired to produce their first album, "White Feathers" along with Duran Duran's producer Colin Thurston. In between events, they supported Birmingham New Romantic band Fashion 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", 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" was a commercial failure, peaking at only Number 35 in the UK. 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", 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".

The reunions

The original five-piece line-up of the band briefly joined forces again on VH1's "Bands Reunited" in 2004. Following the VH1 reunion, the original group received offers to continue to play in this line-up Fact|date=July 2008, but disagreements continued between band members and the reuinion 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 ending Fact|date=July 2008.

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 show in the UK, and was critically acclaimed Fact|date=July 2008. A new album, "Gone to the Moon", was also recorded and about to be released, but the hard copy release was then postponed. However, it is currently available via iTunes, it may be downloaded for free on the band's official website until February 2009).

In February 2008, the three Kajagoogoo members announced plans to reunite with original members, lead singer Limahl and drummer Jez Strode. The band also said it would play Retrofest again in August. [ [http://blogs.tampabay.com/80s/2008/02/theyre-not-too.html Stuck in the '80s | tampabay.com: Archives ] ] 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 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 and Scandinavia 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, 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, on the latest June 14, 2008, at Esbjerg Rock Festival [ [http://www.esbjergrockfestival.dk/ Link to Esbjerg Rock Festival] ] . It will be followed, on the next August 30, soon to be, by their very first British 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 [ [http://www.retrofest.co.uk/ Link to Retrofest 2008] ] , a live festival in Scotland.

Discography

tudio albums

*1983 - "White Feathers" (UK #5, U.S. #38)
*1984 - "Islands" (as Kajagoogoo: UK #35) - "Extra Play" (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" (as Kajagoogoo: free Internet release until February 2009 - soon to be released on CD 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"

ingles

*1979 - "Fear Machine" (as Art Nouveau)
*1983 - "Too Shy" (UK #1, U.S. #5)
*1983 - "Ooh to Be Ah" (UK #7)
*1983 - "Hang on Now" (UK #13, U.S. #78).
*1983 - "Big Apple" (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 release) (as Kajagoogoo; Beggs, Neale and Croxford only)

Audio sample

Footnotes

References

*Paul Gambaccini, Tim Rice, Jonathan Rice (1993), "British Hit Singles", Guinness Publishing Ltd.
*Paul Gambaccini (1983), "Kajagoogoo"

External links

* [http://www.kajagoogoo.com The Official Kajagoogoo Website]
*
* [http://www.everyhit.com/ UK Top 40 Hit Database]
* [http://lyricwiki.org/Kajagoogoo Full lyrics - under construction]