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/
Vanish
Paul Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And wake up alone
He'll call out her name in the night
And she will be gone
Just when he thinks he's found
Someone to turn his world around
She'll vanish again
He'll never know how often
There are so many warnings he'll choose
To simply ignore
Just when he thinks he's saved
The same tragic scene is replayed...
She'll vanish again
There'll always be somebody else
Just over the rise
The proof is right there in her eyes
She'll do it to him don't you see
She's done it to me...
And just when he thinks he's found
Someone to turn his world around...
She'll vanish again
Just when he's feeling so sure
And he says that magic word...
She'll vanish again
The lyrics to Paul Young's song "Vanish" paint a picture of a man who repeatedly falls for a woman who disappears at the slightest sign of intimacy. He falls asleep with her by his side, only to wake up alone. He calls out her name in the night, but she's already gone. This pattern repeats itself over and over, and despite the numerous warnings he receives, he continues to believe that he's found someone who will change his world. But she always disappears again.
The song speaks to the complexity of relationships, and the difficulty of letting go even when we know someone isn't good for us. The man in the song seems to be caught in a cycle of hope and disappointment, always searching for something that ultimately proves elusive. The lyrics suggest that he's not the only one to fall victim to this woman's charms - the singer himself has been hurt by her in the past.
In the end, the song is a cautionary tale about the dangers of ignoring warning signs in our relationships, and the importance of recognizing patterns in our own behavior. It serves as a reminder that sometimes, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to let go and move on.
Line by Line Meaning
He'll fall asleep touching her skin
He feels a sense of intimacy and comfort as he drifts off to sleep next to her
And wake up alone
He wakes up to an empty bed, feeling the loss of the person he fell asleep with
He'll call out her name in the night
In his dreams or half-awake state, he yearns for her presence and calls out to her
And she will be gone
By the time he fully wakes up, she has already left, leaving him feeling abandoned and alone
Just when he thinks he's found
Every time he starts to believe he has a stable relationship and a partner to rely on
Someone to turn his world around
Someone who will bring him out of the loneliness and darkness he has been struggling with
She'll vanish again
She will leave him abruptly, without warning or explanation, and break his heart all over again
He'll never know how often
He can't be certain how frequently she's been doing this to other people, or if he's the only one
There are so many warnings he'll choose
He ignores the obvious red flags and chooses to believe things will be different for him
To simply ignore
He doesn't want to acknowledge the signs that she's not fully committed to the relationship
Just when he thinks he's saved
When he's convinced that he's succeeded in convincing her to stay
The same tragic scene is replayed...
The sadness and disappointment of her departure repeats itself time and time again
There'll always be somebody else
She will always seek out new people to fill her emotional needs, leaving her former partners behind
Just over the rise
She's always looking for the next adventure, the next person to captivate and then abandon
The proof is right there in her eyes
Her eyes reveal a sense of unfulfillment and restlessness, causing others to question her loyalty
She'll do it to him don't you see
She'll repeat this pattern with him, just as she has done with others
She's done it to me...
The singer knows firsthand the pain and disappointment of her disappearing acts
And just when he thinks he's found
He's lured in once more by the possibility of a long-lasting and meaningful relationship
Someone to turn his world around...
Someone who can bring lightness and happiness back into his life
She'll vanish again
But true to form, she'll suddenly leave him alone and heartbroken yet again
Just when he's feeling so sure
When he has started to let his guard down and trust her
And he says that magic word...
Just as he's about to express his deepest feelings and desires
She'll vanish again
She'll vanish, leaving him with a broken heart and empty promises
Contributed by Julia P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.