Music fashions may ebb and flow, but great voices never go out of style. Wh… Read Full Bio ↴Music fashions may ebb and flow, but great voices never go out of style. Which is why it's time for a new celebration of one of the best vocalists ever heard in British soul music, Kenny Thomas. Just as word of mouth on the UKs R&B underground brought Kenny to prominence in the first place, prompting his huge single and album success in the first half of the 1990s, so his overdue return to the scene owes everything to the undeniable power of the soul grapevine.
In response to demand created by his fans rather than some marketing departments sleight of hand, July sees Curbs full release of Crazy World, Kenny's new track that was seized upon by soul cognoscenti in the media and spread like a bush fire through Englands ever-vibrant northern soul club scene.
Soul music inspires more snobbery than almost any other genre, but Crazy World strikes one for homegrown British talent, with a soulful sway to rival Alexander ONeal at his best. Hot on the heels of the single, Thomas will issue Crazy World, the long-awaited album that will confirm his credentials with longtime supporters and new appreciators beyond any argument.
Let's not forget the huge mark that Kenny made during some golden years with Chrysalis Cooltempo label, which included two top ten albums, 1991s Voices and the 1993 sequel Wait For Me, the top ten smash Thinking About Your Love, three more top 20 hits in Outstanding, Best Of You and Trippin On Your Love, and four further top 40 UK singles.
Soul stylist Thomas is thrilled to be back, but he never really went away. After I left Cooltempo, says the genial north Londoner, I needed time to find out creatively where I was at, what was it that defines me. I was still writing and I continued to take my vocal lessons, to gig and meet the fans that were there at PAs and clubs.
I featured on a Stonebridge album, but I didn't want to be a voice for hire, I didn't want to go down that route. So I got involved in things that have been interesting, but I've also had a lot of time to write and absorb. I made this cut called Crazy World that got into the hands of a few DJs and blew up and took on a life of its own, on the northern soul and UK soul scene, and got some big endorsements. That in itself created a buzz. Everything works out in its own strange way.
The irony is songs like Thinking About Your Love, I don't think it has ever had as much airplay, since it was a hit, as it has in recent times. Capital is playing it, Heart is playing it. Maybe it's one of those records that's timeless, and it will remind people of what I did and reintroduce them to the new stuff.
Crazy World features mainly co-writes by Kenny, who's collaborated with such acclaimed talents as prolific hit maker Eliot Kenedy, South African-born writer-artist Jonathan Butler and producer Simon Law, whose credits include Soul II Soul and Chantรฉ Moore. Among them is the much talked-about Let It Rain and the in-demand Him, co-written by Thomas and Butler and effusively embraced among the online community of Britsoul devotees as possibly one of the best UK soul tracks ever made.
The collection proudly wears Thomas' love of the very best classic American soul, funk and fusion on its sleeve, but never as mere imitation and always with his own character as a writer and vocalist to the fore. This album is old and new, he says, and there's always a risk when youre either trying to please someone else or be self-indulgent, because both can miss the mark. But Ive made a record where were being really true with the songs.
Also on the album are two imaginative covers to remind us that Kenny was always an outstanding interpreter too, all the way back to signature hits such as Outstanding and Tender Love. Opening the set is I Will, an ingenious reshaping of Icelandic jazz-funk outfit Mezzofortes top 20 pop crossover instrumental of 1983, Garden Party. Then there's a great reading of Don't Know Why, well known as a Norah Jones hit but now made entirely his own by Thomas, who takes possession of the Jesse Harris composition with a sophisticated update.
Both covers have stories to them, too. Eliot Kenedy is a great writer and a closet soulboy, says Thomas. He's got a great voice, he sounds like Michael McDonald AND he does the best Kenny Thomas impersonation I've ever heard! He mentioned Mezzoforte and I said of course that I knew it, I'm a jazz-funk boy. It was his idea to take the melody, slow it down a little bit, change the structure somewhat, and write our lyrics to it. With the blessing, we might add, of Mezzoforte themselves.
