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/
Ku Ku Kurama
Paul Young Lyrics
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Talk to me now; drive me crazy, I bet she hides behind herself
Wake up (wake up) A-she's a story of the life every night
Wake up (ha ha) We are lovers of the world tonight
Choke it down and tell you a lie, we are on fire
Yeah, Ku Ku Kurama, steal from each other (Me I know nothing)
Close to me now, drives me crazy, I bet she lives above herself
Talk to me now, drive me crazy, I bet she hides behind herself
Wake up (wake up) A-she's a story of the life every night
Wake up (ha ha) We are lovers of the world tonight
Choke it down and tell you a lie, we are on fire
Yeah, Ku Ku Kurama, steal from each other (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Iraya, stick to each other (Me I know nothing)
Wake up (wake up) A-she's a story of the life every night
Wake up (ha ha) We are lovers of the world tonight
Choke it down and tell you a lie, we are on fire
Yeah, Ku Ku Kurama, steal from each other (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Iraya, stick to each other (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Kurama, steal from each other (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Iraya, stick to each other (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Kurama, take from each other (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Iraya (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Kurama, steal from each other (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Iraya, stick to each other (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Kurama, steal from each other (Me I know nothing)
Ku Ku Iraya
The lyrics to Paul Young's "Ku-Ku Kurama" seem to reflect the idea of people hiding their true selves and living in a false reality. The repetition of the phrases "close to me now, drives me crazy" and "talk to me now, drive me crazy" suggest a frustration with someone who may not reveal their true selves. The line "I bet she lives above herself" could also imply that this person is living in a privileged manner or putting on a facade to appear better than they actually are.
The chorus seems to emphasize the idea that we are all living our own stories and experiences, but at the same time, we are all connected and are "lovers of the world." However, the line "choke it down and tell you a lie, we are on fire" could suggest that people are putting on a front and hiding their true emotions even in the midst of passionate experiences.
The words "Ku-Ku Kurama" and "Ku Ku Iraya" are repeated several times throughout the song and seem to represent some sort of tribal chant or mantra. The lines "steal from each other" and "stick to each other" could reflect the idea of taking from or supporting one's own tribe or community, while the repeated phrase "Me I know nothing" could suggest a sense of ignorance or lack of understanding in the midst of it all.
Overall, the lyrics of "Ku-Ku Kurama" seem to explore themes of hidden selves, false realities, community, and a lack of understanding.
Line by Line Meaning
Close to me now, drives me crazy, I bet she lives above herself
Being close to me now makes her act insane and act superior to others.
Talk to me now, drive me crazy, I bet she hides behind herself
Whenever she talks to me, it bothers me that she is shy and lacks confidence.
Wake up (wake up) A-she's a story of the life every night
Realize that she lives her life like it's a story, always seeking new experiences.
Wake up (ha ha) We are lovers of the world tonight
We are enjoying the company of each other and living life to the fullest right now.
Choke it down and tell you a lie, we are on fire
We are lying to ourselves and pretending that everything is fine when really we are struggling.
Yeah, Ku Ku Kurama, steal from each other (Me I know nothing)
We are taking advantages of each other without realizing it ourselves.
Ku Ku Iraya, stick to each other (Me I know nothing) ooh ooh ooooh
We are sticking together without any real reason but without realizing it.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: STEVE BOLTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind