Paul King is an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 singer, musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

, VJ, and TV presenter.

Biography

Paul King was born in Galway, Ireland, but moved to Coventry, England with his parents at a young age.
After graduating from Coventry Drama School, King considered joining the West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...

, but joined rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

-ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

, The Reluctant Stereotypes. The band - which also contained record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Paul Sampson - released an album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 and three singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in the early 1980s on the back of Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

's vibrant 2 Tone

2 Tone

2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...

 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

King (band)

King were a British New Wave pop band of the mid 1980s, from Coventry. Their name comes from the surname of lead singer Paul King. The band recorded two albums for CBS Records ; both were produced by Richard James Burgess and certified gold.-Overview:The band was formed from the remnants of...

. As lead singer, King was famed for his cockatoo

Cockatoo

A cockatoo is any of the 21 species belonging to the bird family Cacatuidae. Along with the Psittacidae and the Strigopidae , they make up the parrot order Psittaciformes . Placement of the cockatoos as a separate family is fairly undisputed, although many aspects of the other living lineages of...

 haircut and spray painted Doc Marten's Boots - a look described "like the Child Catcher

Child Catcher

The Child Catcher is the supporting antagonist of the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and in the later stage musical adaptation. The character was created by the film's screenwriter, Roald Dahl, and did not appear in the original Ian Fleming book...

 from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...

. But, hell, the girls loved him," while Richard James Burgess

Richard James Burgess

Richard James Burgess is a studio drummer, music-computer programmer, recording artist, record producer, composer, author, manager, marketer and inventor. He was the producer for Spandau Ballet's first two albums.-Education:...

 produced and drummed

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 on most of the band's song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

s.

The band King lasted just a couple of years, though both of their albums, Steps in Time

Steps in Time

Steps in Time is the 1984 debut album by the English Coventry band King, produced by Richard James Burgess and released by CBS Records. Although lasting just two years and a half, King had five UK Top 40 hit songs, including two Top 10 hits: "Love & Pride" , the re-release of their debut single...

and Bitter Sweet, went Gold, and they had two Top 10 singles with "Love & Pride

Love & Pride

"Love & Pride" is the debut, 1984, single by Coventry band King and produced by Richard James Burgess.In May 1984, the single initially reached a chart ranking of 84 on the UK Singles Chart. When the group performed the song on Saturday morning television towards the end of the year, the single was...

" and "Alone without You," then Paul King went solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 with a 1987 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 entitled Joy

Joy (Paul King album)

Joy is the only solo album by British singer Paul King, released in 1987, on CBS label, after King, the new wave band he was lead singer for, split up in 1986....

, produced by the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Dan Hartman

Dan Hartman

Daniel Earl "Dan" Hartman was an American singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for such songs as: "Free Ride", "I Can Dream About You", "Instant Replay", "Love Sensation", and "Relight My Fire", all of which had world-wide success.-Career:Born in Pennsylvania's capital, Harrisburg,...

. It produced the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 minor hit single

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

, "I Know."

After an unsuccessful solo career, King became a VJ on MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 in 1989, before moving over to VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 in 1994, and then became known for his infomercial

Infomercial

Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...

s on 1980s collection albums. He is mostly remembered for MTV's Greatest Hits

MTV's Greatest Hits

MTV's Greatest Hits was a programme that started in 1990 presented by Paul King.The main idea was to show all the greatest hits throughout 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s.The show was shown at 4pm and then repeated at 10pm CET....

and 120 Minutes programmes. In 1998, a joint King & Paul King 18-track collection, entitled The Best of King - Love & Pride, was eventually released, with hit singles, stand-out tracks, B-Sides and remix

Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

es. Paul King still works for MTV Networks Europe where he has produced shows for VH1 UK

VH1 UK

VH1 is a specialist music television channel from MTV Networks Europe. The channel broadcasts into the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The channel is based on the original VH1 American channel of the same name...

 and MTV One.

Singles

• 1984 - "Love & Pride" (UK #84)
• Jan 1985 - "Love & Pride" (re-release - UK #2, US #55)
• Mar 1985 - "Won't You Hold My Hand Now" (UK #24)
• Aug 1985 - "Alone without You" (UK #8)
• Oct 1985 - "The Taste of Your Tears" (UK #11)
• Jan 1986 - "Torture" (UK #23)
• May 1987 - "I Know" (Paul King solo - UK #59)
• 1987 - "Follow My Heart" (Paul King solo - N.C.)

Albums

• Feb 1985 - Steps in Time
  Steps in Time
  Steps in Time is the 1984 debut album by the English Coventry band King, produced by Richard James Burgess and released by CBS Records. Although lasting just two years and a half, King had five UK Top 40 hit songs, including two Top 10 hits: "Love & Pride" , the re-release of their debut single...
  
  (King's debut album) UK No.6
• Nov 1985 - Bitter Sweet (King's second album) UK No.16
• 1987 - Joy
  Joy (Paul King album)
  Joy is the only solo album by British singer Paul King, released in 1987, on CBS label, after King, the new wave band he was lead singer for, split up in 1986....
  
  (Paul King's solo album)
• 1998 - The Best of King - Love & Pride (King and Paul King's joint collection)

External links