Paul Young was an English singer and percussionist who worked with several successful bands. He initially came to prominence as the lead singer of chart band Sad Café

Sad Café (band)

Sad Café were an English rock band, which formed in Manchester in 1976, as a result of the unification of the rock bands Mandala and Gyro. Sad Café are best known for their song "Every Day Hurts" which reached Number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1979....

, and later enjoyed further chart success sharing lead vocal duties with Paul Carrack

Paul Carrack

Paul Carrack is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Carrack has been a member of several bands including Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, and Roxy Music, been a session and touring musician for several others including Nick Lowe, and has enjoyed success as a solo artist as well...

 in Mike + The Mechanics.

Career

Young was born in Benchill

Benchill

Benchill is a district of the city of Manchester, England, part of the massive Wythenshawe council estate, approximately eight miles south of Manchester City Centre....

, Wythenshawe

Wythenshawe

Wythenshawe is a district in the south of the city of Manchester, England.Formerly part of the administrative county of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the 1920s to resolve the problem of its inner...

, Manchester, England. He generally sang Mike + the Mechanics' heavier songs, such as the hit singles "All I Need Is a Miracle

All I Need Is a Miracle

"All I Need Is a Miracle" is a pop rock song performed by Mike + The Mechanics. Written by guitarist Mike Rutherford and producer Christopher Neil, it was first included on their 1985 self-titled debut album, and later released as a single, where it reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in...

", "Taken In

Taken In

"Taken In" is a pop rock song performed by Mike + The Mechanics. Written by guitarist Mike Rutherford and producer Christopher Neil, it was the third single released in June 1986 from their 1985 self-titled debut album, and the third to become a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100...

", "Nobody's Perfect", and "Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth may refer to:*Word of mouth, a method of communication*Word of Mouth, a local Blues/Rock band based in Hamburg, New York*Word of Mouth ,A TV show hosted by Sandy Daza and Teacher Patty in the Philippines...

". He was brought into the band under the recommendation of Mike + The Mechanics producer/songwriter Christopher Neil

Christopher Neil

Christopher Neil is a British record producer, songwriter, singer and actor.He has worked with Celine Dion, a-ha, Dollar, Paul Nicholas, Kim Criswell, Morten Harket, Mike + The Mechanics, Johnny Logan, Marillion, The Moody Blues, The Other Ones, Paul Carrack, Rod Stewart, Gerry Rafferty, Cher,...

 and Neil's manager.

Death

He died of a heart attack on 15 July 2000 at his home on Hale Road, Hale

Hale, Greater Manchester

Hale is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is contiguous with the southeast of Altrincham, approximately southwest of the city of Manchester....

, Altrincham. He was cremated on 22 July 2000.

Posthumous release

In 2011, a new album was released, Chronicles, compiled from unfinished material recovered from his home studio, and containing a new single, "Your Shoes", written by Paul Young and Mike Rutherford.

Discography

Paul Young

• 2011 Chronicles (2011 album)
• 2011 "Your Shoes" (2011 single)

Mike + The Mechanics

• 1985 Mike + The Mechanics : No.78 UK, No.26 US, No.10 CAN, No.9 Germany
• 1988 The Living Years
  The Living Years
  Living Years is the second album by Mike + The Mechanics, released in 1988. The album reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.- History :...
  
  : No.2 UK, No.13 US, No.12 CAN, No.16 Germany.
• 1991 Word of Mouth
  Word of Mouth (Mike + The Mechanics album)
  Word of Mouth is the third album by Mike + The Mechanics, released in 1991.There was some overlap with the marketing of the album and the making of Genesis's We Can't Dance, with Mike Rutherford being committed to both...
  
  : No.11 UK, No.107 US, No.24 CAN
• 1995 Beggar on a Beach of Gold
  Beggar on a Beach of Gold
  Beggar On a Beach of Gold is the fourth album by Mike + the Mechanics, released on 6 March 1995. This album contained three UK hits, the No.12 hit "Over My Shoulder", the No.33 hit "A Better on a Beach of Gold", and the No.51 hit "Another Cup of Coffee". All three songs charted in Germany as well,,...
  
  : No.9 UK, No.21 Germany
• 1996 The Living Years
  The Living Years
  Living Years is the second album by Mike + The Mechanics, released in 1988. The album reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.- History :...
  
  (re-issue): No.67 UK
• 1999 Mike & The Mechanics
  Mike + The Mechanics (1999 album)
  Mike & The Mechanics is the fifth studio album by Mike + The Mechanics, released in 1999. As the name is easily confused with Mike + The Mechanics, it is also referred to as M6...
  
  (aka M6) : No.14 UK, No.9 Germany

Sad Café

Albums

Year	Album	UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	U.S. Albums Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
1977	Fanx Ta Ra	#56	-
1977	Hungry Eyes	-	-
1978	Misplaced Ideals	#50	-
1979	Misplaced Ideals †	-	#94
1979	Façades	#8	#146
1980	Sad Café	#46	#160
1981	Live	#37	-
1981	Olé	#72	-
1985	Politics of Existing	-	-
1989	Whatever it Takes	-	-

† U.S. version of the first two albums

External links

• Paul Young website, operated by the singer's son, Jason
• BBC news, report on his death