Post by ©KAJAMANIA Board Team (Slim K) on May 28, 2004 23:34:08 GMT -5
In 1983, as lead singer of pop group ‘Kajagoogoo‘ and co-writer of their million selling début album ‘White Feather’s’, Limahl won the hearts of a new global audience when their first single 'Too Shy', stormed to the top of the charts all over the world, including number 5 in the American ’Billboard’ chart.
The bands striking image also struck a note with their generation and a new wave of ‘Kaja’ mania helped them compete comfortably with their musical contemporaries.
Accolades and platinum sales discs soon followed including an invitation to perform at ‘The Royal Variety Show’ in the presence of HRH ‘Princess Margaret’. The icing on the cake that year culminated in the ‘ASCAP’ Award (American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers) for the most played song on American radio, which was presented personally by 'Hal David', better know as one half of the legendary songwriting duo ‘Baccarach and David’.
The chart success of their two follow up singles ‘Ooh to be ah’ & ‘Hang on now’ proved to any early critics, not only could these guys play their own instruments, they had worked hard to develop those all important songwriting skills, which might at least have given them a chance of longevity in the seemingly, fleeting world of ‘pop’.
Alas, this was not to be, as the pressure of the intense schedules and usual media scrutiny took its toll, friction was inevitable and merely eight months after grabbing worldwide musical headlines, in an unprecedented move, the group decided to ‘fire’ their frontman Limahl, quoting the reason as “musical differences”.
This fact was particularly highlighted recently when the group reformed for the first time in twenty years, for a one off TV special ‘Bands Reunited’ broadcast in January 2004 by music cable channel MTV/VH1.
“I was devastated, it really felt like a knife in my heart” were Limahl’s own words……what better incentive then to embark on a solo career !!
The self penned ‘Only for love’ earned Limahl his first chart hit as a solo artiste but significantly, it was while performing this song at the ‘Tokyo Music Festival’ he met legendary songwriter/producer and winner of three ‘Academy Awards’, ‘Giorgio Moroder’.
Giorgio was working on a new film soundtrack and invited Limahl to perform a then unknown song, ‘The Neverending Story’. After reaching no’1 in over seventeen countries, Limahl’s “velvet tones” and “quietly flamboyant” image was now indelibly printed in the memories of millions of music lovers.
It’s a long way from his roots in Wigan, Lancashire where the 16 year old local lad won a singing competition at the famous ‘Northern Soul’ venue ‘The Wigan Casino’. After moving to London at 18yrs old, two years of piano & singing lessons, and as singer with several unsuccessful groups (one of which featured another unknown singer ‘Mike Nolan’ who later rose to fame in ‘Bucks Fizz’), Limahl finally got his first paid job as a singer in ‘Aladdin’ at ‘The Grand Theatre’, Swansea, Wales, after a friend had introduced him to established London theatrical agent ‘Barry Stacy’.
During the next three years Limahl says “a very solid performing apprenticeship was earned” in various theatre roles including ‘Benjamin’ in two different productions of ‘Joseph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat’, ‘Lamar’ in ‘Godspell’ and a brief flirtation with acting as ‘Dennis’ in Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder at the vicarage’.
“Every penny I earned, I put into writing and recording demos”.
Several demos later it finally paid off when independent label ‘Angel Records’ signed the budding star under his real name of ‘Chris Hamill’ and released ‘It’s Christmas’ aimed at the lucrative Xmas market, however on this occasion, the wrong chart success was achieved when one magazine critic placed the song in their top 20 of ‘The worst Xmas songs of all time’.
The follow up single ‘Angel’ also made no impression on the charts and the label dropped him.
Not to be deterred by this minor hiccup, a ‘bold’ advert was placed in London’s ‘bible’ for musicians ‘Melody Maker’ “looking for a band” which was spotted by unknown quartet ‘Art Nouveou’ who lived in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire and after an audition with the band, at the printing factory where the drummer worked, Limahl was hired.
A year later, with brand new songs in hand, new demos and even new names (‘Art Nouveou’ became ‘Kajagoogoo’ and ‘Chris Hamill’ became ‘Limahl’ - an anagram of Hamill), he moved back to London and started the sometimes, thankless task of trekking around the record companies only to frequently hear the words “no thanks”.