Don't Know Why is on the album as a result of Kenny performing the track to great acclaim in May 2005 on the highly popular ITV series Hit Me Baby One More Time (on which he also sang Thinking About Your Love). She did it as a sleepy jazz thing, says Thomas. I've done covers and I've always believed you've got to do them some kind of justice. That for me is singing.
And that has always been his lifeblood. I was born in Islington, I'm a definite Londoner through and through, but I'm also half-Spanish, my mother was from the Canary Islands he says. Kenny showed great promise as a boxer when he was young, but was hooked on soul even before he started his record collection with a Stevie Wonder album.
I grew up on a housing estate and it was multi-cultural, all different backgrounds. There were some second generation Caribbean kids whose parents brought their reggae over, then lovers rock happened, but we were mainly listening to a lot of US soul. I had a record shop situated just opposite my flats in Stamford Hill called R&B Records, I used to buy all my imports from there. I had friends with older brothers, who said Have you heard Rick James, Funkadelic or Headhunters and all this, so then I got into jazz-funk and jazz fusion. Great stuff, I wouldn't change it for the world. It made me what I am.
Kenny got his school qualifications and went to work in the city, but his passions lay elsewhere. His classy vocals and song writing ability brought him to the attention of Cooltempo, for whom he signed in 1990 and hit the ground running when Outstanding became a major new year success.
He was three hits in by the time the album Voices arrived in the autumn of 1991, becoming a double platinum sensation that led to Brit Award nominations as both Best British Male Vocalist and Best British Newcomer. In 1993, Kenny's second album Wait For Me included contributions from the ultra-funky American singer Carleen Anderson, hit the top ten and featured four chart singles.
He reflects wisely on the pleasures and pressures of his old life in the chart bubble, and is clearly delighted to be rising through the underground again on his own terms. There were certain aspects of that initial fame that were marvellous. One minute I'm living in a council estate environment, the next I'm sitting in someone's house in Los Angeles talking to the Isley Brothers. If that doesn't blow your mind I don't know what will, you've got to approach life with a bit of a wow factor, I think.
But you feel the pressure of being up there, and you've heard it a million times, the hand that feeds you becomes the hand that beats you. I'm much happier being with an independent record label because I dont really want to be in an environment where you've got a month to do well or you're out. With this record, I knew I was sitting on a lot of good material, and now I'm having this underground renaissance. It's about being in the game and putting the music out there.
In response to demand created by his fans rather than some marketing departments sleight of hand, July sees Curbs full release of Crazy World, Kenny's new track that was seized upon by soul cognoscenti in the media and spread like a bush fire through Englands ever-vibrant northern soul club scene.
Soul music inspires more snobbery than almost any other genre, but Crazy World strikes one for homegrown British talent, with a soulful sway to rival Alexander ONeal at his best. Hot on the heels of the single, Thomas will issue Crazy World, the long-awaited album that will confirm his credentials with longtime supporters and new appreciators beyond any argument.
Let's not forget the huge mark that Kenny made during some golden years with Chrysalis Cooltempo label, which included two top ten albums, 1991s Voices and the 1993 sequel Wait For Me, the top ten smash Thinking About Your Love, three more top 20 hits in Outstanding, Best Of You and Trippin On Your Love, and four further top 40 UK singles.
Soul stylist Thomas is thrilled to be back, but he never really went away. After I left Cooltempo, says the genial north Londoner, I needed time to find out creatively where I was at, what was it that defines me. I was still writing and I continued to take my vocal lessons, to gig and meet the fans that were there at PAs and clubs.
I featured on a Stonebridge album, but I didn't want to be a voice for hire, I didn't want to go down that route. So I got involved in things that have been interesting, but I've also had a lot of time to write and absorb. I made this cut called Crazy World that got into the hands of a few DJs and blew up and took on a life of its own, on the northern soul and UK soul scene, and got some big endorsements. That in itself created a buzz. Everything works out in its own strange way.
The irony is songs like Thinking About Your Love, I don't think it has ever had as much airplay, since it was a hit, as it has in recent times. Capital is playing it, Heart is playing it. Maybe it's one of those records that's timeless, and it will remind people of what I did and reintroduce them to the new stuff.
