Paul Young
Paul Antony Young, better known as Paul Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English pop artist. He is not to be confused with the late singer Paul Young who was in Sad Café and Mike & The Mechanics and died in 2000.
Biography
Paul was born in Luton, England. He has an older brother Mark and a younger sister Joanne. After school, he went to work at the Vauxhall Motors factory and in his spare time played in several bands as bass guitarist. The first group for which he became lead singer was Kat Kool & The Kool Kats. In the 1970s he joined the Streetband, who had one Top 40 hit in the UK with the humorous track "Toast", reaching No. 18 in 1978.
In December of 1979 the Streetband broke up, and Young formed the Q-Tips, who established their name by playing live but had no hits in the UK, although their single "Letter Song" did enjoy minor success in mainland Europe.
The Q-Tips went their separate ways in 1982, and Young was signed by CBS Records as a solo performer. His first two singles, "Iron Out The Rough Spots" and "Love Of The Common People" had no success, but the third, a cover of the Marvin Gaye classic "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" was No. 1 in the UK singles chart for three weeks in the summer of 1983, and the first of fourteen British Top 40 singles.
Similar success followed all over Europe. In the UK, follow-up single "Come Back And Stay" reached No. 4, and a re-release of "Love Of The Common People" made it to No. 2, while the album No Parlez was certified platinum in various countries.
Young's style at the time was a warm, approachable white soul, though he received playful criticism for his fashion decisions, which included chunky handknitted sweaters and leather suits with matching ties - not so chic, even in 1983.
1984 was a difficult year for Young, as a serious throat condition affected his vocal cords to the extent that he couldn't sing at all for most of the year. He partially recovered, however, and famously performed the opening line to the Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?". Young's voice was affected by his vocal fold nodules and the subsequent operation, leading to a very different sound in his comeback single "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down". He continues to have voice and throat difficulties.
Young's biggest worldwide hit followed in 1985 with a version of Daryl Hall's "Everytime You Go Away".
He continued to have a successful career, with some highlights such as singing the Crowded House track "Don't Dream It's Over" at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute in 1988, producing a popular duet Senza Una Donna with Italian singer Zucchero in 1991, and singing "Radio Ga Ga" with Queen in 1992 at the tribute concert to the recently deceased Freddie Mercury.
Young has released fewer solo albums since he was freed from his contract with CBS/Sony Records in 1993. He reformed the Q-Tips for a short series of concerts that year, but now divides his time between family, the informal Tex-Mex group Los Pacaminos, and performing live during Eighties revival tours in the UK (in 2001 and 2003).
In September 2006 he appeared in the BBC1 show Celebrity Masterchef and won his show, allowing him a place in the semi-final.
Personal life
Young met his wife, model Stacey Smith, while making the video of "Come Back And Stay" in 1983. In May 2006, it was announced that the couple had separated.[1] They have three children: daughters Levi (born 1987) and Layla (born August 1994), and son Grady-Cole (born January 1996).
He went to Ashcroft High School in Luton.
Trivia
- Young contributed to the Vangelis album Voices in 1995.
- In 1992, he teamed up with Clannad to cover the Joni Mitchell song "Both Sides Now" (which had been a hit for, among others, Judy Collins), and this proved very popular with both sets of fans.
Albums
- No Parlez (1984) - #79 US, #1 UK
- The Secret Of Association (1985) - #19 US, #1 UK
- Between Two Fires (1987) - #77 US, #4 UK
- Other Voices (1990) - #142 US, #4 UK
- From Time To Time - The Singles Collection (1990) - #1 UK
- The Crossing (Album) (1993) - #27 UK Not released in US
- Love Songs (1996)
- Paul Young (1997) - #39 UK
- The Essential Paul Young (2003) - #27 UK
Singles
- "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" (1983) - #1 UK, #70 US
- "Come Back and Stay" (1983) - #4 UK, #22 US (1984 release)
- "Love Of The Common People" (1983) - #2 UK (re-release), #45 US (1984 release)
- "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" (1984) - #9 UK, #13 US (1985 release)
- "Everything Must Change" (1984) - #9 UK, #56 US
- "Everytime You Go Away" (1985) - #4 UK, #1 US
- "Tomb Of Memories" (1985) - #16 UK
- "Wonderland" (1986) - #24 UK
- "Some People" (1986) - #56 UK, #65 US
- "Why Does A Man Have To Be Strong?" (1987) - #63 UK
- "Softly Whispering I Love You" (1990) - #21 UK
- "Oh Girl" (1990) - #25 UK, #8 US
- "Heaven Can Wait" (1990) - #71 UK
- "Calling You" (1991) - #57 UK
- "Senza Una Donna (Without A Woman)" (1991, as Zucchero featuring Paul Young) - #4 UK
- "Both Sides Now" (1991, as Clannad And Paul Young) - #74 UK
- "Don't Dream (It's Over)" (1991) - #20 UK
- "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?" (1992) - #22 US
- "Now I Know What Made Otis Blue" (1993) - #14 UK
- "Hope In A Hopeless World" (1993) - #42 UK
- "It Will Be You" (1994) - #34 UK
- "I Wish You Love" (1997) - #33 UK
See also
List of best-selling music artists