By Ian Woolley
One Wish For Christmas’ is a song that started life some seven years ago for Limahl.
The 1980’s artist Limahl, known for his time with the UK band Kajagoogoo wanted to release it again last in November.
One Wish For Christmas
Limahl changed his name with an anagram of his surname, and after several stints in various bands, joined the four-piece called Art Nouveau to change their name to Kajagoogoo. How did the band get together in the first place? “In 1983, EMI decided to release Too Shy after Christmas and one day in the building I was pulled aside by one of the marketing guys and he said it won’t be a hit but it will get you known. I was a bit disappointed that Christmas thinking that it wasn’t going to be a big hit. “Why? Not only was it a hit, but it became No.1 in the UK and all around the world – including No.5 in America. So my opinion of the marketing experts went down after that really!” The song co-written by Limahl was one of the biggest selling singles that year and the band had further hits with Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes producing their first album. Out of the blue, a phone call to him telling him he was sacked from the band took him by surprise. Limahl added: “They’d known about it for a while and to this day I don’t know why. When I met the band at the beginning they were serious musicians and very talented, which is why I wanted to join them in the first place. We became overnight teen idols, which wasn’t planned on our part.
Having lived in London all your adult life and being inspired by the city, why release it now? “What happened is I met the pianist of Savoy, John Nichols, who is a songwriter as well, and we worked on this song and it’s a bucket list ticked off for me. To come up with an original song about Christmas was difficult and that’s worked out, which is nice”. Limahl’s one wish for Christmas. Is it a No.1 single? “I’d settle for No.10”. Limahl in 2021: Any plans to tour or a new album in the making? “I haven’t recorded anything for a long time. I had a single out in March called Still In Love, which did very well and got really great reviews, and spurred me on a bit. I am ready to make a new album but I don’t want to set myself an unnecessary deadline.”
Music isn’t the only entertainment avenue he has in his sights. “I’ve spent the last three years in acting class and in late 2019, appeared in my first play on the London Fringe called ‘Earthquakes In London’ about climate change. I’m young at heart – after all 60 is the new 40!”
Excerpts from the interview but the full article can be found in our January issue of the Beat.