Jimmy Jimmy

In the 1980s, the duo Jimmy Jimmy might have slipped into total obscurity, except that almost no one had ever heard of them to begin with. Formed by vocalists and guitarists James O'Neill and Jimmy Kemp, the pair launched their recording career in 1985 with the buoyant single "I Met Her in Paris," a keyboard-driven jangle-pop standout. Echoing the style of Herman's Hermits and the Mindbenders, their music carried sufficient Merseybeat warmth and British Invasion melody that audiences could easily mistake the songs for artifacts from the 1960s. That very resemblance may explain why the act never gained widespread popularity, particularly within the U.K. While remaining largely unknown to listeners in Britain and the United States, Jimmy Jimmy occupied a distinct niche on Philippine new-wave broadcasts alongside Aztec Camera and the Housemartins; "I Met Her in Paris" and the tender ballad "Lady" received steady airplay there. The group's sole album, Here in the Light, appeared on CBS in the U.K. in 1986 and brimmed with sentimental words paired with youthful vocal blends. Following the rise of the Internet in the late 1990s, the duo has drawn renewed attention from enthusiasts hunting rare new-wave and indie pressings of their limited catalog.