— Limahl
Call me a hardened cynic but something's amiss this fortnight. You don't just get sacked by your old band only to end up praising their latest release. There's got to be an ulterior motive at play on the part of Limahl. I'll try to figure it out by presenting some possible scenarios.
1. He's still bitter about what came down but he genuinely likes the record in spite of himself. This is essentially how he presents it in his review. Referring to them as the "Chappypoopoos" doesn't strike me as just playful mickey taking, he clearly hasn't gotten over how they ditched him but he's pleasantly surprised by how much he digs "The Lion's Mouth". Fair enough. Brian Eno has famously said that his favourite Roxy Music album is Stranded (ie the first one after he was similarly shown the door) and few have questioned his sincerity, have they?
2. He reckons that a snotty SOTF is the ultimate backhanded compliment. The one I've been trying to make myself believe over the past several days but which has gone nowhere due to lack of evidence beyond the whole "Chappypoopoo's" comment. It just feels kind of true. Feelings don't care about your facts, that's what everyone's been saying on YouTube lately, right?
3. He doesn't really like it that much but by praising a Kajagoogoo record he can look like the bigger person. It could just be me but I have a hard time believing that Limahl likes the Goo's rather duff new single this much. He seems to be much more complimentary towards the latest records by Dee C. Lee and Sade (with at least an equal amount of love for the likes of The Boomtown Rats, Howard Jones, The Pretenders and The Rolling Stones) but denies them a star single honour. What does he actually have to say about his erstwhile bandmates' latest? He recalls bumping into Chapman Stick guy who played him this which got him "humming the chorus and generally reminiscing". So, scant on the analysis then.
4. All of the above. This seems most likely. Limahl's sacking is still raw and he takes a dig at their name (a name they used when he was also one of their number) but he hummed the chorus so it's all good.
5. None of the above. I'm not Limahl. For one thing, I'm much, much taller than he is. More to the point, I have no idea if there's an ulterior motive or anything hiding away. I hear "The Lion's Mouth" and get the impression that there's this group of mates from Leighton Buzzard who creatively lost their way for a time but are finding their feet back in the prog rock they all love. Him on that Chapman Stick thing is handling vocals and they're all much more in their element again — and this is a world away from the stage school existence of someone like Limahl. In spite of its chart-topping success, "Too Shy" wasn't much cop to begin with and this isn't a giant drop down in quality so there's that. Does Limahl see that while he's destined for years of hit singles and telly appearances and West End productions that his former band is faltering and he takes pity on them? Who knows. But something is definitely amiss. I can feel it.
1. He's still bitter about what came down but he genuinely likes the record in spite of himself. This is essentially how he presents it in his review. Referring to them as the "Chappypoopoos" doesn't strike me as just playful mickey taking, he clearly hasn't gotten over how they ditched him but he's pleasantly surprised by how much he digs "The Lion's Mouth". Fair enough. Brian Eno has famously said that his favourite Roxy Music album is Stranded (ie the first one after he was similarly shown the door) and few have questioned his sincerity, have they?
2. He reckons that a snotty SOTF is the ultimate backhanded compliment. The one I've been trying to make myself believe over the past several days but which has gone nowhere due to lack of evidence beyond the whole "Chappypoopoo's" comment. It just feels kind of true. Feelings don't care about your facts, that's what everyone's been saying on YouTube lately, right?
3. He doesn't really like it that much but by praising a Kajagoogoo record he can look like the bigger person. It could just be me but I have a hard time believing that Limahl likes the Goo's rather duff new single this much. He seems to be much more complimentary towards the latest records by Dee C. Lee and Sade (with at least an equal amount of love for the likes of The Boomtown Rats, Howard Jones, The Pretenders and The Rolling Stones) but denies them a star single honour. What does he actually have to say about his erstwhile bandmates' latest? He recalls bumping into Chapman Stick guy who played him this which got him "humming the chorus and generally reminiscing". So, scant on the analysis then.
4. All of the above. This seems most likely. Limahl's sacking is still raw and he takes a dig at their name (a name they used when he was also one of their number) but he hummed the chorus so it's all good.
5. None of the above. I'm not Limahl. For one thing, I'm much, much taller than he is. More to the point, I have no idea if there's an ulterior motive or anything hiding away. I hear "The Lion's Mouth" and get the impression that there's this group of mates from Leighton Buzzard who creatively lost their way for a time but are finding their feet back in the prog rock they all love. Him on that Chapman Stick thing is handling vocals and they're all much more in their element again — and this is a world away from the stage school existence of someone like Limahl. In spite of its chart-topping success, "Too Shy" wasn't much cop to begin with and this isn't a giant drop down in quality so there's that. Does Limahl see that while he's destined for years of hit singles and telly appearances and West End productions that his former band is faltering and he takes pity on them? Who knows. But something is definitely amiss. I can feel it.
Turn Your Back on Me: A Possibly Accurate Kajagoogoo-Limahl Timeline
Year | Kajagoogoo | Limahl |
1979 | Art Nouveau toil away in obscurity in Leighton Buzzard | Christopher Hamill toils away in obscurity in Wigan |
1980 | Single “The Fear Machine” gets played by John Peel; a faint glimmer of success | Appears in an episode of an ITV drama; a faint glimmer of success |
1981 | Group decides that progressive rock obscurity is not for them; they go about looking for a new lead vocalist | Makes a brief appearance in the video for Adam & The Ants’ “Stand and Deliver”; decides a career in pop is for him |
1982 | Change of name to Kajagoogoo; they begin taking their upstart singer under their wing | Changes his name to ‘Limahl’; begins showing these prog fellas how this pop game is done |
1983 | “Too Shy” hits number one; group decides to dump the vocalist they’ve been carrying | “Too Shy” hits number one; decides to hog the spotlight since who wants to see the others play the Chapman Stick (whatever that is) |
1984 | They enjoy a flurry of continued success as a foursome | He enjoys a flurry of continued success as a solo artist |
1985 | Success begins to erode; begin going down the dumper; another change of name to Kaja | Success begins to erode; begins going down the dumper |
1986-2005 | Group blames failings on petulant former vocalist | Singer blames failings on uptight former bandmates |
2006- | Group approaches frontman about possible reformation | Everyone is the best of friends again…at least for now |
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
The Fraggles: "Fraggle Rock"
"Who the hell are The Fraggles?" Limahl demands. Who the hell are The Fraggles? Our Lim obviously wasn't a TV-obsessed seven year old back in 1984. I've never been so jacked for the premiere of a TV show as I was for that first episode of Fraggle Rock. I was giddy with excitement. The theme was certainly no Muppet Show and I don't ever recall singing along but it did the job all right. As a record it sort of keeps that minute or so going and going without really adding much — although that isn't necessarily a bad thing given the way other theme songs can go off the rails once extended. By the way, Limahl's absolutely right about the opening bars sounding like a Malcolm McLaren single: if I didn't know better, I'd swear it was something from his nibs' protegees Bow Wow Wow. (Not something I was thinking as a TV-obsessed seven year old mind you)
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