Paul King | |
---|---|
Paul King in San Francisco – 1986
|
|
Background information | |
Birth name | Paul King |
Born |
Galway, County Galway, Ireland |
20 November 1960
Origin | Coventry, England |
Genres | New wave, pop rock, soul |
Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, VJ, television presenter |
Instruments | Vocals, piano, synthesizer |
Years active | 1984–1986 (as King's lead singer) 1987–1988 (as soloist) 1988–present (as VJ and TV presenter) |
Labels | CBS |
Associated acts |
King Richard James Burgess Dan Hartman The Reluctant Stereotypes The Raw Screens |
Paul King (born 20 November 1960) is a British-Irish singer, musician, VJ and TV presenter.
Paul King was born in Galway, County Galway, Ireland and moved to Coventry, England, with his parents at a young age. After graduating from Coventry Drama School, King considered joining the West Midlands Police, but joined rock-ska band, the Reluctant Stereotypes. King's line up of the band – which also contained record producer Paul Sampson – released an album The Label and three singles Confused Action, Plans For Today and Nightmares in the early 1980s on the back of Coventry's vibrant 2 Tone ska scene.
After the demise of the Reluctant Stereotypes, 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 1980s 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," while Richard James Burgess produced and drummed on most of the band's songs.