Post by ©KAJAMANIA Board Team (Slim K) on Jul 31, 2004 22:25:41 GMT -5
hi Beggsomaniac's 
Nick Beggs wrote a book called Nick's Christmas Mix' which was written by Nick in 1984.
The following is a section out of the book.
"The story of my early life, The formation of Kajagoogoo. how my faith developed and a potted history of the band.... On the carts.... I was a pretty unlikely-looking dustman. Covered from head to toe in bright yellow Bedfordshire County Council waterproofs two sizes too big, I looked like a safety officer from Windscale. I had very long fair hair and the other dustman called me Shirley. For fourteen months I would drag myself out of bed at 5.15 every morning and make my bleary way to the depot for another day on the carts. I hated the job, but I had my reasons for doing it. Starting that early meant I could finish by midday. If I didn't fall asleep the moment I got back home, I would have the afternoon free to rehearse with the band. These were the early days of Kajagoogoo. We were called Art Nouveau at the time - at least that was our name for ourselves. When we gigged around local clubs we were called the Handstands, playing between the bingo sessions and stand-up comedians. As Art Nouveau we were trying to develop our own songs and our own distinctive style.
Life in Leighton Buzzard…… I was living in Leighton Buzzard as were the other members of the band : Stuart, Steve and Jez and Limahl. I was nineteen years old. As I dragged the bulging black plastic rubbish sacks down suburban paths and flung them into the clanking steel belly of the dust cart, my body worked on automatic pilot. My mind was whirling.I survived the job because of the band. The group’s success was the goal I focused on. Working on the bins was a convenient, if annoying way of supporting myself until we got going properly. So while I carried away the smelly refuse of Leighton Buzzard’s homes, I did a bit of thinking.I worked on songs in my head and tried to plan what was going to happen with the band. But also at that time I began to wrestle with the idea that God might actually be real and that he might expect something of me. These were the beginnings of the beliefs I have since made public.
Musical Changes……… My commitment to music changed too. We were still striving to find the right openings. Limahl had joined us as lead vocalist, through an advert in the music press, and we were really beginning to take shape. Even so the band, which had been number one in my life, suddenly took second place, because I had discovered something more important. I still feel that way, except that I believe I have a more balanced attitude towards our music now. I’m able to be both thoroughly professional and a Christian without the need to compromise. For a while I allowed my new found enthusiasm to interfere with my music in a bad way. I went to Bible studies instead of writing songs with the band. On the other hand, I wasn’t able to express my beliefs in my music - but that has worked out too, in the last year. I now feel my faith and my music are more integrated than they ever have been.
Kajagoogoo…………… The band took off like a rocket shortly after all this happened to me. We changed our name to Kajagoogoo and began playing one or two London club gigs. At our second appearance at the Embassy Club in 1982, EMI records came to see us and signed us up in that June. In October of that year we set off on our first proper tour, playing support to Fashion, who have remained very good friends of ours ever since. They were exciting times. We had lots of confidence and we were sure we were going to make it.
Number One………… sure enough, when Too Shy, our first real single came out in January 1983, it quickly shot to Number One. Suddenly Kajagoogoo were the flavour of the month. It was strange to wake up one morning and find yourself a success. I found it quite difficult. Overnight almost, there were people who though we were great and who would never have given us the time of day before. What was even stranger was that I became somebody to copy. All of a sudden there were people who were wanting to look like me - all because we had a hit single. It was a bit sickening. But I mustn’t sound ungrateful. We were going somewhere and people liked our music (even if the music press didn’t). But it has made me a little wary of people in the music business. I still love the business, but I’ve lost the naïve open-mindedness I once had and replaced it with a certain wariness. White Feathers, our first album, was released in May and it went straight into the album charts at Number Five. It went gold even before it hit the shops. The same month we set off on our first headline tour across England, Scotland, Ireland and on into Europe. Everywhere we were met by warmth and enthusiasm. And the rest, as they always say, is history. Limahl left the band in 1983, because of musical disagreements, and began a solo career. One of the things that Limahl was best at was writing and singing instant pop hits. Without Limahl, we needed to adjust our aims.
Where we are now………….. We are a very tight little unit, all our major decisions are made unanimously, and we are determined neither to be manufactured nor manipulated. As a band we are concerned to be more than just a hit machine, though naturally we want to sell records. I think now we are more concerned to be happy about what we’re saying through our music. For me, that means singing about what I believe. That doesn’t make me a gospel singer. I don’t think that’s what I, or the band, are about. Some people say I talk too much about my faith. But I feel it’s my duty as a Christian because of what I’ve been given and because I’ve been helped so much. I do have to be careful though, otherwise I tend to go over the top at times ! Looking back, our early success seems incredible. But we weren’t completely surprised by it. Too Shy was such an out and out pop song it could hardly be anything else but an instant hit. Since then, of course, none of our songs have had that same reaction. But we can hardly complain about the level of our success. And musically we’ve been a lot more experimental and tried to write songs that have some depth. Inevitably that’s meant immediate commercial success is less likely to come. We’re listening to more jazz now, and that’s becoming an influence in the stuff we play. However, the changes are gradual, each song a step further on than the one before, and none of them so radical as to make us unrecognisable as Kajagoogoo. So stay with us, and listen to our album Islands. I think you’ll find the change refreshing.
nick beggs '84
peace & love
SLIM K
Nick Beggs wrote a book called Nick's Christmas Mix' which was written by Nick in 1984.
