Paul Young
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- For other uses, see Paul Young (disambiguation).
Paul Antony Young (better known as Paul Young) is a British pop artist.
Paul was born January 17 1956 in Luton, England, as the younger brother of Mark, and the elder brother of his sister Joanne. After school he went to work at the Vauxhall Motors factory, but in his spare time he would play in several bands. In the 1970s he joined the Streetband. This group even had one top 40 hit in the UK with the humorous track "Toast", reaching no. 18 in 1978.
In December of 1979 the Streetband broke up and Young formed the Q-Tips. This band established its name by playing live, but never had any hits in the UK. In Europe, however, their "Letter Song" enjoyed some minor success.
The Q-Tips went their separate ways in 1982 and Young was signed by CBS Records as a solo performer. His first two singles, "Iron Out The Rough Spots" and "Love Of The Common People" had no success, but the third one, a cover of the Marvin Gaye classic "Wherever I Lay My Hat" maintained the top spot in the UK singles chart for three weeks in the summer of 1983. Similar success followed all over Europe. Follow up singles "Come Back And Stay" and the re-release of "Love Of The Common People" made it to no. 4 and no. 2 respectively, while the album "No Parlez" was awarded platinum in various countries.
Young's style at the time was a warm, approachable white soul, though he took playful criticism for his fashion decisions - these included chunky handknitted sweaters and leather suits with matching ties, not so chic even for 1983.
1984 was a difficult year for Young as a serious throat condition affected his vocal chords to the extent that he couldn't sing at all, though he'd recovered by the end of the year and famously performed the opening line to the Band Aid single.
Young's biggest worldwide hit followed in 1985 with a version of Daryl Hall's "Everytime You Go Away". Paul continued to tour extensively, while also taking time out to marry former model Stacey. Together they started a family.
He continued to have a successful career, with some highlights such as singing the Crowded House track "Don't Dream It's Over" at the Nelson Mandela Tribute Concert in 1989, singing "Radio Ga Ga" with Queen in 1992 after the death of Freddie Mercury at his tribute concert and a remarkable duet with Italian singer Zucchero.
Young has released fewer solo albums since he was freed from his contract with CBS/Sony Records in 1993, but divides his time between family, the informal Tex-Mex group Los Pacominos and performing live during Eighties revival tours in the UK (in 2001 and 2003).
He also contributed to a Vangelis album (Voices, 1995).