King (new wave band)

King
King
Origin	Coventry, England
Genres	New wave[1]
Years active	1984–1986
Labels	CBS
Past members	Paul King; Mick Roberts; Anthony "Tony" Wall; Jim "Jackal" Lantsbery; John Hewitt; Adrian Lillywhite; Colin Heanes

King were a British pop band which formed in 1984. The band achieved chart success in 1985, and are best known for their hit single "Love & Pride", which reached number 2 in the UK. The band had two Top 20 albums (both certified Gold) and five Top 30 singles in the space of a year.

Overview

The band was formed from the remnants of Coventry rock-ska band The Reluctant Stereotypes along with producer Paul Sampson. After The Reluctant Stereotypes, singer Paul King formed The Raw Screens, who perfected their act and style to what Paul King and his manager Perry Haines called "Multi Tone", a reference to "Two Tone", and then, in 1983, relaunched the group as band King, coming from the surname of lead singer Paul King.^[2]

As lead singer, Paul King wore a mullet haircut and spray-painted Doc Marten's Boots – a look described "like the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".^[3] The band released two UK Top 20 albums on CBS, both produced and mixed by Richard James Burgess, who also played drums on most of the debut album Steps in Time (the second LP, Bitter Sweet, saw Adrian Lillywhite on drums). Both albums were certified gold and produced five hit singles, the most successful being the UK No. 2 hit, "Love & Pride".^[4] "Love & Pride" was King's only single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 which peaked at No. 55 in September 1985.

Despite a year of success, the band split up in 1986. In 1987, Paul King released a solo album entitled Joy, produced by American producer Dan Hartman. After that, he briefly worked as a VJ for MTV.

In 1998, a compilation album was released, entitled The Best of King – Love & Pride, with 18 tracks, featuring the band's greatest hits and stand-out tracks, including Paul King's one minor solo hit, "I Know".

Cherry Red Records released a remastered version of Bitter Sweet in 2007 followed in 2010 by a remaster of Steps In Time and in 2018 by another King compilation entitled Remixes & Rarities which contained rare tracks not found on the reissues.

Line-up

Paul King – vocals
Mick Roberts – keyboards, backing vocals
Anthony "Tony" Wall – bass guitar
Jim "Jackal" Lantsbery – guitar
John Hewitt – drums
Adrian Lillywhite – drums
Colin Heanes – drums

Discography

Albums

Steps in Time (1984) – King – UK No. 6^[4]
Bitter Sweet (1985) – King – UK No. 16^[4]
Joy (1987) – Paul King solo
The Best of King – Love & Pride (1998) – King & Paul King collection
Remixes & Rarities (2018)

Singles

Year	A-side	B-side	UK Singles Chart^[4]
April 1984 CBS	"Love & Pride" (12": Body & Soul Mix)	"Don't Stop" "Classic Strangers" (12")	84
August 1984 CBS	"Soul on My Boots" (12": Rub-A-Dub Mix)	"Ain't No Doubt" "Fools" (12")	–
October 1984 CBS	"Won't You Hold My Hand Now" (12": Heavy Times Mix)	"Endlessly" "Never Ending" (12")	–
January 1985 CBS A4948 Reissue 7", 12"	"Love & Pride" (12": Body & Soul Mix)	"Don't Stop" "Classic Strangers" (12")	2
March 1985 CBS 7", limited double 7"**, 12"	"Won't You Hold My Hand Now" (remix) (12":Youth Mix)	"Fish" (Reprise) (Live, Glasgow 26.1.85) "Won't You Hold My Hand Now" (Encore, Live) "And As for Myself" (Live)	24
August 1985 CBS 7", 12"	"Alone Without You" (12": Scorcher Mix)	"I Kissed the Spiky Fridge" (Rock Hard Mix) "Love & Pride" (USA Summer Mix) (12")	8
October 1985 CBS A6618 7", 12"	"The Taste of Your Tears" (12": Breaker Heart Mix)	"Crazy Party" "Alone Without You" – The Reprise (12")	11
January 1986 CBS QTA6761	"Torture" (12": PF Extended Mix)	"Groovin' with the Kings" "These Things" (Reprise)(12")	23
1987 CBS PKING1 Paul King solo	"I Know"	"Some Risks"	59^[5]
1987 CBS PKING2 Paul King solo	"Follow My Heart" (12": Heartbeat Mix)	"Love, Pride and Brutality"	-
1987 CBS Paul King solo	"Smug and Irritating"		-

References

↑ Morris, Chris (29 October 1994). "Indie Labels Thrive By Mining Majors' Catalogs For Reissues". Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 44. p. 116. ISSN 0006-2510.
↑ BBC – Coventry and Warwickshire – Entertainment – Pop into the Past
↑ icCoventry – King of the charts
1 2 3 4 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 301. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 302. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

External links

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[Morris-1] Morris, Chris (29 October 1994). "Indie Labels Thrive By Mining Majors' Catalogs For Reissues". Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 44. p. 116. ISSN 0006-2510.

[2] BBC – Coventry and Warwickshire – Entertainment – Pop into the Past

[3] Coventry – King of the charts

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-4] 1 2 3 4 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 301. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums_2-5] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 302. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.