Kajagoogoo

Warmly remembered on both sides of the Atlantic for their 1985 Number 1 hit Too Shy, Kajagoogoo were one of the most successful synth-pop bands to find pop success in the post-punk void of the early 1980s. Originally an avant-garde instrumental band called Art Nouveau, they changed their name to Kajagoogoo after adding the extrovert figure of Limahl as lead singer. Originally a musical actor, he'd previously toured with a production of Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and also fronted a series of bands, including Vox Deux, Crossword and Brooks (with Mike Nolan). Art Nouveau, meanwhile, had placed an advert for a singer (who "can sing and look good") in music magazine Melody Maker. Limahl (who adopted his new name as an anagram of his real surname, Hamill) passed the audition and became singer of the new-look Art Nouveau, now called Kajagoogoo. After a chance meeting, Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran agreed to produce their first single Too Shy, which topped the UK charts in 1983 and reached the top five in the US. They had further hits with Ooh To Be Ah and Hang On Now, while their debut album White Feathers went to Number 5 in the UK album charts. A successful British tour followed but, shortly afterwards, Limahl was fired by the rest of the band, who accused him of being an "egomaniac". Nick Beggs then took over as lead singer and they again reached the Top 10 with their single Big Apple and had another hit with The Lion's Mouth, but their next album, Islands, was a flop. The group renamed themselves Kaja in an attempt to relinquish their bubblegum image and achieved a breakthrough in the dance charts with Turn Your Back On Me. However, their third album Crazy People's Right To Speak was a commercial failure and the band split in 1985. They had a short-lived reunion with Limahl for a TV show in 2003 and Beggs, Askew and Neale revived Kajagoogoo again in 2007 with the single Rocket Boy, worked on a new album Gone To The Moon and went back on the road. In 2011 they released a new single Death Defying Headlines.

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