Biography
Kon Kan, a Canadian outfit, earned multiple chart successes plus a Juno Award across the close of the 1980s and start of the 1990s thanks to a distinctive, sample-driven strain of dance-pop rooted in synth pop, Hi-NRG, and disco. Issued in 1989, the act’s first album Move to Move spotlighted their earliest and highest-reaching single “I Beg Your Pardon” before two further projects arrived in the 1990s—Syntonic and the more guitar-oriented Vida!...
Barry Harris launched Kon Kan in Toronto during 1988, handling vocals, keys, and guitar while naming the project after the “Can Con” regulation that mandated Canadian radio outlets to devote at least thirty percent of airtime to domestic artists. Atlantic issued the debut album Move to Move in 1989; session singer Kevin Wynne supplied most vocals while Jon Lind, Dennis Matkosky, and Mark Goldenberg handled production duties in Los Angeles. Lead single “I Beg Your Pardon,” built around samples including Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden,” climbed to number 15 on the U.S. chart and reached the Top Ten abroad, ultimately securing a Juno for Best Dance Recording. Harris and Wynne issued follow-up singles “Harry Houdini” and “Puss N’ Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walkin’),” the latter incorporating portions of Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song” and Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”
For 1990’s Syntonic, Harris assumed lead vocals; Paul Robb of Information Society, Bob Mitchell who co-wrote Cheap Trick’s “The Flame,” and John Luongo formerly of Blancmange contributed songwriting or production. Canadian radio offered modest traction to “Liberty!” and “(Could’ve Said) I Told You So,” yet the set underperformed relative to its predecessor and prompted Atlantic to drop the act. Kon Kan resurfaced in 1993 on Hypnotic Records, an A&M subsidiary, with Vida!..., which adopted a guitar-driven alternative direction and included a cover of David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream.” Released solely in Canada, the album yielded only one charting single, “Sinful Wishes.” Harris re-recorded “I Beg Your Pardon” without samples; retitled “Pardon Me/Rose Garden,” the track appeared with multiple remixes in 1994 and resurfaced periodically with fresh mixes over later decades.
After Kon Kan disbanded, Harris concentrated on dance music, forming house duo Top Kat alongside Terry Kelly, Euro-dance trio Outta Control with Rachid Wehbi and vocalist Kimberley Wetmore, and one-off project Killer Bunnies also with Wehbi. He issued numerous house recordings under his own name, including collaborations with Pepper Mashay for Nervous Records and Tommy Boy. His chief endeavor, Thunderpuss with Chris Cox, generated over one hundred remixes, covers, and originals between 1997 and 2003, among them the Billboard Dance chart-topping rework of Whitney Houston’s “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay” plus additional mixes for Britney Spears, Madonna, Mary J. Blige, and Jennifer Lopez. Harris assembled rock band Sick Seconds, featuring Anton Cook who had played drums on Vida!..., and they released a self-titled album in 2013. Around the same period Kon Kan established a social-media presence. In 2022 Harris stated he had authorized Wynne to tour the United States under the Kon Kan name yet confirmed he himself would not take part and that the project would produce no new material.
Barry Harris launched Kon Kan in Toronto during 1988, handling vocals, keys, and guitar while naming the project after the “Can Con” regulation that mandated Canadian radio outlets to devote at least thirty percent of airtime to domestic artists. Atlantic issued the debut album Move to Move in 1989; session singer Kevin Wynne supplied most vocals while Jon Lind, Dennis Matkosky, and Mark Goldenberg handled production duties in Los Angeles. Lead single “I Beg Your Pardon,” built around samples including Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden,” climbed to number 15 on the U.S. chart and reached the Top Ten abroad, ultimately securing a Juno for Best Dance Recording. Harris and Wynne issued follow-up singles “Harry Houdini” and “Puss N’ Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walkin’),” the latter incorporating portions of Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song” and Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”
For 1990’s Syntonic, Harris assumed lead vocals; Paul Robb of Information Society, Bob Mitchell who co-wrote Cheap Trick’s “The Flame,” and John Luongo formerly of Blancmange contributed songwriting or production. Canadian radio offered modest traction to “Liberty!” and “(Could’ve Said) I Told You So,” yet the set underperformed relative to its predecessor and prompted Atlantic to drop the act. Kon Kan resurfaced in 1993 on Hypnotic Records, an A&M subsidiary, with Vida!..., which adopted a guitar-driven alternative direction and included a cover of David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream.” Released solely in Canada, the album yielded only one charting single, “Sinful Wishes.” Harris re-recorded “I Beg Your Pardon” without samples; retitled “Pardon Me/Rose Garden,” the track appeared with multiple remixes in 1994 and resurfaced periodically with fresh mixes over later decades.
After Kon Kan disbanded, Harris concentrated on dance music, forming house duo Top Kat alongside Terry Kelly, Euro-dance trio Outta Control with Rachid Wehbi and vocalist Kimberley Wetmore, and one-off project Killer Bunnies also with Wehbi. He issued numerous house recordings under his own name, including collaborations with Pepper Mashay for Nervous Records and Tommy Boy. His chief endeavor, Thunderpuss with Chris Cox, generated over one hundred remixes, covers, and originals between 1997 and 2003, among them the Billboard Dance chart-topping rework of Whitney Houston’s “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay” plus additional mixes for Britney Spears, Madonna, Mary J. Blige, and Jennifer Lopez. Harris assembled rock band Sick Seconds, featuring Anton Cook who had played drums on Vida!..., and they released a self-titled album in 2013. Around the same period Kon Kan established a social-media presence. In 2022 Harris stated he had authorized Wynne to tour the United States under the Kon Kan name yet confirmed he himself would not take part and that the project would produce no new material.
Albums
