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Trollheart · 07-04-2022, 03:12 PM

Case No: THDAMMXXII-VII-IV-01/02

Client: Classified. No, it’s not Paul King! Well, maybe not.

Casefile:
Who? King
What? “Love and Pride”
Where? UK (Coventry)
When? 1985

Well the last case took me a while to sort out, but I’m making easy money on this one! Despite the fact that Wiki tells me that King had “five top 30 singles in the space of a year”, this does appear to be a loaded statement. The single which made them - and was really their only big hit - the abovementioned “Love and Pride” was released twice, first time doing nothing and then on its re-release going to number 2 in the charts. The other two singles from the debut album Steps in Time completely bombed, and even on re-release only one of them made it into the top 30, missing out on the top 20 by only getting to number 24, while the other, well, they didn’t bother re-releasing that, so they must have known it was ****e.

Originally released in April of 1984, “Love and Pride” struggled to a pathetic number 84 (how appropriate!) but then the band played the song on TV and suddenly everyone liked it, so those canny record execs thought “give it another shot”. They did, and this time it got to number 2, almost making it to number one, but as Buzz Aldrin once sheepishly said, second comes right after first! Yeah. Anyway, the success of the two singles then released from their second album look suspiciously like they depended on the sudden interest in their first, so **** it, it’s raining outside and I’m not ready to leave just yet. Also, I like to give my clients value for money. Besides, this mug of hot tomato soup is just the thing for a ****ty night like this, so let’s check out the circumstances of the so-called “King revival”. Return of the King? Let’s not push it, pal.

Re-released in February of 1985 after their stint on the telly, the next single, also from that album and having done as poorly initially - well, worse; it didn’t even get into the charts - “Won’t You Hold My Hand Now” (I’d rather not if it’s all the same to you, don’t want to think what you might have been doing with it) hit the shelves a mere four weeks later, at the end of March, and
Made a half-decent showing of getting to number 24. The first single then from the new album, their second and last, Bitter Sweet, was released five months later and promptly climbed to number 8. So the accusation must be made that this single capitalised on the resurgence of interest in the band and the second coming, as it were, of their first (and somewhat their second) single. In other words, people suddenly wanted to buy and hear “Love and Pride”, saw there was a new single (and album) out, and bought it. Had “Love and Pride” not been so successful on its second outing, I doubt that “Alone Without You” would have done anything like as well.

The next single, the same: released two months later, got to number 11, then the popularity begins to wane as 1985 gives way to 1986, and their final chart offering, “Torture”, only managed one place more than the re-released “Won’t You Hold My Hand Now”, showing that the gloss was beginning to wear off. By now, people were probably sick of “Love and Pride”, even those who had bought it and sent it to number two, or the chart-buying sheep had moved on to the next shiny thing glittering in the record shops and forgotten all about the crowned ones.

At any rate, tracing their career after that is easy as shooting Republicans in a barrel. With the release of their second and final album in 1986 the band broke up, and as so often happens, the main man went on to… well, nothing really. He tried his hand at a solo career, releasing one album under his own name, banging it out in 1987 probably in the hope that someone out there remembered, or cared, about King the band. Nobody did. It failed to chart at all, and its singles went down like the Hindenburg. Paul thought, sod this for a game of soldiers! I’m a pop star! Someone must want me.

This time he was right. Someone did. First MTV and then VHI, where he still continues to present chart shows and specials. He also did some infomercials for eighties song collections. I guess in the end, it was good to be the King.

The others in his band? Not a clue. Could be on the dole for all I know, or anyone seems to care. Hey, as long as he’s all right, right? Oh and as a postscript, in 1998 we got The Best of King and Paul King - Love and Pride. I wonder if it sold? I wonder if you care?

So there’s another one done.

Result of Case No: THDAMMXXII-VII-IV/01/02

07-04-2022, 03:12 PM	#9 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Case No: THDAMMXXII-VII-IV-01/02 Client: Classified. No, it’s not Paul King! Well, maybe not. Casefile: Who? King What? “Love and Pride” Where? UK (Coventry) When? 1985 Well the last case took me a while to sort out, but I’m making easy money on this one! Despite the fact that Wiki tells me that King had “five top 30 singles in the space of a year”, this does appear to be a loaded statement. The single which made them - and was really their only big hit - the abovementioned “Love and Pride” was released twice, first time doing nothing and then on its re-release going to number 2 in the charts. The other two singles from the debut album Steps in Time completely bombed, and even on re-release only one of them made it into the top 30, missing out on the top 20 by only getting to number 24, while the other, well, they didn’t bother re-releasing that, so they must have known it was **e. Originally released in April of 1984, “Love and Pride” struggled to a pathetic number 84 (how appropriate!) but then the band played the song on TV and suddenly everyone liked it, so those canny record execs thought “give it another shot”. They did, and this time it got to number 2, almost making it to number one, but as Buzz Aldrin once sheepishly said, second comes right after first! Yeah. Anyway, the success of the two singles then released from their second album look suspiciously like they depended on the sudden interest in their first, so it, it’s raining outside and I’m not ready to leave just yet. Also, I like to give my clients value for money. Besides, this mug of hot tomato soup is just the thing for a *ty night like this, so let’s check out the circumstances of the so-called “King revival”. Return of the King? Let’s not push it, pal. Re-released in February of 1985 after their stint on the telly, the next single, also from that album and having done as poorly initially - well, worse; it didn’t even get into the charts - “Won’t You Hold My Hand Now” (I’d rather not if it’s all the same to you, don’t want to think what you might have been doing with it) hit the shelves a mere four weeks later, at the end of March, and Made a half-decent showing of getting to number 24. The first single then from the new album, their second and last, Bitter Sweet, was released five months later and promptly climbed to number 8. So the accusation must be made that this single capitalised on the resurgence of interest in the band and the second coming, as it were, of their first (and somewhat their second) single. In other words, people suddenly wanted to buy and hear “Love and Pride”, saw there was a new single (and album) out, and bought it. Had “Love and Pride” not been so successful on its second outing, I doubt that “Alone Without You” would have done anything like as well. The next single, the same: released two months later, got to number 11, then the popularity begins to wane as 1985 gives way to 1986, and their final chart offering, “Torture”, only managed one place more than the re-released “Won’t You Hold My Hand Now”, showing that the gloss was beginning to wear off. By now, people were probably sick of “Love and Pride”, even those who had bought it and sent it to number two, or the chart-buying sheep had moved on to the next shiny thing glittering in the record shops and forgotten all about the crowned ones. At any rate, tracing their career after that is easy as shooting Republicans in a barrel. With the release of their second and final album in 1986 the band broke up, and as so often happens, the main man went on to… well, nothing really. He tried his hand at a solo career, releasing one album under his own name, banging it out in 1987 probably in the hope that someone out there remembered, or cared, about King the band. Nobody did. It failed to chart at all, and its singles went down like the Hindenburg. Paul thought, sod this for a game of soldiers! I’m a pop star! Someone must want me. This time he was right. Someone did. First MTV and then VHI, where he still continues to present chart shows and specials. He also did some infomercials for eighties song collections. I guess in the end, it was good to be the King. The others in his band? Not a clue. Could be on the dole for all I know, or anyone seems to care. Hey, as long as he’s all right, right? Oh and as a postscript, in 1998 we got The Best of King and Paul King - Love and Pride. I wonder if it sold? I wonder if you care? So there’s another one done. Result* of Case No: THDAMMXXII-VII-IV/01/02 __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 07-04-2022 at 07:25 PM.