Paul Young born Paul Antony Young on 17 January 1956 in Luton, Bedfordshire… Read Full Bio ↴Paul Young born Paul Antony Young on 17 January 1956 in Luton, Bedfordshire) is an English pop musician. Young was the lead singer in blue eyed soul group Q-Tips before going solo in 1982. Young's biggest worldwide hit followed in 1985 with a version of Daryl Hall's "Everytime You Go Away". The song reached #1 on the U.S. pop charts.

Growing up with an older brother Mark and a younger sister Joanne, Young first went to work at the Vauxhall Motors factory and in his spare time played in several bands as bass guitarist. The first group for which he became lead singer was Kat Kool & The Kool Kats. In the late 1970s he joined the Streetband, who had one Top 20 hit in the UK, with the humorous, novelty track "Toast", reaching No. 18 in November 1978.

In December 1979 the Streetband broke up and Young formed the Q-Tips, who established their name by playing live and supporting The Who on their 1982 tour but had no chart hits in the UK, although their single "Letter Song" did enjoy minor success in mainland Europe.

The Q-Tips went their separate ways in 1982, and Young was signed by CBS Records as a solo performer, uniting the fields of New Wave and Soul. His first two singles, "Iron Out the Rough Spots" and a cover of Nicky Thomas’ "Love of the Common People" had no success, but the third, a cover of the Marvin Gaye B-side "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" was No. 1 in the UK singles chart for three weeks in the summer of 1983, the first of fourteen British Top 40 singles.

Similar success followed all over Europe. In the UK, follow-up single "Come Back and Stay" reached No. 4, and a re-release of "Love of the Common People" made it to No. 2, while his début album No Parlez was certified platinum in various countries.

Young's style at the time was a warm, approachable white soul, though he sometimes received playful criticism for his fashion decisions. However, his choice of an Antony Price leather suit for the cover of No Parlez was impractical for stage, where an energetic show dictated more robust clothing.

1984 was a difficult year for Young, as his first heavy promotional and live concert tour of America affected his vocal cords to the extent that he couldn't sing at all for most of the year. He recovered, however, to famously perform the opening line to the Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and his second album, The Secret of Association, secured his future success in the U.S., Japan and Australia. Young's biggest worldwide hit came from this album in 1985 with a version of Daryl Hall & John Oates's album track "Everytime You Go Away". The song reached #1 on the U.S. pop charts.

His third and fourth albums, Between Two Fires, in 1986, and Other Voices, in 1990, were commercial failures (though the latter was a success in the US) but a popular duet, "Senza una donna-Without a Woman", with Italian blues singer Zucchero in 1991 and a corresponding greatest hits album (which also featured duets with Clannad and Joni Mitchell) returned him to success. It also included a new track, 'I’m Only Foolin Myself'. He sung "Radio Ga Ga" with Queen in 1992, at the tribute concert to the recently deceased Freddie Mercury.

In 1992, Paul Young formed Los Pacaminos, a Tex-Max style live band including other top-class musicians such as Jamie Moses and the late Matt Irving. The group have released two albums, with a third scheduled for released in 2024.

In 1993, Young released The Crossing, which produced his first solo Top 20 hit since 'Everytime You Go Away', 'Now I Know What Made Otis Blue'. After this, Young was freed from his contract with CBS. In 1994, he released the covers album Reflections, which was a commercial failure.

He reformed the Q-Tips for a short series of concerts that year in 1993. A year later he suffered significant vocal damage, which has followed him ever since. He contributed to the Vangelis album Voices in 1995. Young sang the British national anthem "God Save the Queen", on the eve of England's Euro '96 semifinal match against Germany.

In 1997, he released his final album to feature original material on EastWest Records. The album featured his final UK Top 40 hit, 'I Wish You Well' and abandoned soul in favour of a more country style somewhat similar to that of Garth Brooks. In 2006 and 2016, he released covers albums, Rock Swings On The Wild Side of Swing and Good Thing, with the former being only released in Germany.

Paul still actively tours solo and with Los Pacaminos and is releasing a new albums both solo and with his group in 2023. He spends his time with his family and following his past time of cooking.
www.paul-young.com/

Enter Sandman
Paul Young Lyrics

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Say your prayers little one
Don't forget my son
To include everyone

I tuck you in, warm within
Keep you free from sin
'Til the sandman he comes

Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to never-never land

Something's wrong, shut the light
Heavy thoughts tonight
And they aren't of Snow White

Dreams of war, dreams of liars
Dreams of dragon's fire
And of things that will bite, yeah

Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to never-never land

Now I lay me down to sleep
Now I lay me down to sleep
Pray the lord my soul to keep
Pray the lord my soul to keep

If I die before I wake
If I die before I wake
Pray the lord my soul to take
Pray the lord my soul to take

Hush little baby don't say a word
And never mind that noise you heard
It's just the beasts under your bed
In your closet in your head

Exit light
Enter night
Grain of sand

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to never-never land

Boo! Yeah yeah!

We're off to never-never land
Take my hand
We're off to never-never land
Take my hand

We're off to never-never land

We're off to never-never land
We're off to never-never land

Overall Meaning

The song "Enter Sandman" by Paul Young tells the story of a child's bedtime ritual where the parent urges the child to say their prayers and include everyone in their good wishes. The parent promises to keep the child free from sin until they fall asleep and the sandman comes. However, as the child falls asleep, they begin to have heavy thoughts and nightmares about war, lies, and monsters that lurk in the darkness. The chorus repeats the line "Exit light, enter night" which suggests that the child is transitioning from a state of innocence and safety to one of darkness and danger. The final verse echoes the childhood prayer of "Now I lay me down to sleep" but adds a dark twist with the line "if I die before I wake, pray the lord my soul to take."

The song has a menacing tone and suggests that beneath the rituals of bedtime and prayers, there may be a dark undercurrent of fear and anxiety. The lyrics also touch on the idea of childhood innocence and the loss of that innocence as one grows older and faces the harsh realities of the world. The line "Hush little baby don't say a word, and never mind that noise you heard, it's just the beasts under your bed, in your closet, in your head" implies that the child's fears may not be entirely unfounded and that there may be real monsters hiding in the darkness.

Line by Line Meaning

Say your prayers little one
Begin your nightly prayer, child

Don't forget my son
Include my son in your prayer

To include everyone
Pray for everyone, not just yourself

I tuck you in, warm within
I snuggle you into bed, keeping you warm and comfortable

Keep you free from sin
Protect you from the temptation to do wrong

'Til the sandman he comes
Until you fall asleep and dream

Sleep with one eye open
Be aware of your surroundings even as you sleep

Gripping your pillow tight
Hold onto your pillow tightly for comfort

Exit light
Say goodbye to the light of day

Enter night
Welcome the darkness of night

Take my hand
Let me lead you