LIMAHL
Christopher Hamill (born 19 December 1958) is an English pop rock / dance
vocalist. He is better known by his stage name Limahl (an anagram of his own
surname), and was the lead singer of the 1980s synth-pop/rock/new wave
band Kajagoogoo, before embarking on a briefly successful solo career, which
reached its peak with the 1984 hit "NeverEnding Story", taken from the film of
the same name.
Early years and Kajagoogoo
Hamill was born in Pemberton, near Wigan, Lancashire, United Kingdom. He
attended Mesnes High School, in Wigan, before eventually enrolling at the
Westcliff-on-Sea Palace Theatre Repertory Company. Despite some success
touring with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, he formed a
short-lived punk band called Vox Deus. Next he joined Crossword, but left to
form Brooks, with Mike Nolan. He adopted his stage name at the time he was
recruited by the existing members of Kajagoogoo, who were then an
instrumental quartet called Art Nouveau.
An advert was placed in the music magazine Melody Maker, asking for a 'front
man who could sing and look good'. Soon after he had joined, the group
released their first single, "Too Shy", which went to Number 1 in the UK
Singles Chart and made the Top 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The band
had further hits with "Ooh to Be Ah" (UK #7) and "Hang on Now" (UK #11), and
their debut album White Feathers (UK #5). Their first major UK tour was
attended by 60,000 people[citation needed], and the final show at the
Hammersmith Odeon in London was recorded and released on home
video/Laserdisc (the 16-track White Feathers Tour).
Limahl's relationship with the other band members was reportedly always
tenuous, though the singer would declare that he 'considered them as family',
and in mid-1983, soon after the end of the live tour, the band fired him, by
telephone, after an acrimonious dispute concerning royalties. Defenders of
Limahl claim that the band struggled with fame, and that Limahl's prominence
as the lead singer was proving too much of a diversion from the music.
Limahl himself accused the others of being jealous, and was quoted in the
press as saying that "I've been betrayed!", and that "I was sacked for making
them a success". Defenders of the band, however, stated that Limahl had
become something of an egomaniac following the band's success, and was
unprofessional and difficult to work with. Neither view has ever been
conclusively proven, not even now that the band are currently back together
touring and recording new material.
Solo career after Kajagoogoo
After leaving the band, Limahl launched a solo career, achieving hits with
"Only for Love" (UK #16) in 1983, and with "The Never Ending Story" (UK #4)
in 1984. The latter was the title theme from the film of the same name,
composed by Giorgio Moroder. The English version was sung with Beth
Anderson, while the French version (titled "L'histoire infinie"), was performed
with Ann Calvert, with translated lyrics by Pierre-André Dousset. The single
was no.1 in eight countries and Top 5 in nine more.[citation needed]
However, Limahl's solo success was brief, and his debut album, 1984's Don't
Suppose, was a commercial failure, peaking at #63 in the UK.
Following this, Limahl released two more albums: 1986's Colour All My Days,
and Love Is Blind in 1992, which were commercial failures in the UK but found
moderate success in Italy, Spain, and Germany.
Unable to replicate the success of his earlier career, Limahl hit hard times and
was later photographed coming out of an unemployment office in the UK. The
pictures were published in a British Sunday newspaper, highlighting how "the
once mighty can fall". He was also ridiculed by the British Viz comic, which
satirised him as 'Limahl, whose hit includes "Too Shy"'.
In the late 1990s, Limahl started making club appearances. Wearing an orange
wig similar to his original Kajagoogoo hairstyle, he performed hits from his
time with Kajagoogoo and from his solo career.
Reunion
In late 2003, Limahl briefly reunited with the other members of Kajagoogoo
for the VH1 special Bands Reunited (which aired in 2004), but this did not
lead to a permanent reunion. Also in 2004, Limahl took part in the musical
reality show Comeback on German TV channel Pro7. A year later, in 2005, he
appeared in a similar UK show, Hit Me Baby One More Time on ITV. Ironically,
the episode of Hit Me Baby One More Time in which Limahl appeared also
featured Howard Jones, who had enlisted the services of Kajagoogoo bass
player Nick Beggs to support him during his own performance.
Limahl eventually reunited with Kajagoogoo again in 2008. Now reformed in
their original five-piece line-up, the band took part in various music festivals
in Denmark and Scotland, and performed in other parts of Europe. In August
2008, after the cancellation of a concert in the Czech Republic due to
organizational problems (and not due to any of the bands or artists involved),
Limahl & Kajagoogoo then performed in Poland in a concert of 'stars of the
1980s', sharing the stage with Kim Wilde, Modern Talking, Samantha Fox,
Sandra, Sabrina, and Shakin' Stevens. This concert was a part of the Sopot
Festival 2008, and was broadcasted live on Polish channel TVN.
Kajagoogoo (including Limahl) are currently writing and recording new
material and will be embarking on tours of the UK and Germany in September
2009.
Limahl recenly played a concert in Ferry Meadows Peterborough England on 8
August 2009 where he sang his two biggest hits, "Too Shy" and "The Never
Ending Story", alongide covers of 1980s hits "Gold", "True", "It Must Be Love",
"What Is Love", "Hello", "Just Can't Get Enough", "I Won't Let The Sun Go Down
On Me", "Tainted Love" and "Karma Chamaleon".
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