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{{Other persons}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Jonathan King
|image = Jonathan King (cropped).jpg
|image_size = 220px
|alt = photograph
|caption = King in 2007
|birth_name = Kenneth George King
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1944|12|06}}
|birth_place = London, England
|nationality =
|known_for = Discovery of [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], [[Bay City Rollers]], [[10CC]]
|television =
|education = M.A. (Cantab)
|alma_mater = University of Cambridge
|occupation = Record producer, impresario, singer, songwriter
|notable works = (As singer, songwriter, or both): "[[Everyone's Gone to the Moon]]" (1965), "Loop di Love" (1971), "Johnny Reggae" (1971), "[[Sugar, Sugar]]" (1971), "[[Una Paloma Blanca]]" (1975), "[[It Only Takes a Minute]]" (1976)
||networth =
| parents = Jimmy King (died June 1954) and Ailsa (died 24 August 2007)
| relations = Jamie and Andy (brothers)
|awards = [[British Phonographic Industry]] Man of the Year, 1997
|website = [http://www.kingofhits.com www.kingofhits.com]
|box_width = 300px
}}
'''Jonathan King''' (born '''Kenneth George King''', 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter, [[impresario]] and record producer.

He first came to prominence as an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in 1965 when he wrote and sang "[[Everyone's Gone to the Moon]]," which became an international best seller.<ref>see[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/mar/29/ukcrime.childprotection1 "The rise and fall of a pop tsar"], Press Association, 29 March 2005.
*Also see Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony. ''The complete book of the British charts: singles & albums''. Omnibus Press, 2004, p. 602.
*For its becoming an international bestseller, see Nite, Norm N. ''Rock On''. Crowell 1978, p. 262.</ref> He went on to become a media entrepreneur, discovering and producing material for a number of artists, including [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], whom he signed up in 1967, giving them their name and producing their first album, ''[[From Genesis to Revelation]]''.<ref>Welch, Chris. ''The complete guide to the music of Genesis''. Omnibus Press, 1995, pp. 1&ndash;3; Ronson, Jon. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2001/dec/01/weekend.jonronson "The fall of a pop impresario"], ''The Guardian'', 1 December 2001.</ref> He worked for [[Decca Records]] and created his own record label, [[UK Records]], reported as the most successful independent label in the business and worked with [[10cc]] and the [[Bay City Rollers]].<ref name=GuardianNov212001/>

He also became known for a string of 1970s [[Pop music|hits]], such as [[Paloma Blanca|"Una Paloma Blanca]]," "Lick A Smurf For Christmas," "Loop di Love," and "Leap Up And Down And Wave Your Knickers In The Air"—''Billboard'' reported in September 1972 that he had produced 10 of the Top 30 singles in the UK in the previous 12 months.<ref name=BillboardSept1972>[http://books.google.com/books?id=4icEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32&dq=history+of+decca+records+jonathan+king&hl=en&ei=LekZTIiEH-KLnAf9x7yXCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20decca%20records%20jonathan%20king&f=false "King Forms U.K. Records"], ''Billboard'', 9 September 1972; also see Pearse, Damien. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67314768.html "Pop svengali King puts faith in justice over child sex charges"], ''The Birmingham Post'', 25 November 2000.</ref> [[Rod Liddle]] described him in 2010 as truly talented and fabulously cynical, someone who could "storm the pop charts at will, under a hundred different disguises and over a period of 40 years."<ref>Liddle, Rod. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rod_liddle/article7094203.ece "McLaren was no cultural genius just a lucky punk''], ''The Sunday Times'', 11 April 2010.</ref> In addition to his work as a record producer, he is the author of two novels, ''Bible Two'' (1982) and ''The Booker Prize Winner'' (1997), and an autobiography, ''65 My Life So Far'' (2009).<ref>[http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/bible_two.html "Bible Two''], trashfiction.co.uk; [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Booker-Prize-Winner-Jonathan-King/dp/1857821920/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276240531&sr=8-1 "The Booker Prize Winner"], Amazon; and [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathan-King-65-Life-Far/dp/0956417108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276240629&sr=1-1 "65 My Life So Far"], Amazon. Retrieved 11 June 2010.</ref>