The following is a section out of the book.
"The story of my early life, The formation of Kajagoogoo. how my faith developed and a potted history of the band.... On the carts.... I was a pretty unlikely-looking dustman. Covered from head to toe in bright yellow Bedfordshire County Council waterproofs two sizes too big, I looked like a safety officer from Windscale. I had very long fair hair and the other dustman called me Shirley. For fourteen months I would drag myself out of bed at 5.15 every morning and make my bleary way to the depot for another day on the carts. I hated the job, but I had my reasons for doing it. Starting that early meant I could finish by midday. If I didn't fall asleep the moment I got back home, I would have the afternoon free to rehearse with the band. These were the early days of Kajagoogoo. We were called Art Nouveau at the time - at least that was our name for ourselves. When we gigged around local clubs we were called the Handstands, playing between the bingo sessions and stand-up comedians. As Art Nouveau we were trying to develop our own songs and our own distinctive style.
Life in Leighton Buzzard…… I was living in Leighton Buzzard as were the other members of the band : Stuart, Steve and Jez and Limahl. I was nineteen years old. As I dragged the bulging black plastic rubbish sacks down suburban paths and flung them into the clanking steel belly of the dust cart, my body worked on automatic pilot. My mind was whirling.I survived the job because of the band. The group’s success was the goal I focused on. Working on the bins was a convenient, if annoying way of supporting myself until we got going properly. So while I carried away the smelly refuse of Leighton Buzzard’s homes, I did a bit of thinking.I worked on songs in my head and tried to plan what was going to happen with the band. But also at that time I began to wrestle with the idea that God might actually be real and that he might expect something of me. These were the beginnings of the beliefs I have since made public.
Musical Changes……… My commitment to music changed too. We were still striving to find the right openings. Limahl had joined us as lead vocalist, through an advert in the music press, and we were really beginning to take shape. Even so the band, which had been number one in my life, suddenly took second place, because I had discovered something more important. I still feel that way, except that I believe I have a more balanced attitude towards our music now. I’m able to be both thoroughly professional and a Christian without the need to compromise. For a while I allowed my new found enthusiasm to interfere with my music in a bad way. I went to Bible studies instead of writing songs with the band. On the other hand, I wasn’t able to express my beliefs in my music - but that has worked out too, in the last year. I now feel my faith and my music are more integrated than they ever have been.
Kajagoogoo…………… The band took off like a rocket shortly after all this happened to me. We changed our name to Kajagoogoo and began playing one or two London club gigs. At our second appearance at the Embassy Club in 1982, EMI records came to see us and signed us up in that June. In October of that year we set off on our first proper tour, playing support to Fashion, who have remained very good friends of ours ever since. They were exciting times. We had lots of confidence and we were sure we were going to make it.
Number One………… sure enough, when Too Shy, our first real single came out in January 1983, it quickly shot to Number One. Suddenly Kajagoogoo were the flavour of the month. It was strange to wake up one morning and find yourself a success. I found it quite difficult. Overnight almost, there were people who though we were great and who would never have given us the time of day before. What was even stranger was that I became somebody to copy. All of a sudden there were people who were wanting to look like me - all because we had a hit single. It was a bit sickening. But I mustn’t sound ungrateful. We were going somewhere and people liked our music (even if the music press didn’t). But it has made me a little wary of people in the music business. I still love the business, but I’ve lost the naïve open-mindedness I once had and replaced it with a certain wariness. White Feathers, our first album, was released in May and it went straight into the album charts at Number Five. It went gold even before it hit the shops. The same month we set off on our first headline tour across England, Scotland, Ireland and on into Europe. Everywhere we were met by warmth and enthusiasm. And the rest, as they always say, is history. Limahl left the band in 1983, because of musical disagreements, and began a solo career. One of the things that Limahl was best at was writing and singing instant pop hits. Without Limahl, we needed to adjust our aims.
Where we are now………….. We are a very tight little unit, all our major decisions are made unanimously, and we are determined neither to be manufactured nor manipulated. As a band we are concerned to be more than just a hit machine, though naturally we want to sell records. I think now we are more concerned to be happy about what we’re saying through our music. For me, that means singing about what I believe. That doesn’t make me a gospel singer. I don’t think that’s what I, or the band, are about. Some people say I talk too much about my faith. But I feel it’s my duty as a Christian because of what I’ve been given and because I’ve been helped so much. I do have to be careful though, otherwise I tend to go over the top at times ! Looking back, our early success seems incredible. But we weren’t completely surprised by it. Too Shy was such an out and out pop song it could hardly be anything else but an instant hit. Since then, of course, none of our songs have had that same reaction. But we can hardly complain about the level of our success. And musically we’ve been a lot more experimental and tried to write songs that have some depth. Inevitably that’s meant immediate commercial success is less likely to come. We’re listening to more jazz now, and that’s becoming an influence in the stuff we play. However, the changes are gradual, each song a step further on than the one before, and none of them so radical as to make us unrecognisable as Kajagoogoo. So stay with us, and listen to our album Islands. I think you’ll find the change refreshing.
nick beggs '84
peace & love
SLIM K
