Paul Gambaccini, ‘The Great Gambo‘ as he was later known, started broadcasting on BBC Radio 1 in 1973 as a music reporter.  By 1974, he got his first job as a presenter with the show ‘All American Heroes’, a series showcasing US talent.  By September 1975, Paul began the show he was to front for the next 11 years, highlighting the weeks’ US chart music.  He stayed at BBC Radio 1 for 15 years, presenting the US chart show, broadcast every Saturday Afternoon for much of that time

He is world renowned for his music and chart knowledge of both the USA and UK music industry, and in 1982 he helped launch the career of the UK pop group Kajagoogoo.  Gambaccini had championed the group from its earliest beginnings.  He recalls of those days:

“I was given a cassette of the strangely named quintet in May 1982 by a mutual friend in a club long after midnight”

What was the track? You would naturally assume it to be ‘Too Shy‘, but it was something quite different, as Paul explains:

“There are times in my life when I get the feeling, a state of excitement and bliss so intense it possesses me………the feeling strikes instantly and without warning when I hear a song I love that I know is going to be a smash”

That song was ‘Ooh to be Ah‘.

Having listened to the demo tape, Paul undertook a pilgrimage (of sorts) to a flat in Lancaster Gate, London, to meet the band.

Here is his account of that ‘pilgrimage’, as written by Gambaccini himself:

“I waited in the sitting room while the subject of my enthusiasm prepared himself for our meeting. What was he readying, I found myself wondering. A new hairstyle? A new surname? When he entered, I realised that I had made a false assumption. Customarily the lead singer of a group stands front row centre in any publicity picture. The man in the middle of the Kajagoogoo photo had been the tallest in the band. This one was the shortest. The tall one was drummer Jez Strode: Limahl was in contrast, well under six feet. It is very strange to talk face-to-face with a person one has never met and babble on about how wonderful something they have done is. Limahl graciously accepted my enthusiasm and then explained the history of the band….how after placing an advert in Melody Maker, he had auditioned for and joined a four piece band called Art Nouveau. He related how he had obtained his mysterious moniker by re-arranging the letters of his surname”

Following visits to Hammersmith to watch the band rehearse, Gambaccini tells of his memories of the first gig at the Embassy club, a clip from which can be viewed here:

Video courtesy of zodieweeny

“At the Embassy, a coterie from Leighton Buzzard who seemed as loyal as Lassie balanced out raving regulars who just happened to be in the club that night and viewed the proceedings with glazed expressions of wonder. Two record company representatives were there from EMI and Phonogram to sign Kajagoogoo. He didn’t. I hope he still has his job”

Amazingly, Gambo wasn’t the only high profile fan of the ‘Goo, as he explains:

“In the summer of 1982, Kajagoogoo recorded three tracks with co-producers Colin Thurston and Nick Rhodes at Chipping Norton Studios. Sensitive of being over-associated with Duran Duran, they changed the double-barrelled title ‘Shy Shy’ to ‘Too Shy’. When EMI scheduled the release of this debut single for 10 January 1983, I became aware of a coincidence as great as that of Limahl living down the street from my flat; the first show in my Channel 4 series ‘The Other Side of the Tracks’ was due to be transmitted on 8th January, a Saturday. ‘Too Shy’ would be out the next shopping day. I suggested to my producer that we devote the last third of that first show to the launch of Kajagoogoo, following the group for two months prior to the programme. I had no doubts about their ultimate success, and there is nothing more satisfying than to be seen publicly to have been right about new talent”

Gambaccini’s TV show ‘The Other Side of The Tracks’ played a major role in launching the band, with Paul remarking publically that he “hadn’t been so excited about a single since ‘Don’t You Want Me‘…”.   Praise indeed.

Not everybody was as confident though, none more so than the band themselves. Nick Beggs thought, when interviewed back in 1983, that the song may go “top 40 at most”, with Stuart Croxford-Neale adding “this has been nothing like we expected….we did expect…through the timing of the programmes on TV we’ve had, the airplay and everything, and the contacts, to do so well…but it’s just been unbelievable”

Video courtesy of zodieweeny

Gambaccini was gratified in his belief in the band by presenting the guys with their first silver discs back in early 1983, broadcast on his Channel 4 show and awarded in honour of sales in excess of 250,000 for debut track ‘Too Shy’. The song would go on to sell many, many more!