King was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2001 for the sexual assault of five teenage boys aged 14&ndash;16 between 1983 and 1989.<ref name=GuardianNov212001>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/nov/21/childprotection.society "Jonathan King jailed for child sex abuse"], ''The Guardian'', 21 November 2001; Barber, Lynn. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2002/oct/20/features.review7 "The King and I"], ''The Observer'', 20 October 2002.</ref> He protested his innocence.<ref name=BBC2003/> He was refused leave to appeal and was released on parole in 2005.<ref name=BBC2003>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2691803.stm King loses appeal bid], BBC News, 24 January 2003.</ref> The Criminal Cases Review Commission agreed to review his case in 2006, and in 2008 it was reported that the European Court of Human Rights was considering his application for an appeal.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4660558.stm</ref>

==Early life and education==
King was born in London, the first child of an American father and English mother. His father was the managing director of a textile firm, and died when King was nine. The family moved to Surrey, and King and his two brothers, Jamie and Andy, were raised near [[Dorking]]. He was sent to Stoke House boarding school and later [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]], both private schools.<ref>For the brothers' names, see ''65 My Life So Far'', [http://www.65mylifesofar.com/part1.html?start=6 p. 6] and [http://www.65mylifesofar.com/part1.html?start=10 p. 10]. Retrieved 12 June 2010.</ref> He took six months off to travel round the world before taking up a place at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]. During his travels he met a number of pop managers, including [[Brian Epstein]], manager of [[The Beatles]]—who were on tour in [[Hawaii]]; [[Derek Taylor]], the Beatles' press officer; [[Peter Asher]] of Peter and Gordon and [[Tommy LiPuma]], a record producer. He has an [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)|M.A.]] in English literature.<ref name=bio/>

==Career==
===1960s and 1970s===
While he was still a first year undergraduate, King wrote and sang his first hit, "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", which sold over one million copies in the UK and 4.5&nbsp;million around the world.<ref>*For its place at number four in the UK, see [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/mar/29/ukcrime.childprotection1 "The rise and fall of a pop tsar"], Press Association, 29 March 2005.
*For the NME, see [http://www.skidmore.edu/~gthompso/britrock/NME/nme6508.html ''New Musical Express''], 20 August 1965.
*For the London pirate charts, see [http://www.radiolondon.co.uk/rl/scrap60/fabforty/65fabs/aug65/fab150865/fab150865.html "The Early Radio London Fab Forties"], radiolondon.co.uk, 15 August 1965.
*For the number of copies sold, see King, Jonathan. [http://www.kingofhits.co.uk/index.php/Biography.html "Biography"], kingofhits.co.uk, 16 January 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2010.</ref> It was later performed by [[Marlene Dietrich]] and [[Nina Simone]], and it won King a gold disc.<ref>Murrells, Joseph. ''The Book of Golden Discs''. Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. 1978, p. 192.</ref>

Still at university, continuing his studies, King wrote and produced other hits, such as "It's Good News Week" by [[Hedgehoppers Anonymous]], and, later, "Johnny Reggae" by The Piglets. During a visit to his old school, Charterhouse, he was handed a recording by a friend of one of the school bands, which included [[Peter Gabriel]] as their lead singer. He decided to produce them, choosing their name—Genesis—to mark the start of his production career.<ref>Eder, Bruce. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fiftxqe5ldke~T1 "Genesis"], ''Allmusic'', accessed 11 June 2010.
*Cohen,Claire. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1190717/The-Boll-Weevils-Beatals-The-Arkansas-Rollers--thats-I-music.html “The Boll Weevils, the Beatals, The Arkansas Rollers - Now that's what I call music”], ''Daily Mail'', 4 June 2009.
*King, Jonathan. [http://www.kingofhits.co.uk/content/view/6/24/ "Biography" ], King of Hits, 16 January 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2010.</ref> He produced their first album, ''From Genesis to Revelation'', which was a flop at the time because shops placed it in the religious music sections.<ref>Welch, Chris. ''The complete guide to the music of Genesis''. Omnibus Press, 1995, pp. 1&ndash;3; Ronson, Jon, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2001/dec/01/weekend.jonronson "The fall of a pop impresario"], ''The Guardian'', 1 December 2001.</ref>

