| Name |
Kajagoogoo |
| Height |
|
| Naionality |
English |
| Date of Birth |
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| Place of Birth |
|
| Famous for |
Singing |
Kajagoogoo are a British pop band, best known for their hit single, "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. The band signed with EMI Records in July 1982, after Limahl had met Nick Rhodes (of the group Duran Duran) while Limahl was working as a waiter at the Embassy Club in London.
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, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart. Follow-up singles "Ooh to Be Aah" and "Hang on Now" also both reached the UK Top 20, and the group's debut album White Feathers reached no.5 in the UK Albums Chart. After being the support act for the Birmingham band Fashion in late 1982, Kajagoogoo embarked on their own headlining "White Feathers" tour in Spring 1983 (with the May 31st show at the London Hammersmith Odeon being filmed and released on home video). As success came, tensions began to rise in the band, which eventually culminated in Limahl being fired by the other bandmembers in mid-1983 and Beggs then taking over as lead singer. Limahl accused the others of being jealous of him and said "I've been betrayed!" and "I was sacked for making them a success." However, the other bandmembers went on record as saying that Limahl was an egomaniac and had become increasingly difficult to work with. The first single by the new four-piece Kajagoogoo was "Big Apple", which made the UK Top Ten in late 1983. Their next single, "The Lion's Mouth", made the Top 30, but after that public interest waned and the hits dried up. The subsequent new album, Islands, was less successful, peaking at no.35 in the UK.
In the U.S., the band renamed themselves as Kaja, and a different edition of the Islands album was released there as Extra Play, peaking at no.185 on the Billboard charts. The single "Turn Your Back On Me" did well on the US Dance Charts peaking at no.2 for two weeks. Limahl, meanwhile, went on to equally brief success as a solo artist. Strode then left the band and, in an attempt to gain some credibility and to lose their bubblegum image, the remaining three members relaunched as Kaja in the UK in 1985. Following the name change, the band released the single "Shouldn't Do That" (UK No. 63) in mid-1985. The song was featured on their third album, Crazy People's Right to Speak, but this too was unsuccessful. In 1986, the band split up.
