Kajagoogoo

Kajagoogoo
Kajagoogoo in Bochum, Germany; 2008. L-R: Nick Beggs, Stuart Croxford Neale, Limahl, Jez Strode and Steve Askew.
Background information
Also known as	Art Nouveau (1978-1981) Kaja (1984-1985)
Origin	Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England, UK
Genres	New wave, synthpop, pop rock
Years active	1978–1985, 2003–2004, 2007–present
Labels	EMI, Parlophone, Spectra
Website	www.kajagoogoo.com
Members	Steve Askew Nick Beggs Stuart Neale Jez Strode Limahl

Kajagoogoo /kædʒəˈɡuːɡuː/ are a British new wave band, best known for their hit single, "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and the Top 10 in numerous other countries.

Formed in Leighton Buzzard in 1978, the band were originally known as Art Nouveau, a four-piece avant-garde group, with Nick Beggs on bass guitar, Steve Askew on lead guitar, Stuart Croxford Neale on keyboards, and Jeremy "Jez" Strode 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 were unable to get a record deal.

In 1981, they advertised for a new lead singer, ultimately auditioning and choosing Christopher Hamill, who then went under the stage name Limahl (an anagram of his surname). The name of the group was then changed to Kajagoogoo, coined by phonetically writing out a baby's first sounds, which gave them 'GagaGooGoo' – and with a minor alteration, it became 'Kajagoogoo'.

The band signed with EMI Records in July 1982 after Limahl, while working as a waiter at London's Embassy Club, had met Nick Rhodes of the group Duran Duran. Rhodes proceeded to co-produce the band's first single, "Too Shy" with Duran Duran's EMI producer Colin Thurston. The single was released on 10 January 1983 and went on to top the UK Singles Chart (before any of Duran Duran's singles had done so, Rhodes lightheartedly noted).