Jonathan King: Difference between revisions
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'''Jonathan King''' (born '''Kenneth George King''' on [[6 December]] [[1944]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] singer, |
'''Jonathan King''' (born '''Kenneth George King''' on [[6 December]] [[1944]]) is a disgraced<ref>The BBC collate British Press opinions on Jonathan King [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1669676.stm]</ref> [[United Kingdom|British]] singer, and [[pop music]] [[Record producer|producer]].<ref>Jonathan King[http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/king_jonathan/bio.jhtml]</ref>. He first came to prominence when he wrote and sang "Everyone's Gone to the Moon" in 1965, going on to become a record label executive and media entrepreneur, selling 40 million records under various pseudonyms.<ref>A [[Jon Ronson]] profile of JK reports record sales of 40 million [http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,609185,00.html]</ref> |
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In 2001 he was convicted of sexual abuse of boys aged 14 and 15 in the 1980s<ref>Pop mogul jailed for sex abuse [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1667960.stm]</ref> for which he served three and a half years in jail. |
In 2001 he was convicted of sexual abuse of boys aged 14 and 15 in the 1980s<ref>Pop mogul jailed for sex abuse [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1667960.stm]</ref> for which he served three and a half years in jail. |
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==Chronological overview== |
==Chronological overview== |
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===1960s and 1970s=== |
===1960s and 1970s=== |
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The child of an [[United States|American]] father and an [[English people|English]] mother, King was educated at [[Charterhouse School]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]. He made his first recordings with [[Joe Meek]], but those weren't released. As an undergraduate, he wrote and sang his first hit, ''Everyone's Gone to the Moon'' in 1965. Before graduating, he wrote and produced further hits such as ''It's Good News Week'' by "[[Hedgehoppers Anonymous]]" (video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGqqS6MMknM here]), Johnny Reggae by The Piglets (video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWwrPGDq45E here] also discovering, producing and naming [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], whose founding members were also at Charterhouse<ref>Information on the history of Genesis [http://www.genesis-music.com/Archivephase1.htm]</ref>. |
The child of an [[United States|American]] father and an [[English people|English]] mother, King was educated at [[Charterhouse School]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]. He made his first recordings with [[Joe Meek]], but those weren't released. As an undergraduate, he wrote and sang his first hit, ''Everyone's Gone to the Moon'' in 1965. Before graduating, he wrote and produced further hits such as ''It's Good News Week'' by "[[Hedgehoppers Anonymous]]" (video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGqqS6MMknM here]), Johnny Reggae by The Piglets (video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWwrPGDq45E here]) also discovering, producing and naming [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], whose founding members were also at Charterhouse<ref>Information on the history of Genesis [http://www.genesis-music.com/Archivephase1.htm]</ref>. |
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Soon after King graduated, his Saturday evening [[ITV]] series ''Good Evening; I'm Jonathan King'', was seen nationally for six months. |
Soon after King graduated, his Saturday evening [[ITV]] series ''Good Evening; I'm Jonathan King'', was seen nationally for six months. |
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Revision as of 03:59, 26 July 2007
Jonathan King | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 December 1944 |
| Other names | Kenneth George King |
| Occupation | music producer |
| Website | www.kingofhits.com |
Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King on 6 December 1944) is a disgraced[1] British singer, and pop music producer.[2]. He first came to prominence when he wrote and sang "Everyone's Gone to the Moon" in 1965, going on to become a record label executive and media entrepreneur, selling 40 million records under various pseudonyms.[3]
In 2001 he was convicted of sexual abuse of boys aged 14 and 15 in the 1980s[4] for which he served three and a half years in jail.
Chronological overview
1960s and 1970s
The child of an American father and an English mother, King was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He made his first recordings with Joe Meek, but those weren't released. As an undergraduate, he wrote and sang his first hit, Everyone's Gone to the Moon in 1965. Before graduating, he wrote and produced further hits such as It's Good News Week by "Hedgehoppers Anonymous" (video here), Johnny Reggae by The Piglets (video here) also discovering, producing and naming Genesis, whose founding members were also at Charterhouse[5].
Soon after King graduated, his Saturday evening ITV series Good Evening; I'm Jonathan King, was seen nationally for six months.
