KajaGooGoo in Songbook Magazine 1983
Another wonderful piece of KajaGooGoo memorabilia now, this Songbook magazine from back in 1983, featuring the second single ‘Ooh to be Ah’.
Click each for higher resolution:
This piece has been sent in by our very own theraggedtiger, many thanks!
Steve was keen to point out that back in 1983, the cover price of 75p would have been quite expensive! A single at that time would have been around the £1.10 price making this not so far off.
It’s fantastic that these magazines still exist so that we can all take a look now.
2011 KajaFax
KajaFax About Nick Beggs Pt2
The KajaFax about Nick Beggs – Part Two
by theraggedtiger
Continuing from Sunday’s part one feature on the ‘Beggion’, here is the second installment in our overview of Nick’s career to date.
In 1994, Nick’s time with Phonogram records came to an unexpected end. Due to huge changes in the top echelons of the company, the whole A&R department suddenly found themselves redundant, and by March of that year, Nick was no longer a Phonogram employee.
When asked some years later about his time with the label, Nick said:
“…I loved it and was hot on the tail of acts like Oasis, Skunk Anansie, Connor Reeves and others besides…”
Exciting times indeed.
Not one to be idle, he continued touring with his band ‘Iona’, and also recorded an album with Warren Cuccurullo, guitarist with Duran Duran.
https://kajafax.co.uk/2011/04/13/nick-beggs-with-warren-cuccurullo-thanks-2-frank/
In 1995 he was invited to join ‘Alphaville’ as musical director, and worked with the band at their Berlin studio for a number of months. In a move usually found in an episode of the TV travel show ‘Wish You Were Here’, he then flew to Malibu following an invite by American star Belinda Carlisle to play bass on her album ‘A Woman and a Man’.
He spent several weeks in Malibu making the record with producer David Tickle. Session playing for Belinda turned into a lengthy tour commitment, and Nick spent most of 1996 on tour.
He then had a chance meeting with Howard Jones:
“I was returning from a month of recording with Belinda Carlisle in Malibu when I met Howard and his manager on the plane home. I’d known them since 1979 but we had never worked together before. I think Howard was just ready to try the band thing and I happened to be in the right place at the right time”
The remainder of 1996 saw Nick continue to play various sessions on bass guitar and Chapman Stick for artists as varied as Tina Turner, Michael Bolton, and D-Ream.
It was then during a promotional trip to Japan, that he was approached by the Senior Vice President of A&R at Epic U.S. to produce and write for a new Japanese artist known as ‘CoZi’.
He arranged, co-wrote and produced a mini album for her titled ‘Naked Sun’, which featured high on domestic Japanese radio and received excellent Reviews.
He also worked with a new Irish band called ‘Celtus’, co-ordinating song ideas and helping with direction. He continued to write, arrange and produce a further nine tracks for ‘CoZi’, the results of those sessions becoming CoZi’s next album, released via Polygram Records, Japan.
The latter part of 1997 saw Nick continue his educational activities, writing and presenting a part of the music business curriculum for The Guitar Institute and Bass Tech (London), and also taking time to lecture at various music technology Colleges.
The end of the nineties saw Nick touring with The Human League, Howard Jones, Culture Club, Kim Wilde, and John Paul Jones welcoming the new millennium by returning to his solo career, recording the Chapman Stick album ‘Stick Insect’ and performing a series of live shows throughout the year 2000.
Spending the next couple of years on tour with John Paul Jones, Right Said Fred, and as a part of the ‘Here and Now’ tour line-up, Nick was to remain very busy. And then VH-1 knocked on his door.
To be continued…
Pt1:
https://kajafax.co.uk/2011/04/24/kajafax-about-nick-beggs-pt1/
2011 KajaFax
Limahl Don’t Suppose CD Latest News
We’ve had some news come through to update us on the latest situation with the release of the ‘Don’t Suppose’ CD from Limahl on the Gold Legion label.
After a long worrying silence and removal of the product from the label’s website, news is feeding through to fans that the product is still under production and is now scheduled for release at the end of May.
Limahl has just completed the interview for the liner notes and the artwork is almost finished.
Gold Legion apologise for the delay and will be looking to keep fans updated via email in the coming week. The CD will be shipped out to fans as soon as it arrives with them.
This will come as good news to the fans who have eagerly awaited getting hold of this one. Many thanks to Da’Ron and theraggedtiger for the updates.
