Retro Spins: Paul KIng - Joy

 

Paul King isn't a name too many people seem to remember from the 80's. Truth be told, until I stumbled across the single, Love And Pride, while doing my own bit of 80's searching, I never heard it either. Paul initially started the band, King, and with them released 1984's Steps In Time, and 1985's Bitter Sweet. However, I've already Retro Spinned both albums from the band, so today, I'm jumping into Paul's solo effort.

Initially upon graduating from Coventry Drama School, King joined the West Midlands Police Cadets. He stuck with it for two years before joining rock-ska band the Reluctant Stereotypes. They released the 1980 album, The Label, which appears to be the only record they ever released, and never released on CD.

The band disbanded shortly thereafter, and Paul started the new group, Raw Screens, changing the name to King by 1983. Though they produced two gold albums, the aforementioned Steps In Time, and Bitter Sweet, by 1987, Paul opted to go solo. Joy would be his only solo album released.

I can see why in 1987 this album wouldn't impact much. That was a tough year for artists to compete. Things could easily be buried under the likes of Bon Jovi's Slipepry When Wet, Def Leppard's Hysteria, Beastie Boys' Licensed To Ill, U2's The Joshua Tree, Whitney Houston's Whitney, and not to mention, Michael Jackson's Bad. Point being, if you didn't have something massive, good luck being noticed.

It's definitely unfortunate for Joy, because as a whole, it's a really good album. Paul King is the type of artist, especially on this record, where it doesn't matter if he's swooning with a ballad, or bringing a heavy funk laid bass riff with a beat. He's delivering one hundred percent on them all, and you'd have to adamantly try to not get your ears invested.

Follow My Heart, Pass On By, One Too Many Heartaches, Star, It's Up To You, and So Brutal are all amazing tracks. Mind you, Slow Motion, and Glory's Goal aren't too shabby either. It's practically a perfect album.

With his solo career unsuccessful, King joined MTV as a VJ in 1989, moving on to VH1 in 1994. Eventually, he moved on to become the face of the Super Hits Of The 80's infomercials, pandering collections of hits to viewers. Just call 077-115 15 15 to order your CD today (yeah, don't call that number, I don't know where it goes these days). I'm not going to lie, I kind of want one. The track listing on those four discs is pretty boss!

Okay, I have one now. Ah...instant gratification. Well, not instant. It's coming from the UK, so maybe in a few weeks. But until then, the itch has been scratched. Now I just need to find something to listen to for tomorrow's post.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

Retro Spins: King - Bitter Sweet

 

Sure, why not. Let's jump from a Prince to a King.

King was a happy find for me back in 2021 while playing through the compilation, Now, Forgotten 80's. This led me to track down their two albums, the first which I've already Retro Spinned. During that post, I went pretty extensive into their history, so at this point, there's not much to tell. As such, I'll give a little more info, then dive in.

Bitter Sweet (1985) would be the bands second, and last album. It would reach number sixteen on the UK charts, and spawn three successful singles in that country, Alone Without You, The Taste Of Your Tears, and Torture. Despite this success, the band would ultimately break up the following year, with no specifics shared as to why, and Paul King would go on to release a single solo album in 1987, Joy.

Unlike a lot of releases of the time, the album would be simultaneously released on CD, and while this version retained the same ten tracks, their order was altered. Additionally, it featured remixes of the singles, Tortue, and The Taste Of Your Tears. It's this particular version which is in my collection, and which takes center stage for today's Retro Spin.

By track four, I wanted to know where this album had been my who life and was actively looking to add King's solo album to my collection. All the songs kept hitting harder and harder, one after another.

Unfortunately, this momentum didn't keep up. Things took a dip on the second half, with not only a shift in tempo, but overall, intriguing songs. There was really nothing to get excited about, which was unfortunate.

Revisiting the first four tracks, I decided that of them, I Cringed, I Died, I Felt, and Torture, were the superior of them. I also quickly lost interest in the solo album from Paul King. Which is fine. I don't need to spend the money.

Beyond that, I've pretty much covered the band as a whole, and where things went, so there's not much more to say. I'm still happy with my purchase of their two albums. I got a few good tracks to add to my rotation, so I'm happy with that.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below. 

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

Retro Spins: King - Steps In Time

 

The 80's may have been dominated by a Prince, but there was also a King. While the latter didn't get their fair shake, they definitely should have.

King were a British new wave band formed from the remnants of the ska band, The Reluctant Stereotypes. While they would go on to have two top thirty hits in 1985 in the UK, as well as the number two hit in the US, Love and Pride, major success didn't seem to follow. The group was formed by Paul King on vocals and piano, and he was backed up by Mick Roberts (keyboards), Anthony Wall (bass / guitar), Jim Lantsbery (guitar), John Hewit, Adrtian Lillywhite, and Colin Heanes (all on drums).

The group released two albums in their career, Steps In Time (1984) and Bitter Sweet (1985). The band split up in 1986, and Paul King would release a solo album, Joy, in 1987. However, this lone venture would only yield the minor hit, I Know. Paul would later serve a brief stint as a VJ for MTV in the 90's.

Now, I will admit that I missed out completely on King in the 80's. The band didn't hit my radar until Christmas of 2021, when I received an awesome set of Now - Forgotten 80's albums from my girl. It was here that I would first hear the track, Love And Pride, instantly liking it. It quickly became the most played track from the CD set. It also intrigued me to see what albums the band had released, and more importantly, if they were available on CD.

As typically is the case with older 80's albums, I wasn't expecting to find they albums had been released on CD. Further, if they had, I expected them to be so obscure that they would be stupid expensive. I was happy to be wrong on both counts.

Not only were both albums pressed on disc, but I was able to get them both for fifteen dollars each. Okay, for a used CD, that is kind of expensive, but not ridiculously dumb as others which I've seen as high as $500.00. Still, there weren't many available, with the majority being overseas. Despite this, I was able to find a pair of US seller with them, and jumped on them fast.

As I played through their debut album, Steps In Time, I found myself immediately hooked. I was digging the new wave sound, which was heavily impacted by a groovy bass line. It sounded almost like a contender with Duran Duran, if Duran also incorporated ska into their sound.

I really found myself invested and enjoying this album, which only begged the question more, "What happened?" Why didn't King soar up the charts in the 80's becoming international superstars? From my perspective, they certainly had a marketable sound. I just really feel like they could have, and should have been, much larger than they were.

It was only within the last ten to twelve minutes of the album that I really heard any tracks that I didn't particularly care for. The first two-thirds of Steps In Time were solid. So many tracks got added to my shuffle list. Since then, I've also continued to play Love And Pride into the ground. It's just one of those tracks I've yet to get tired of. It's catchy, fun, and really enjoyable. If nothing else, I recommend you give that song a go.

Honestly, I'm really excited to immediately jump into their follow up album, Bitter Sweet, to see what hidden gems are contained within. But until then, that wraps this Retro Spins up.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below. 

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.