To help pay the bills, Limahl took a part time job at London’s trendiest nightspot ‘The Embassy Club’ as a waiter/barman. It was here, where a chance meeting took place that would change the course of events……after chatting enthusiastically to ‘Duran Duran’s keyboard player ‘Nick Rhodes’ suddenly four days later EMI Records were in the picture talking record contract language with ‘Nick Rhodes’ and Duran Duran’s music producer ‘Colin Thurston’ at the production helm…… the rest as they say is history !!
This “history” was helped dramatically when Limahl and ‘Radio 1’ DJ, ‘Paul Gambacinni’ met and became good friends. Paul’s enthusiasm for records (he has a huge record collection) and unfaltering ear for a ‘hit’ convinced him to invite the group onto his new TV series ‘The other side of the tracks’ which he was hosting for ‘Channel 4’. The result was a one hour programme with over 20 minutes dedicated to newcomers ‘Kajagoogoo’, it was quite a TV coup.
After 20 years in the business, that ‘performing apprenticeship’ has now been well and truly earned, with countless, worldwide TV, theatre, ‘live’ appearances and even successful music production under his belt……keeping those schedules as intense today as they ever were, if not more.
The recent trend in ‘Reality TV’ has just seen Limahl (Feb 2004) reach the semi final in a ‘Pop Idol’ type TV format in Germany/Austria/Switzerland called ‘Comeback’ where fan mail from 16 year olds has started to arrive again which is ironic, as these are probably the offspring of the original Limahl fans who were there the first time round.
Consequently several fan websites have now appeared on the internet but the new ‘Official’ German Fan Club address is: www.limahl-official-fan-club.de and Limahl’s own ‘official’ website is: www.limahl.com
So what does the future have in store for Limahl ? Well, in this business called ‘show’, who knows……but it is now quite clear that he has already achieved a substantial degree of that much sought after ”longevity” as both a performer and musician……and long may it continue.2*
Finally, a few words from the man himself……
“I love performing/singing, I always have and if I can connect with people emotionally through music then I really feel I’ve achieved something. Music is a strong universal language that can break down barriers and bring people together……I’m sure you’ll agree, in today’s ever more crazy world we live in, a little more of this positive energy wouldn’t go amiss.”<br>
-----courtesy of the Official Limahl German Website-----
The bands striking image also struck a note with their generation and a new wave of ‘Kaja’ mania helped them compete comfortably with their musical contemporaries.
Accolades and platinum sales discs soon followed including an invitation to perform at ‘The Royal Variety Show’ in the presence of HRH ‘Princess Margaret’. The icing on the cake that year culminated in the ‘ASCAP’ Award (American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers) for the most played song on American radio, which was presented personally by 'Hal David', better know as one half of the legendary songwriting duo ‘Baccarach and David’.
The chart success of their two follow up singles ‘Ooh to be ah’ & ‘Hang on now’ proved to any early critics, not only could these guys play their own instruments, they had worked hard to develop those all important songwriting skills, which might at least have given them a chance of longevity in the seemingly, fleeting world of ‘pop’.
Alas, this was not to be, as the pressure of the intense schedules and usual media scrutiny took its toll, friction was inevitable and merely eight months after grabbing worldwide musical headlines, in an unprecedented move, the group decided to ‘fire’ their frontman Limahl, quoting the reason as “musical differences”.
This fact was particularly highlighted recently when the group reformed for the first time in twenty years, for a one off TV special ‘Bands Reunited’ broadcast in January 2004 by music cable channel MTV/VH1.
“I was devastated, it really felt like a knife in my heart” were Limahl’s own words……what better incentive then to embark on a solo career !!
The self penned ‘Only for love’ earned Limahl his first chart hit as a solo artiste but significantly, it was while performing this song at the ‘Tokyo Music Festival’ he met legendary songwriter/producer and winner of three ‘Academy Awards’, ‘Giorgio Moroder’.
Giorgio was working on a new film soundtrack and invited Limahl to perform a then unknown song, ‘The Neverending Story’. After reaching no’1 in over seventeen countries, Limahl’s “velvet tones” and “quietly flamboyant” image was now indelibly printed in the memories of millions of music lovers.
