Kajagoogoo

In the early years of MTV, Kajagoogoo captured sudden widespread attention through their light synth pop style and attractive, camera-ready appearance. Fronted by vocalist Limahl, born Chris Hamill, the lineup also comprised Steve Askew on guitar, Nick Beggs handling vocals and bass, and Stuart Crawford on vocals and synthesizer. Their debut single “Too Shy,” produced by Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes, topped the U.K. chart in early 1983 and reached number five in the United States. Paired with the album White Feathers, the song revealed surface parallels to Duran Duran and Naked Eyes in its polished, instantly appealing pop sound and photogenic presentation, yet Kajagoogoo functioned essentially as a synth pop variant of a bubblegum act. Such acts were typically limited to one major success, and that pattern held when “Ooh to Be Ah” and “Hang on Now” both entered the U.K. Top 15 without making any impression in America. Limahl exited at the end of 1983 to launch a solo career. The remaining members kept Nick Beggs as lead vocalist and released Islands in 1984, though the record vanished from the charts almost immediately. Limahl meanwhile scored a hit with the theme song from The Neverending Story. In what may have been an effort to earn more serious regard, the group shortened its name to Kaja and issued Crazy People’s Right to Speak. The album sold poorly, prompting the band’s breakup the following year. Limahl kept recording without notable chart results, and his later releases stopped appearing in either the U.S. or the U.K.; his final album, 1992’s Love Is Blind, came out only in Germany.