Back in 1983, Gambaccini commented “My friendship with Kajagoogoo has grown since the release of ‘Too Shy…”

Forward on a little over 25 years; destination Wavendon, Milton Keynes , 2008:

From all of the fans, a huge “Thank You“, Paul.

2011/2013 KajaFax

Bob Brown is a retired printer and former manager of the Angel Card factory in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.

He gave a group of local lads and their band ‘Art Nouveau’ their first rehearsal space – and along the way helped create Kajagoogoo.

KajaFax caught up with Mr Brown to find out more.

So Mr Brown, how did you first meet the guys?

Jez Strode, who was the drummer, worked for me as a driver. He was a quiet, reliable lad who’d been with the company for a couple of years when he asked if his band – which was then called Art Nouveau – could use our place for rehearsals. He explained that they’d been playing in his Dad’s garage, which they had tried to soundproof with egg boxes! That hadn’t been very successful and there were complaints from the neighbours.

That must have been an unusual request. Were you OK with that?

Yes. I said that would be fine and even offered them use of a company van to drive their equipment to gigs. I used to let the lads practise at the factory I managed, out of hours when the place was empty. I suppose it could have been seen as a bit of a risk to let four kids loose in a deserted factory, but I’ve always felt you should trust your instincts with people, and Jez struck me as someone who wouldn’t let you down…and I was right. They always left the place tidy and locked up properly – you wouldn’t have known they’d been in.

So, at that time, how did you actually rate the band?

Well, I would hear them rehearse if I was working weekends, but I can’t say I noticed any signs of star quality…though to be fair, I was in my early forties at the time so not really part of their target audience!

What was the turning point as you saw it? What changes did you see from those early ‘Art Nouveau’ days?

I guess it was around 1981 really. This lad they called ‘Limahl’ came down from Wigan to an audition at the factory. His hair was dyed in black and white layers and he was wearing face paint, which would have looked quite unusual in Leighton Buzzard at the time.

They took him on as their singer and changed their name to Kajagoogoo.

What changes did Limahl bring to the line-up?

I’d only ever seen them in jeans and baggy jumpers, but Limahl had obviously given them all some fashion lessons. They looked very different from how I’d always seen them before! It was about then that they decided to move down to London and really try to make a go of the band.

I wished them all the best but was sorry to see Jez go as he’d always been very strong and such a good worker.

How did it feel when you first realised that they had made the big time?

I’d initially helped them out because I think you should always give young people a chance to achieve their ambitions, but to be honest I’d never thought it would go much beyond playing local clubs and bars. When my wife and I first saw Kajagoogoo on Top of the Pops in 1983 playing their number one single ‘Too Shy’, I was gobsmacked. I was delighted to see they’d done so well.

As things turned out, I really admire the way they made something of themselves. And I’m very pleased that I played a small part in it.

Here is a clip of one of those Art Nouveau rehearsal sessions in that very factory, uploaded for us by Kajagoogoo’s very own Jez Strode:

2011/2013 KajaFax

KajaFax had a fabulous 2012.

We won awards, had new releases to showcase, and saw Limahl, Stuart Croxford Neale,  Steve Askew, and Nick Beggs live on stage.  We were privileged and honoured to be invited as special guests backstage with Limahl at a major UK outdoor festival, and saw our man again later that year in Belfast for a great night of live music.   All of this has meant that our readership has grown…..so much so that we felt it important to highlight some of our older posts that our newer readers may not have seen first time around.

With this in mind, and starting tomorrow, we are publishing a series of posts entitled ‘KajaFax Revisited’.  This series will showcase five previously published articles that are amongst our most popular but that our new readers and subscribers may not have seen!

We hope to see you tomorrow for article #1……

2013 KajaFax