2011 KajaFax
Supporting Kaja
by Lulu Kyriacou
KajaFax about Nick Beggs Pt1
The ‘KajaFax’ about Nick Beggs – Part One.
Today’s feature is part one of a two part feature. We at KajaFax know that many people visiting KajaFax for the first time are new fans, with little or no knowledge of the band’s history and heritage. In an attempt to rectify that, here is the first part of my overview of the career of Bass-god and spaceman, Nick Beggs!
Nick Beggs attended Barnfield College in Luton, studying graphics and fine art as a freelance designer. Leaving in 1979, and to supplement the day job, he formed avant guard act ‘Art Nouveau’, based in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. The band featured Steve Askew on Vocals and Guitars, Nick Beggs on Vocals and Bass, Stuart Croxford Neale on Synthesisers and backing vocals and Jez Strode on Drums, backing vocals and electronic percussion. Their debut single, ‘Fear Machine’, became a late night ‘Radio One’ favourite via the legendary broadcaster John Peel and an instant collector’s piece for any ‘Goo fan!
He formed ‘Kajagoogoo’ in 1981 after recruiting vocalist Limahl to front the band, signing to EMI Records in 1982. Following on from his art studies in Luton, Nick was influential in the development of the artwork, images and videos for the band, a trend that continues to this day. When Limahl left the group, Nick stepped into the role of vocalist with ease, continuing the bands run of UK hit singles and touring the UK, Europe, and Japan with the ‘Islands’ album.
Following the demise of Kajagoogoo at the end of 1985, Nick worked on song writing for other artists as well as writing solo material, until 1987, when he formed ‘Ellis Beggs & Howard’ with Simon Ellis and Austin Howard. He co-wrote the ‘Homelands’ album, which included the hit single ‘Big Bubbles, No Troubles’.
Video courtesy of SenorSenor:
Still a prolific song writer, Nick provided material for artists as diverse as Mark Shaw (Then Jerico), Gary Numan and Cliff Richard. Already a personal friend of Cliff Richard, 1991 saw the Beggion touring as a part of Sir Cliff’s band.
Moving away from the commercial end of the music industry, Nick joined the Guitar Institute in 1992, teaching bass guitar and Chapman Stick. At this time, he was also a member of progressive Celtic rock band ‘Iona’.
By 1993 he had joined Phonogram Records as A&R Manager, discovering and signing numerous acts to the label. A notable discovery at that time was the band ‘Let Loose’, and Nick was responsible for their second hit single ‘Seventeen’.
http://www.muzu.tv/letloose/seventeen-music-video/234224
That’s it for now. Our whistle-stop tour of Nick’s career will continue in part two, with a change of employer, more work with yet another new artist, something ‘spicy’, and an unexpected reunion with old friends.
Stay tuned to KajaFax…
Iona:
https://kajafax.co.uk/2011/01/18/iona/
2011 KajaFax
KajaGooGoo on Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Who could forget Never Mind the Buzzcocks? A superb quiz show where two teams of celebrities went head to head on the subject of music.
One round in the show was to identify musicians from a line up and in this particular episode, the teams had to identify Jez and Stuart.
This particular section of the show comes right at the start of this show, which has been sectioned out by the submitter.
Video courtesy of aurejt666:
You all identified Jez and Stuart correctly, right?!
Many thanks to Kerry Woolacott for the link 🙂
2011 KajaFax
The Girl in the KajaGooGoo Too Shy Video
The Girl that was ‘Too Shy’
I guess that if you are reading this article, you are probably a Kajagoogoo fan, and will have almost certainly at one time or another seen the promotional video for Kajagoogoo’s debut hit ‘Too Shy’ Just in case you haven’t, here it is.
Video courtesy of emimusic:
I always wonder who the people are that make it into pop videos. Sometimes, it’s easy – ‘Ooh to be Ah’ had appearances from both comedian Kenny Everett and television actor Christopher Timothy. Other artists have really embraced this idea, with the likes of Eddie Murphy, Naomi Campbell, Chevy Chase, Steven Spielberg and Daryl Hannah all appearing in high-profile music videos at one time or another.
So, who was the girl in the ‘Too Shy’ video? Well, she is Canadian model and friend of Limahl, Carolyn ‘Ali’ Espley.
The video was directed by Simon Milne, who has also directed pop promos for Duran Duran, The Human League, Spandau Ballet, Elton John, and Bananarama to name but a few.