It’s a long way from his roots in Wigan, Lancashire where the 16 year old local lad won a singing competition at the famous ‘Northern Soul’ venue ‘The Wigan Casino’. After moving to London at 18yrs old, two years of piano & singing lessons, and as singer with several unsuccessful groups (one of which featured another unknown singer ‘Mike Nolan’ who later rose to fame in ‘Bucks Fizz’), Limahl finally got his first paid job as a singer in ‘Aladdin’ at ‘The Grand Theatre’, Swansea, Wales, after a friend had introduced him to established London theatrical agent ‘Barry Stacy’.
During the next three years Limahl says “a very solid performing apprenticeship was earned” in various theatre roles including ‘Benjamin’ in two different productions of ‘Joseph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat’, ‘Lamar’ in ‘Godspell’ and a brief flirtation with acting as ‘Dennis’ in Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder at the vicarage’.
“Every penny I earned, I put into writing and recording demos”.
Several demos later it finally paid off when independent label ‘Angel Records’ signed the budding star under his real name of ‘Chris Hamill’ and released ‘It’s Christmas’ aimed at the lucrative Xmas market, however on this occasion, the wrong chart success was achieved when one magazine critic placed the song in their top 20 of ‘The worst Xmas songs of all time’.
The follow up single ‘Angel’ also made no impression on the charts and the label dropped him.
Not to be deterred by this minor hiccup, a ‘bold’ advert was placed in London’s ‘bible’ for musicians ‘Melody Maker’ “looking for a band” which was spotted by unknown quartet ‘Art Nouveou’ who lived in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire and after an audition with the band, at the printing factory where the drummer worked, Limahl was hired.
A year later, with brand new songs in hand, new demos and even new names (‘Art Nouveou’ became ‘Kajagoogoo’ and ‘Chris Hamill’ became ‘Limahl’ - an anagram of Hamill), he moved back to London and started the sometimes, thankless task of trekking around the record companies only to frequently hear the words “no thanks”.
To help pay the bills, Limahl took a part time job at London’s trendiest nightspot ‘The Embassy Club’ as a waiter/barman. It was here, where a chance meeting took place that would change the course of events……after chatting enthusiastically to ‘Duran Duran’s keyboard player ‘Nick Rhodes’ suddenly four days later EMI Records were in the picture talking record contract language with ‘Nick Rhodes’ and Duran Duran’s music producer ‘Colin Thurston’ at the production helm…… the rest as they say is history !!
This “history” was helped dramatically when Limahl and ‘Radio 1’ DJ, ‘Paul Gambacinni’ met and became good friends. Paul’s enthusiasm for records (he has a huge record collection) and unfaltering ear for a ‘hit’ convinced him to invite the group onto his new TV series ‘The other side of the tracks’ which he was hosting for ‘Channel 4’. The result was a one hour programme with over 20 minutes dedicated to newcomers ‘Kajagoogoo’, it was quite a TV coup.
After 20 years in the business, that ‘performing apprenticeship’ has now been well and truly earned, with countless, worldwide TV, theatre, ‘live’ appearances and even successful music production under his belt……keeping those schedules as intense today as they ever were, if not more.
The recent trend in ‘Reality TV’ has just seen Limahl (Feb 2004) reach the semi final in a ‘Pop Idol’ type TV format in Germany/Austria/Switzerland called ‘Comeback’ where fan mail from 16 year olds has started to arrive again which is ironic, as these are probably the offspring of the original Limahl fans who were there the first time round.
Consequently several fan websites have now appeared on the internet but the new ‘Official’ German Fan Club address is: www.limahl-official-fan-club.de and Limahl’s own ‘official’ website is: www.limahl.com
So what does the future have in store for Limahl ? Well, in this business called ‘show’, who knows……but it is now quite clear that he has already achieved a substantial degree of that much sought after ”longevity” as both a performer and musician……and long may it continue.2*
Finally, a few words from the man himself……
“I love performing/singing, I always have and if I can connect with people emotionally through music then I really feel I’ve achieved something. Music is a strong universal language that can break down barriers and bring people together……I’m sure you’ll agree, in today’s ever more crazy world we live in, a little more of this positive energy wouldn’t go amiss.”<br>
-----courtesy of the Official Limahl German Website-----