Crazy World features mainly co-writes by Kenny, who's collaborated with such acclaimed talents as prolific hit maker Eliot Kenedy, South African-born writer-artist Jonathan Butler and producer Simon Law, whose credits include Soul II Soul and Chantรฉ Moore. Among them is the much talked-about Let It Rain and the in-demand Him, co-written by Thomas and Butler and effusively embraced among the online community of Britsoul devotees as possibly one of the best UK soul tracks ever made.
The collection proudly wears Thomas' love of the very best classic American soul, funk and fusion on its sleeve, but never as mere imitation and always with his own character as a writer and vocalist to the fore. This album is old and new, he says, and there's always a risk when youre either trying to please someone else or be self-indulgent, because both can miss the mark. But Ive made a record where were being really true with the songs.
Also on the album are two imaginative covers to remind us that Kenny was always an outstanding interpreter too, all the way back to signature hits such as Outstanding and Tender Love. Opening the set is I Will, an ingenious reshaping of Icelandic jazz-funk outfit Mezzofortes top 20 pop crossover instrumental of 1983, Garden Party. Then there's a great reading of Don't Know Why, well known as a Norah Jones hit but now made entirely his own by Thomas, who takes possession of the Jesse Harris composition with a sophisticated update.
Both covers have stories to them, too. Eliot Kenedy is a great writer and a closet soulboy, says Thomas. He's got a great voice, he sounds like Michael McDonald AND he does the best Kenny Thomas impersonation I've ever heard! He mentioned Mezzoforte and I said of course that I knew it, I'm a jazz-funk boy. It was his idea to take the melody, slow it down a little bit, change the structure somewhat, and write our lyrics to it. With the blessing, we might add, of Mezzoforte themselves.
Don't Know Why is on the album as a result of Kenny performing the track to great acclaim in May 2005 on the highly popular ITV series Hit Me Baby One More Time (on which he also sang Thinking About Your Love). She did it as a sleepy jazz thing, says Thomas. I've done covers and I've always believed you've got to do them some kind of justice. That for me is singing.
And that has always been his lifeblood. I was born in Islington, I'm a definite Londoner through and through, but I'm also half-Spanish, my mother was from the Canary Islands he says. Kenny showed great promise as a boxer when he was young, but was hooked on soul even before he started his record collection with a Stevie Wonder album.
I grew up on a housing estate and it was multi-cultural, all different backgrounds. There were some second generation Caribbean kids whose parents brought their reggae over, then lovers rock happened, but we were mainly listening to a lot of US soul. I had a record shop situated just opposite my flats in Stamford Hill called R&B Records, I used to buy all my imports from there. I had friends with older brothers, who said Have you heard Rick James, Funkadelic or Headhunters and all this, so then I got into jazz-funk and jazz fusion. Great stuff, I wouldn't change it for the world. It made me what I am.
Kenny got his school qualifications and went to work in the city, but his passions lay elsewhere. His classy vocals and song writing ability brought him to the attention of Cooltempo, for whom he signed in 1990 and hit the ground running when Outstanding became a major new year success.
He was three hits in by the time the album Voices arrived in the autumn of 1991, becoming a double platinum sensation that led to Brit Award nominations as both Best British Male Vocalist and Best British Newcomer. In 1993, Kenny's second album Wait For Me included contributions from the ultra-funky American singer Carleen Anderson, hit the top ten and featured four chart singles.
He reflects wisely on the pleasures and pressures of his old life in the chart bubble, and is clearly delighted to be rising through the underground again on his own terms. There were certain aspects of that initial fame that were marvellous. One minute I'm living in a council estate environment, the next I'm sitting in someone's house in Los Angeles talking to the Isley Brothers. If that doesn't blow your mind I don't know what will, you've got to approach life with a bit of a wow factor, I think.
But you feel the pressure of being up there, and you've heard it a million times, the hand that feeds you becomes the hand that beats you. I'm much happier being with an independent record label because I dont really want to be in an environment where you've got a month to do well or you're out. With this record, I knew I was sitting on a lot of good material, and now I'm having this underground renaissance. It's about being in the game and putting the music out there.