Soon after graduating, he was given a Saturday evening show on ITV called ''Good Evening; I'm Jonathan King'', which was broadcast nationally for six months.<ref name= IMDB>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0454909/ "Jonathan King (IV)"], IMDB. Retrieved 11 June 2010.</ref> He continued to perform and produce a large number of hits under a variety of names. Among these were "Let It All Hang Out" (a cover of the 1967 track by [[The Hombres]]), "It Only Takes A Minute" (a cover of the Tavares track), "[[Sugar, Sugar]]", "Loop di Love", "[[Hooked on a Feeling]]" (a cover of the track by [[B J Thomas]]), "Lazybones", "It's The Same Old Song" (originally by The Four Tops) and "[[The Sun Has Got His Hat On]]". He produced such hits as "Leap Up And Down Wave Your Knickers In The Air" for St Cecilia and also acts such as the Bay City Rollers, singing backing vocals on their first hit, "Keep on Dancing". He was one of the original investors of the London production of the play ''[[The Rocky Horror Show]]'' and produced the original cast album.

He was involved in running Decca Records for the founder Sir [[Edward Lewis (Decca)|Edward Lewis]].<ref>King, Jonathan. [http://www.65mylifesofar.com/part5.html?start=3 ''65: My Life So Far''], part 5, p. 4.</ref> In September 1972, he set up his own record label, UK Records,<ref name=BillboardSept1972/> which had dozens of hits with artists such as 10cc, whom he also named,<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/10cc.asp "10CC"], Snopes, citing Dolgins, Adam. ''Rock Names: From ABBA to ZZ Top''. Carol Publishing, 1998, pp. 254–255.</ref> [[Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs]] "Seaside Shuffle", [[Roy C]] "Shotgun Wedding", Carl Malcolm with "Fattie Bum Bum", [[The First Class]] with "Beach Baby", [[Lobo (musician)|Lobo]] "Baby I'd Love You To Want Me", and many others, sometimes three or four on the charts at the same time. King frequently performed under pseudonyms such as "Shag", "Sakkarin", "Bubblerock", "100 Ton and a Feather" and "Nemo", although, in 1975, a rendition under his own name of "Una Paloma Blanca" was named Record of the Year at the [[Ivor Novello Awards]].<ref>http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=11790</ref>

In April 1978, standing under his real name as a Royalist candidate he polled 2,350 votes (5.3%) in the [[Epsom and Ewell by-election, 1978|Epsom and Ewell by-election]].<ref>{{cite news
| title = U.K. Political Quiz
| author=Malcolm Farnsworth
| authorlink =
| url = http://australianpolitics.com/uk/quiz.shtml
| format = Questions
| location = http://australianpolitics.com/about
| accessdate = 18 June 2009
| quote = Q: 6. j). Which broadcaster polled 5.3% of the vote as a royalist candidate (1978)? A: Jonathan King. Standing under his real name (Kenneth George King) he polled 2,350 votes in the Epsom and Ewell by-election on 27 April 1978.}}</ref>

===1980s and 1990s===
[[File:Jonathan King 1982.jpeg|right|thumb|170px|In 1982]]
King moved on from the music industry in the 1980s to further his involvement in television and radio. He presented a daily talk show on New York's WMCA radio from 10&ndash;12 weekday mornings throughout 1980 and 1981 and regularly reported from the U.S. on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''. A spinoff series, ''Entertainment USA'', was very successful on BBC Two, getting over nine million viewers each week. He also created the Youth TV show ''[[No Limits (BBC TV series)|No Limits]]'' which topped the BBC ratings. King wrote a page in ''The Sun'' for eight years called "Bizarre USA" and his criticism of [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] and [[Live Aid]] provoked 18,500 letters in one day. He wrote regular features in many other newspapers and magazines. He also completed two published novels, ''Bible Two'' and ''The Booker Prize Winner''.<ref name= IMDB/> He continued some music projects, including the bizarre supergroup project "[[Gogmagog (band)|Gogmagog]]" with ex members of [[Iron Maiden]], [[Def Leppard]], [[Whitesnake]], and other classic rock bands.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Old Sounds: GOGMAGOG
| author=Munro, Eden
| url = http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=11450
| format = 26 March 2009
| location = http://www.vueweekly.com/about/
| date = 26 March 2009
| accessdate = 18 June 2009
}}</ref>

