Tour News
KAJAGOOGOO
SPACE CADET TOUR 2009
REUNITED WITH ORIGINAL LINE UP FOR FIRST UK TOUR IN 25 YEARS!
Kajagoogoo’s original five members - Limahl (Lead Vocals), Nick Beggs (Bass/Vocals), Steve Askew (Guitar/Vocals), Jez Strode (Drums) and Stuart Croxford Neale (Keyboards/Vocals) have reunited to tour the UK for the first time in 25 years. This
intimate tour starts at Liverpool’s O2 Academy on 17th September and culminates at Southampton’s The Brook on 1st October.
The band, discovered by Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes, had a bitter split into two factions just eight months after their debut single ‘Too Shy’ topped the UK charts in February 1983. The band has now reconciled and have since rediscovered the magic that brought them together in the first place.
Limahl: “It took us 25 years to grow up, basically. All this silly stuff - ‘if you want to talk to me, talk to my lawyer…’ But now we’re back together, it’s a relief. When you get to our age, you know you’re half way through your life or more; you know this is not a rehearsal, it’s the real thing.†Armed with newly written songs available as an
EP, Nick is optimistic about the reunion “if it ain’t fun, it ain’t worth doingâ€.
Kajagoogoo’s success was instant - the pop-perfect ‘Too Shy’ became a number one in 23 countries (and Top 5 in America) the ‘Ooh To be Aah’ follow-up went top ten, ‘Hang On Now’ Top 20 and the debut album White Feathers Top 5 and went on to sell
3 million albums. After the split, the four remaining members regrouped with Nick on vocals and their next single ‘Big Apple’ reached a respectable number eight. But Limahl’s focal presence couldn’t help but be missing. Their next single ‘The Lion’s
Mouth’ only just made the Top 30. After second album Islands (number 35 in the UK) the band split once more. Limahl went onto have solo success with ‘Only For Love’
(Top 20) and then the No’ 1 smash ‘The Never Ending Story’ (theme song to the film of the same name) written by Giorgio Moroder and featured on his debut album ‘Don’t Suppose’.
The tour dates are as follows:
SEPTEMBER VENUE TICKETS BOX OFFICE
Thurs 17th LIVERPOOL - O2 Academy £19.75 08444 772000 www.ticketweb.co.uk
Fri 18th GLASGOW – The Ferry £19.75/adv/£22/door 01698 360085 www.secxtra.com
Sun 20th BELFAST – The Ulster Hall £24 adv £28/door 02890 334455
www.belfastcity.gov.uk/ulsterhall
Wed 23rd NORWICH - The Waterfront £15.00 01603 508050 www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk
Thurs 24th SHEFFIELD - O2 Academy £19.75 08444 772000 www.ticketweb.co.uk
Fri 25th WOLVERHAMPTON - Robin 2 £17.00 01902 401211 www.therobin.co.uk
Sat 26th NOTTINGHAM - Rescue Rooms£17.00 08713 100000 www.altâ€tickets.co.uk
Sun 27th SWANSEA – Sin City £19.75 01792 654226 www.alternativeswansea.com
Wed 30th LONDON - Islington Academy £19.75 08444 772000 www.ticketweb.co.uk
OCTOBER
Thurs 1st SOUTHAMPTON - The Brook £20.00 02380 555366 www.wegottickets.com/location/372
www.kajagoogoo.com
For national media enquiries please call Mel or Sophie at Impressive PR and
Ian Sparkes for regional media enquiries on 0207 284 3444
Artist Representation:
Glenn Kelly
Kajagoogoo Music Ltd
[email protected]
**AVAILABLE NOW AT WWW.KAJASHOP.CO.UK**
Death Defying Headlines - The NEW 4 track EP and 4 track Dance Remix EP
Produced by Ian Curnow (Pet Shop Boys, Kylie Minogue) and Dave Ford.
Remix EP Mixed by Unique Kid
:
Welcome to The Official Kajagoogoo Myspace Page
Kajagoogoo are back with their original 5 piece line up.
Limahl, Nick Beggs, Jez Strode, Stuart Neale & Steve Askew are back together for the first time in 25 years.
Kajagoogoo are currently in rehearsals for several festivals and gigs around the world, as well as planning a new album.
For bookings, Press & Media email
[email protected]
Kajagoogoo are a British pop band best known for their first single, "Too Shy", which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart and number five in the U.S Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. The single was produced by keyboardist Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran and Colin Thurston who was, at the time, Duran Duran's in-house producer.
The band was founded in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, in 1979 as a four piece avant-garde instrumental group called Art Nouveau, with Nick Beggs on bass guitar, Steve Askew on lead guitar, Stuart Croxford Neale ..boards and Jez Strode on drums. Art Nouveau released a track called "The Fear Machine". The single sold a few hundred copies, and was played on the John Peel show, but the band could not get a record deal.
In 1981, they advertised for and auditioned lead singers, and finally chose Christopher Hamill. He made his profile, and therefore that of the band, catchier by using an anagram of his surname for his stage name, becoming Limahl. The name of the band was then changed to Kajagoogoo.
The band attracted the interest of three record labels (and Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes) while performing at the Embassy Club in London. The band was signed to EMI in July of 1982, and Rhodes was signed to produce their first album, White Feathers. In between they supported Birmingham New Romantic band Fashion on tour. The debut single "Too Shy" was released in January of 1983 and went to the top of the charts (before any of Duran Duran's singles had done so, Rhodes noted ruefully). Follow-up releases "Ooh to Be Aah" and "Hang on Now" both reached the UK top twenty as well.
Following the departure of Limahl, Kajagoogoo continued with Bassist, Nick Beggs taking the helm as the bands frontman.
The singles that followed, "Big Apple" made the Top Ten in late 1983. and "The Lion's Mouth", made the Top 30,
The band briefly joined forces again on VH1's Bands Reunited (26 January 2004, Season 1, Episode 6) and performed at the Scala club in London, England for the show.
In 2007, Nick Beggs, Steve Askew and Stuart Neale continued to play together as Kajagoogoo and a new album is about to be released.
June 24th, 2007 saw the release of "Rocket Boy" the first Kajagoogoo single in 22 years. The single received airplay on Steve Wright's Radio 2 show in the UK.
In September 2007 Kajagoogoo performed the opening set with other 1980s acts at Retrofest at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland.
February 2008, Kajagoogoo, announced their reunion with original members, lead singer Limahl and drummer Jez Strode, bringing the band back together officially for the first time in 25 years.
The band performed at several festivals in Denmark, Slovakia and again at Retrofest 2008.
2009 will see the band writing new material for a new album...and perfoming LIVE throughout Europe....watch this space.
www.kajagoogoo.com