Something Special
Kenny Thomas Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Something Special' by these artists:
(the) ocean and i O yeah shh listen to the music feel the vibration…
(Urban Zakapa) Something special I need a Something special I wanna *Somet…
10 CC Stealing coins from the poor box I'm robbing the blind, but…
47stillstanding Yeah I aint nothing special just a guy that's at…
A treehouse wait You see all the things I don't You say every truth…
Aewon Wolf Something special Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, y…
After 7 I've been bad, bad as any other But I don't…
Aleen Jana Kรถtter Hands in the Clock dont stop allday, The goals in the…
Alex Lloyd Broken hearts will never meet again We can try sometimes we'…
Amaree I think that you are the only one The only one…
An-ten-nae Stealing coins from the poor box I'm robbing the blind, but…
Anna Of The North Hver gang vi mรธtes Did you ever write my name with a fountain pen In…
Aubrie Sellers We could go down to the lake Throw off our shoes Jump…
b-flat and the half-notes I thought we were something special I thought we had potenti…
Beast Rsa (What we have is) (Something special) (Canโt nobody) (Nobody…
Big Bang Did you ever write my name with a fountain pen In…
Bigbang Did you ever write my name with a fountain pen In…
Camp Nottingham (Something special) King of the castle in my mind Still sw…
Candy Hearts I never say the right thing But you always laugh before…
Cannon-Soul We can't agree on a single thing, I don't know why. We…
Chochukmo ๏ปฟSomething Special Performer๏ผChochukmo Composer ๏ผChochukmo …
City Nord Something special! Something special! Ah! Ah! Yo! Yo! Ich m…
CIV You'll get nowhere And that's all you hear And that all…
D&G SOMETHING SPECIAL VERSE 1 (Vchon) Na your case me i go carr…
Daniel Blair I've been through it every motion, swim myself across the…
Dark Voices The lights dim The movie's about to begin New York 1940 Y…
Davy Era Here we are holing up in the cold Here we are,…
De-Phazz If thereโs no chance to reach you, No bridge, no boat,…
De-Phazz & Karl Frierson Sitting here, my minds an empty page, But I'll try,…
Debby Smith High, low Good, bad Laugh, cry Fight, forgive Love, much…
Des'ree Sitting here, my minds an empty page, But I'll try,…
Dolly Parton You may not know it I don't always show it But you're…
Downing Will Is it true what I heard about you that you…
Dr. John You oughta be a one man woman One woman is all…
Dusty Springfield The first time we met It was so plain to see I…
Earth Wind & Fire Love is like something special Compared to none, it's pure c…
Eric Clapton by Eric Clapton She's something special, I can't explain it…
Fake Shark Well you might think that I'm crazy Well I might think…
Gary Burton & Friends I've logged a lot of miles seen a lot of…
Halston Dare Yeah Iโฒm wearing the dress that you liked I didn't know…
HI.5 O yeah shh listen to the music feel the vibration…
J-Ro Ainโt nobody taught me patience Ainโt nobody showed me dedic…
JC Chasez So you want to come at me? Like you want to…
Joan (Okay so it was) (Ba-da-da-da) (Yeah, that was it, woo) You…
John Conlee You oughta be a one man woman One woman is all…
John Newman Something feels kinda special Something feels kinda good I …
Kyla Growing up slowly I could hardly wait Had a book in…
Ladi I felt it in my heart before I knew it…
M. Campbell Something special, sexy, wonderful Something special, sexy, …
Markus Jay Iโm with all the lovely dovey baby when you come…
Maverick Sabre And I, I've got something hard to say I won't be…
Max Sedgley Feat. Tasita D'Mour In a world so full of make-believe Is y…
Mel Tillis I've been a lot of places and I've seen a…
Miguel Campbell Something special, sexy, wonderful Something special, sexy, …
Minka Verse Girl, I gotta ask ya What you got on? Is that Joie…
Minoa Laying by the gleaming river Breathing in the summer winds T…
Natalise If you feel the words inside, then why don't you…
Newman Randy All dressed up nowhere to go Looks so easy but…