He ran Decca Records twice in the late 60s and late 70s, and in 1971, 1972 and 1973 was named Producer of the Year. He performed and produced many songs under different names. Among these were Let It All Hang Out, It Only Takes A Minute, Sugar Sugar, Loop di Love, Hooked On A Feeling, Lazybones and The Sun Has Got His Hat On. He produced The Bay City Rollers and sang most of their first hit, "Keep on Dancing", a video of which can be found here. He backed The Rocky Horror Show and produced the original cast album.
His own label, UK Records had hits with 10cc (whom he named [6]), Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs, Roy C, Carl Malcolm (Fattie Bum Bum), First Class (Beach Baby), Lobo and St Cecilia. King usually performed under pseudonyms, such as "Shag", "Sakkarin", "Bubblerock", "100 Ton and a Feather" and "Nemo" (Latin for No-one), although in 1975, a rendition under his own name of "Una Paloma Blanca" was named Record of the Year at the Ivor Novello awards. He had another Top 40 hit in 1978 under his own name with a song titled "One for Me, One for You".
In 2001, the satirical journal Private Eye parodied the title of his first hit with a caption showing King singing "Everyone's Gone to the Police". The Mail on Sunday also quoted from the chorus of "Una Paloma Blanca": "No-one can take my freedom away".
1980s and 1990s
King presented his own daily radio show from 10-12 on New York's WMCA throughout 1980 and started doing regular reports from the US on Top of the Pops. These developed into Entertainment USA, a successful BBC2 series. He also created and produced No Limits.
During the 1980s, he wrote a column in The Sun for eight years; Bizarre USA. He has written regular features in many other newspapers and magazines, and has two published novels.
King wrote and hosted the BRIT Awards for the BBC in 1987 and he wrote and produced them in 1990, 1991 and 1992. In 1995, he took over A Song For Europe, the BBC quest for a Eurovision Song Contest winner. The 1996 entrant by Gina G "Just A Little Bit" went to No1 and the 1997 entrant Katrina and the Waves' "Love Shine a Light" won the contest. He was also responsible for the Record of the Year shows on British television, regularly shown at Christmas.
In 1993, he formed The Tip Sheet, a music weekly publication, which continues online as a message board discussing and promoting unknown and unsigned musical acts.
From September 1995, he presented a programme on Talk Radio UK from 10-12 every weekday morning which lasted six months.
In 1997 he was awarded the BPI Man Of The Year Award in a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel with a message of support from Prime Minister Tony Blair [7]. He went on to release a compilation tribute CD to the Harry Potter phenomenon in 1999[8], and recorded a version of "Who Let The Dogs Out?" under the name Fatt Jakk and His Pack Of Pets.
2001-2004 (Conviction and jail)
In 2001, King received a seven-year prison sentence for four indecent assaults and two other sexual offences on boys aged 14 and 15 in the 1980s. He was released on parole half way through the sentence. He still maintains his innocence.[9][10]
2005 Onwards
On his release he stated his intention to return to the music and entertainment industry[11], and played a role in supporting the US band Orson, whom he discovered on MySpace. He promoted them in his magazine "the Tip Sheet", and they later released successful singles and album in the UK. His 1970 hit Let It All Hang Out was revived in 2007 when Fosters used the song for their Twist Lager TV campaign, you can see the video here.
In 2007 he released a collection of mainly new songs, entitled "Earth to King" and put several videos on many online sites, including YouTube, My Space, and Google Video; you can see a collection of videos here. He attracted controversy in July 2007 relating to a song he penned which was seen to defend the serial killer Harold Shipman. [12]
References
- ^ The BBC collate British Press opinions on Jonathan King [1]
- ^ Jonathan King[2]
- ^ A Jon Ronson profile of JK reports record sales of 40 million [3]
- ^ Pop mogul jailed for sex abuse [4]
- ^ Information on the history of Genesis [5]
- ^ 10cc Info [6]
- ^ King's bio on IMDB [[7]]
- ^ Harry Potter CD [[8]]
- ^ Independent on appeal [9]
- ^ Statements on his website [10][11]
- ^ Jonathan King is released from prison [12]
- ^ BBC Article concerning Jonathan Kings song 'The Likely True tory of Harold Shipman [13]