Back in the days of the Hobo Workshop c 1974 75 two bands who played the Workshop at the Holyhead Youth Centre theatre in Coventry - Analog and Trigon bequeathed members Paul Brooks, Steve Edgson and Paul Samson to the first version of a band called The Reluctant Stereotypes which included Peter Bosworth and Steve Haddon and Martyn Bates. Originally a jazzrock group - they change to a more commercial format with the development of Two Tone with a change of line up and recording for WEA Records made an album called The Label. At this stage, the new line up consisted of singer Paul King (formerly a trainee actor at the Brooklands Annex) and Drummer Colin Heanes, Steve Edgeson, Tony Wall. The Reluctant Stereotypes toured the country, made some singles during the Two Tone period and were a highly popular band. The band split in 1981 after playing the Reading Festival and after releasing 4 single. Paul King, Colin Heanes and Tony Wall formed the Raw Screens who by 1985 had changed their name to KING with another change of line up.
(Paul Sampson (LINK TO HIS MY SPACE) would go on to produce The Primitives and Catatonia)
Check out the Reluctant Stereotypes My Space HERE)
Pete Chambers takes up the story -
Following on from the success of Two Tone Paul King's band KING burst into the charts. With the help of some material from The Coventry music historian and journalist - Pete Chambers (author of Godiva Rocks / The Two Tone Trail and The Beatles - Sent to Coventry) here is a post about King with some You Tube and some of the background and the bands emergence from the Reluctant Stereotypes.
In the BBC Coventry local radio programme Pop into the Past - Pete Chambers wrote on the website
"As the 2-Tone dream began to fade in the early 1980s, Coventry folk began to wonder what would be the next big thing
to emerge from the city. Enter Paul King, a flamboyant front man who along with the band's insightful manager Perry Haines had a bold blueprint for success.
Although slightly less iconic than 2-Tone (Paul called it multi-tone) they would still create their own fashion statement and tantalise us with some clever lyrics, and some high quality music.
Created from the remains of the ever-so-good Reluctant Stereotypes, The Raw Screens honed and perfected their act and then switched their name to King.
From a rather slow start the momentum increased and in January 1985 Coventry was back on the music map with the anthemic Love & Pride. It was a song designed to be instantly in your face, even beginning with its own chorus for maximum impact.
Although it would famously stay at number two in the charts throughout February, held back by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson of all people, it was a song that gave the overall scheme and intent of the band in just one record. All the meticulous planning was paying off and a support slot with Culture Club had done the band no harm at all.
For me they were almost the perfect pop band. With the enigmatic Paul King using all he had learnt at
Coventry Drama School up front, with painted Doc Martens aglow, he made the stage his own. When you watched King it was always hard to take your eyes off Paul, such was his presence.
It wasn’t all Paul King however, Jim Landsbury also cut an interesting figure with his guitar hero dynamics and Mick Roberts with some nifty keyboard work, was the musical backbone of the band. Listen to King now and see just how underrated he actually was. Finally Tony Wall was always there, holding it all together on his trusty bass guitar.
The whole King experience was to last a little over a year although in that time they would enter the charts again with four more powerpop songs (including Won’t You Hold My Hand Now and Alone Without You).
When it was over and our multi-coloured Martens began to look a little passé, Paul embarked on a solo career and Coventry was left with another fine musical legacy."
From Wikipedia (HERE) -
"After the demise of The Reluctant Stereotypes, singer Paul King formed "The Raw Screens" who perfected their act and style to what King and his manager Perry Haines called multi-tone, and then in 1983 relaunched the group as self-named Eighties band King"
As lead singer, King was famed for his cockatoo haircut and spray painted Doc Marten's Boots - a look described "like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But, hell, the girls loved him;"[3] while
Burgess produced and drummed on most of the band's songs. The band released two UK Top 10 albums on CBS both produced and mixed by Burgess, who also played drums on most of Steps in Time. The CBS albums were both certified Gold and produced five hit singles, the most successful being the UK no.2 hit Love & Pride."
Singles
- "Love & Pride" (1984) UK #84
- "Love & Pride" (re-release) (1985) US #55 UK #2
- "Won't You Hold My Hand Now" (1985) UK #24
- "Alone Without You" (1985) UK #8
- "The Taste Of Your Tears" (1985) UK #11
- "Torture" (1986) UK #23
- "I Know" (1987) - Paul King solo UK #59
- "Follow My Heart" (1987) - Paul King solo Failed to chart
[edit] Albums
- Steps in Time (1984) - King
- Bitter Sweet (1985) - King
- Joy (1987) - Paul King
ah, nice to see that...Taste of Your Tears was their best.
Posted by: sushiking | 11/07/2007 at 05:56 PM
i prefered 'won't u hold my hand now' myself .... heavy times lol
Posted by: covcitymusic | 11/12/2007 at 07:33 PM