Patti LaBelle I just met you, yet I'm feeling It's just like somehow,…
Pet Shop Boys What am I now? Another boy becoming man Who wants to change …
Pidge Album on the way Bitch I ain't catching no fades Sun hitting…
Pnau Sometime We All Have To Feel More Sometimes We All Need To…
Pop Smoke I think you are (you are) something special I'll take you…
Prince Daddy & The Hyena He wrote a book about a flower To express his desire To…
Quincy Jones It was only yesterday that I was down And the…
Randy Newman All dressed up nowhere to go Looks so easy but…
Reno & Rome Been in this night club here for hours Youโฒve really got…
Sail West It's been a while, feels like a million years And time…
SECHSKIES ์ฐ๋ฆฐ ์ข ํน๋ณํด ์ข ํน๋ณํด ์ฐ๋ฆฐ ์ข ํน๋ณํด ์ข ํน๋ณํด I think…
Seekersplanet Something Special Hey, who am I, just a small fish in…
Sequoyah Prep School Close your eyes You've had a long flight home I hope Europe…
Shakatak Tonight seems so far away All dressed up for you I can…
Silky Signs Something Special Vers You are something special And you …
Slowes I'm aware of all your needs Pretty boy, that's you said…
SMPLY T Its about Yeah T pon it Uh Champagne 2 glasses Baby grab an…
Something & Special Hello hello how are you Hello hello it's good to see…
Stephen Duffy I'll never be hip in the magazines (That don't matter) An…
Steve Forbert There's something special in your arms, There's something m…
Steve Miller Band Say that you love me a little bit Say that I…
Straight Dave What am I now? Another boy becoming man Who wants to chang…
Swรญzzy If you feeling what I'm feeling Then it's something special …
TaylorX You are something special And you'll live inside my mind I j…
The Steve Miller Band Say that you love me a little bit Say that I…
The Tough Alliance You're worth something special You're worth something real Y…
Tina Turner There's something special about you When it comes to you the…
Tinie Tempah They know something special's happening They know something …
TNT I' been lyin' here awake all night, 'cause what we got…
Urban Zakapa Something special I need a Something special I wanna Somethi…
Usher Oh, yeah, yeah-yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah This ones f…
Usher featuring Beyoncรฉ & Lil Wayne [Intro] Oh, yeah yeah yeah This ones for the lovers, follo…
Whenua Patuwai I could be rich, baby, and wear my suit Oh, I…
Will Downing Is it true what I heard about you that you…
Wiz Khalifa Comeback, comeback, comeback, comeback to me I wanna roll on…
์ฅ์ฐ์ฃผ ์ฒซ ๋ฒ์งธ ๋ง๋จ ๋ ์ด์ํด ์ ์ง ๋งด๋๋ ๊ธฐ๋ถ ๋ฟ์ธ๊ฑธ ์กฐ์ฌ์ค๋ฐ…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Kenny Thomas:
Best of You I've got another confession to make I'm your fool Everyone…
Outstanding Girl you're looking sweeter now You're looking finer every d…
Tender Love Here I lay all alone Tossin turnin Longing for some of your …
Thinking About Your Love Aaa... Thinking about your love yeah... Thinking about your …
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@clairerichardson2369
Reminds me of my family holiday at the Black cat holiday camp in north Wales 1990, whoโs still here listening today 12.02.2024. Sending lots of hugs ๐ค ๐ต๐คโค๏ธ
@Arouahboerlis
Oh yes you have a point. It was about family holidays for me too... ๐ค Great song
@nubianqueen8685
Iโm STILL LISTENING TO THIS SONG IN 2024!!!โคโคโค I have always loved this song from the first time I heard it in 1992! โคโคโค
@Localman9ja
If you're here in 2024 then remember I kept this space for you .... Let's meet in 2200 again
@AB-wr8vl
Getting ready for Christmas 2023, this WILL BE played.
Mr Thomas, TOP MAN!!!๐๐ฝ๐๐ฝ๐๐ฝ
@salamlasege9373
May God bless you. I was just thinking about jamming this song on my wedding part at the reception. This song was released when I was in my mid-teens. I think I rocked it for a few years and now " I still wanna" ๐
@raed370z8
If youโre listening to this in 2024 youโre a music legend โค
@jesperlungu2288
Iam
@fadhilrobin9217
I'm here
@johnsullivan2652
A most underrated singer.