In 1987, he accused the [[Pet Shop Boys]] of plagiarising the melody of [[Cat Stevens]]'s 1970 song "[[Wild World]]" for their UK #1 single "[[It's a Sin]]". King also released his own cover version of "Wild World" as a single, using a similar musical arrangement to "It's a Sin", in an effort to demonstrate his claims. The single flopped, while the Pet Shop Boys sued King, winning out-of-court damages, which they donated to charity. He had done the same in the 1970s with his version of [[He's So Fine]] to the arrangement of [[George Harrison]]'s "[[My Sweet Lord]]", which was played in the plagiarism court case which [[The Chiffons]] won.
[[File:Jonathan King with Jon Bon Jovi.jpg|left|thumb|170x|With [[Jon Bon Jovi]]]]

King wrote and hosted the [[BRIT Awards]] for the BBC in 1987 and he returned to produce them from 1990 to 1992. He produced "[[A Song For Europe]]", the BBC quest for a [[Eurovision Song Contest]] winner.<ref name= IMDB/> The 1996 entrant by [[Gina G]], "Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit", went to number one in the UK Singles Chart, and the 1997 entry by [[Katrina and the Waves]], "[[Love Shine a Light]]", [[A Song for Europe#Winners|won]] the contest.<ref name=JohnKennedy>O'Connor, John Kennedy. ''The Eurovision Song Contest&nbsp;— The Official History''. Carlton Books, 2007.</ref> He is also responsible for the concept and format of the ''[[The Record of the Year|Record of the Year]]'' shows on British television, regularly shown in December, which continue online.<ref name=bio>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/mar/29/ukcrime.childprotection1 "The rise and fall of a pop tsar"], Press Association, 29 March 2005.
*King, Jonathan. [http://www.kingofhits.co.uk/index.php/Biography.html "Biography"], kingofhits.co.uk, 16 January 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2010.</ref> At the end of the Thatcher government, he released "We Can't Let Maggie Go"; it did not chart.

In 1993, he founded ''[[The Tip Sheet]]'', which continues online as a message board promoting unknown and unsigned musical acts.<ref name=bio/> In 1995/1996 he hosted the 10-12 daily show on Talk Radio in the UK, now TalkSport. In 1997 he was awarded the British Phonographic Industry Man of the Year Award with a message of support from the then-prime minister Tony Blair for his "important contribution to one of this country’s great success stories."<ref>Burrell, Ian. "Ian Burrell reveals that Tony Blair is a secret fan of Jonathan King, the man who brought the world 'Una Paloma Blanca'", ''The Independent'', 24 October 1997.</ref>

King was also an early fan of the [[Harry Potter]] books, releasing a tribute CD in 1999.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Harry, Ron, Hermione and the Wizards
| author=King, Jonathan
| authorlink =
| url = http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00003G1GJ
| format = Audio CD
| date=27 November 1999
| publisher=UK Records
| location = amazon.co.uk
| issn = ASIN_B00003G1GJ
| accessdate = 18 June 2009
| quote = Jonathan King joins the Harry Potter craze with this unofficial tribute album
}}</ref> He recorded a version of "[[Who Let The Dogs Out]]" under the name Fat Jakk and his Pack of Pets.

===2000s===

King was arrested at his home in [[Bayswater]], London, on 23 November 2000 and again in January 2001,<ref>[http://www.nme.com/news/jonathan-king/5379 "Jonathan King arrested"], ''New Musical Express'', 24 November 2000; [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1134023.stm "Second arrest for Jonathan King"], ''The Guardian'', 24 January 2001.</ref> after a man approached [[Max Clifford]], a well-known British publicist, to say he had had sex with King while underage. After the first arrest, King was released on bail of £150,000, £50,000 of which was paid by [[Simon Cowell]], the impresario. Cowell said later that he regretted doing this.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/columnists/article-332299/Simons-shame.html "Simon's shame"], ''Daily Mail'', 29 December 2004.</ref>

After the case attracted publicity, several more men came forward and further charges were laid. Following a trial in September 2001, King was convicted and received a seven-year prison sentence for offences committed between 1983 and 1989.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/nov/21/childprotection.society "Jonathan King jailed for child sex abuse"], ''The Guardian'', 21 November 2001.</ref> He was acquitted on all charges at a second trial on 21 November when a witness, who King said he had never met, said he had consented to sex and that he had been older at the time of the alleged incident than he had claimed in his initial statements to police. The Judge ordered outstanding claims to be abandoned and sentenced King to seven years on the verdict from the first trial. <ref name=Clough>Clough, Sue and O'Neill, Sean. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1363094/Pop-veteran-Jonathan-King-given-seven-years-for-abusing-schoolboys.html "Pop veteran Jonathan King given seven years for abusing schoolboys"], ''The Daily Telegraph'', 22 November 2001.</ref> Some commentators felt King's prosecution had been unfair, among them [[Charles Shaar Murray]], [[Howard Jacobson]], Carole Sarler, [[Lynn Barber]], [[Richard Stott]] and Danny Hammill.<ref>[http://www.cpgb.org.uk/article.php?article_id=1000048]</ref>
<ref>Stott, Richard. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20041226/ai_n12915678/?tag=rel.res1%3C/ref%3E%3Cref%3Ehttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article2195745.ece "Stotty On Sunday: Time to Free King"], ''Sunday Mirror, 26 December 2004.</ref> King maintained his innocence—and continues to do so—and he sought leave to appeal. He was released on parole in March 2005. In January 2006, the BBC reported that the Criminal Cases Review Commission had agreed to examine his case. King argued that he was in New York in 1985 when one of the incidents was alleged to have taken place in King's home in London. He said he had not presented this evidence at his trial because the date of the alleged offences on the charge sheet had been changed after he had completed his defence. The appeal court said it was not when but whether the offences had taken place that mattered. King said that in cases of ages of consent even one day made the difference between legality and illegality. As of February 2008, a further appeal was reported to be before the European Court of Human Rights.

In June 2006 he spoke about the need for prison reform at a meeting of ''Inside Time'', the national newspaper for prisoners, alongside former MP [[Jonathan Aitken]].<ref>Grove, Valerie. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article679747.ece "Prison routine do time walk out hit brick wall"], ''The Times'', 27 June 2006.</ref> In 2007, two years after his release from jail, he produced a collection of mainly new songs, entitled ''Earth to King''. One of these attracted criticism in July 2007, because it was seen as defending the serial killer [[Harold Shipman|Dr. Harold Shipman]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6896298.stm "Families' anger over Shipman song"], BBC News, 12 July 2007.</ref> In May 2008, he released a 96-minute film called ''Vile Pervert: The Musical'', which included 21 characters all portrayed by King. Available for free download on the internet, the film features full-frontal nudity from King and comprises many pieces to camera while caricaturing the police, the media, the PR industry, the legal system, and his accusers.<ref>[http://www.vilepervert.com Vile Pervert movie website], Vilepervert.com, accessed 12 June 2010.
*See King as Oscar Wilde in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLP4gaOeyfQ&feature=related "Oscar: Wilde About Boys"], ''Vile Pervert: The Musical'', ''YouTube'', accessed 12 June 2010.
Moore, Matthew. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1958447/Jonathan-King-makes-Vile-Pervert-The-Musical.html "Jonathan King makes Vile Pervert: The Musical"], ''The Daily Telegraph'', 15 May 2008.</ref>

In December 2009 he published his autobiography ''65 My Life So Far''.<ref>King, Jonathan. [http://www.65mylifesofar.com/ "65 My Life So Far"], accessed 11 June 2010.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Refbegin}}
*[http://www.KingOfHits.com Jonathan King website], KingsofHits.com, accessed 12 June 2010.
*[http://j_withers.tripod.com/JK45s.htm King Discography], accessed 12 June 2010.
*[http://www.beautiful-records.com/discographies/UK/uk.htm UK Records discography], Beautiful-Records.com, accessed 12 June 2010.
*[http://www.vilepervert.com Vile Pervert (movie) website], vilepervert.com, accessed 12 June 2010.
*[http://www.65mylifesofar.com Jonathan King autobiography], 65mylifesofar.com, accessed 12 June 2010.
{{Refend}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2010}}

{{Genesis}}

<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME= King, Jonathan
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= Record producer, Singer, Songwriter, Author,
|DATE OF BIRTH=1944-12-06
|PLACE OF BIRTH= London, England
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Jonathan}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English pop singers]]
[[Category:English radio personalities]]
[[Category:Impresarios]]
[[Category:Old Carthusians]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:LGBT people from England]]

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Revision as of 10:41, 2 December 2010