Ever wonder where our ‘too shy’ girl is now? Well, Espley is now married to American comedian, actor, and all-round television personality Dennis Miller. She lives in Santa Barbara,California, with Miller and their two sons.
This is how she looks 2011 style….
Pictured with husband Dennis Miller…..
Maybe she could star in Kajagoogoo’s next video??
2011 KajaFax
Bradley Snelling Retrofest and Reunions
Bradley Snelling, Retrofest, and Reunions
by theraggedtiger
Bradley Snelling was born in London.
He became a professional actor from his mid teens and by 1998 had co-founded the ‘Threadbare Theatre Company’. By The mid-noughties, Snelling had made the move into live music, becoming festival director of a festival that for Kajagoogoo fans would soon take on great significance…
Described as “Europe’s largest Eighties music festival”, Retrofest was a two-day event that pulled in huge crowds – over 10,000 per day. So what brought this festival into being? A wave of 80’s nostalgia? An eighties revival? Maybe sheer demand? After all, the ‘Here and Now’ tours have been a huge success for some years now.
“Basically I wanted to see a bunch of bands who were big in my youth, but who I never got the chance to see,” explains Snelling. “I left school in 1983, so for me there’s a warm, cozy, nostalgic feeling about this. The Eighties was a great time for music. You had colorful characters like Boy George, MTV poster boys like Duran Duran, and doom and gloom merchants like the Cure and Depeche Mode. It was very diverse.”
The inaugural Retrofest was held at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire. Creating the event was essentially, an effort to tailor-make the ultimate 80’s dream gig that Snelling himself would have loved to have seen. Snelling and former circus ringmaster Malcolm Cannon were the machine that made it all happen, investing £500,000 of their own cash in order to make it a success.
“We decided to get back to basics, by putting on all the acts on one stage, and it all evolved from that”
In 2007, a part of that dream gig was Kajagoogoo…almost…as the band was booked as a partly reformed three piece group.
Video courtesy of SenorSenor:
It is thanks to Bradley Snelling that Kajagoogoo exist as a 5 piece outfit today. He was the catalyst that ended a 25-year-old feud within the group, and thanks to his intervention, Kajagoogoo fans were given back the band that was so prematurely taken from them all those years ago.
The first job on Snelling’s 2008’s festival hit list was to call Limahl, as well as the other band members, to discuss the possibility of a full reunion:
“I initially got an e-mail from a mystery guy in the US suggesting I get Kajagoogoo together to perform at the festival,” says Snelling. “He gave me the contact details for the band, and eventually I got them all together”
Limahl was interviewed back in 2008 about the reunion process. He explains:
“Basically, we spent the last ten years talking through lawyers really… then…..my mobile phone rang and this guy said ‘Hi, my name’s Bradley Snelling…I’m the new manager of Kajagoogoo and they want to get back together with you…and I laughed and wished him luck….and then me met in Windsor a week later for a coffee, talked about it all, and about a month later I was in the same room as the original line-up of Kajagoogoo talking about the future”
The Kajagoogoo reunion goes back as far as 2004 and an approach by VH-1 television, which although bringing short term reunion, left the band only able to progress as a three piece. Snelling however, achieved what most fans thought to be the impossible. Full reunion.
Video courtesy of Kajagoogoomusic:
The final word on the reunion tale comes from Nick Beggs:
“To have those guys back in the band again….like nothing happened…that means more to me than anything…”
Unfortunately, for Snelling, the Retrofest story did not have a happy ending. 2010’s festival was cancelled after the parent company for which Snelling and Malcolm Cannon were directors hit financial difficulty, and the festival looks likely never to return.
2011 KajaFax
KajaGooGoo: Anders Esbjerg and Stables
Some more awesome photos from Anders now, firstly these captured at the Stables gig back in 2008:
And these wonderful photos from backstage at the concert, two of which are including Anders:
And now for some shots from the 80s festival in Esbjerg:
And when Anders caught the main man striding through the crowd, he called out and Limo was more than happy to stop for a snap:
Many thanks to Anders for sharing these fantastic pictures.
2011 KajaFax
KajaGooGoo: The Anders Collection
A fan since right back in 1983, ‘Anders’ got in touch and dropped some fantastic photos by to show bits of his collection, including photos from his teenage years bedroom!!
A couple of unused patches:
And those superb bedroom collage photos!
Huge thanks to Anders for the photos, brilliant!
2011 KajaFax
kajafax.co.uk 