Born Anthony Kavanagh on 4 November 1977 in Manchester, England, the singer emerged as a pop protégé guided by entrepreneur Nigel Martin-Smith, the same figure who assembled Take That. Kavana launched his recording career in 1996 on Martin-Smith’s Nemesis imprint, itself linked to Virgin Records. Former Take That member Howard Donald supplied the songwriting for the debut single “Crazy Chance,” yet Kavana himself wrote every track on his first album except one, along with the follow-up single. The smooth soul-pop number “Where Are You” delivered standard boy-band fare, while its B-side “For The Very First Time” gained an edge of street credibility through Joey Negro’s production. Phil Green, previously linked to Carleen Anderson and the Brand New Heavies, handled the A-side and contributed to the album as a whole. Throughout 1996 the artist raised his visibility via multiple British youth-television appearances and a tour alongside Boyzone. The following year he scored UK Top 10 entries with a polished Shalamar cover, “I Can Make You Feel Good,” and the track “MFEO.” At the 1997 Smash Hits Poll Winners’ Party he received the Best Male Singer award, after which he traveled to Italy to cut his sophomore album under the guidance of production team Absolute. “Special Kind Of Something” entered the chart at number 13 upon its September 1998 release, though the subsequent Philly-soul cut “Funky Love” peaked at number 32 that December.
