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/
Man In The Iron Mask
Paul Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who was that who so quickly drove away
The things you've done and the places you've been
When I open the door for you
I will not let them in
As long as you come back to me
I will never ask
The man in the iron mask
You said you love me and it broke my heart
I was always your prisoner right from the start
The nights you spend without me
this house is like a dungeon
And you only return to torture me more
You must have your reasons
I will not ask
For you I will be
The Man in the Iron Mask
In "Man In The Iron Mask," Paul Young tells a story of a man who is deeply in love with a woman but realizes that she is emotionally unavailable. Young metaphorically compares his own feelings of love to being imprisoned, while also referencing the famous story of the man in the iron mask who was imprisoned for years without ever being able to remove his mask. Through the lyrics, he expresses his willingness to be her loyal servant and to love her unconditionally without asking questions. He is aware that she has lived a life outside their relationship, but he insists on not letting her past influence their present. The man in the iron mask is symbolic of Young's own feelings of confinement, but also of his willingness to keep his love hidden beneath a façade of strength.
The song's poignancy comes not just from its musical and lyrical content, but also its origins. Written by Mike Batt, it was the first hit song recorded by Paul Young since the death of his wife, Stacey, in January 2000. It was released as a single in November of that year, and went on to reach number 29 in the UK charts.
Line by Line Meaning
When he drops you off, I will not say
I won't question you or judge you for being with someone else.
Who was that who so quickly drove away
I won't pry into your personal life or make any assumptions about your relationships with others.
The things you've done and the places you've been
I don't want to know about your past or where you've been, as long as you come back to me.
When I open the door for you
I'll continue to treat you with love and respect, regardless of who you are or what you've done.
I will not let them in
I won't let any negativity or baggage from your past affect our relationship, as long as you keep coming back to me.
As long as you come back to me
I only care about you being by my side, and I won't question your actions or feelings as long as you keep coming back to me.
I will never ask
I won't question your loyalty or force you into revealing anything that you don't want to share.
For you I will be
I will go to great lengths to protect you and ensure that you are happy, even if that means being the man in the iron mask - the one who sacrifices everything for the one he loves.
You said you love me and it broke my heart
I was hurt because I love you so much, and the thought of losing you to someone else is unbearable.
I was always your prisoner right from the start
I've been deeply in love with you for a long time, and have always felt trapped by my feelings for you.
The nights you spend without me
The time we spend apart is agonizing, and I feel lost and helpless without you by my side.
This house is like a dungeon
Without you here, my home feels cold and empty, like a prison that I can't escape from until you come back.
And you only return to torture me more
Each time you come back to me, the feelings of love and longing become overwhelming, making me feel even more trapped by my feelings for you.
You must have your reasons
I respect your choices and decisions, and won't judge you for anything you do or say.
I will not ask
I won't demand an explanation or try to force you into revealing anything you don't want to share.
For you I will be
Regardless of the pain I feel or the sacrifices I have to make, I will always love and protect you, even if that means being the man in the iron mask and hiding my true feelings from the world.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Billy Bragg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind