Reluctant Stereotypes

:(This page is about Paul King's previous bands, Reluctant Stereotypes and King. For the 70's punk band of the same name, see King(2) and for the Elvis impressionist singer, see King(3)).
Reluctant Stereotypes were a Coventry based new wave / ska band founded in the late 70's consisting of Chris Dunne, Martyn Bates, Paul King and producer Paul Sampson. The group released their debut single on the Oval label, run by Charlie Gillett and got a deal with the WEA label a year later, where they released a few singles and one album before splitting up after their final gig at the 1981 Reading Festival. After The Reluctant Stereotypes, singer Paul King formed The Raw Screens, who perfected their act and style to what Paul King and his manager Perry Haines called "Multi Tone", a reference to "Two Tone", and then, in 1983, relaunched the group as band King from the surname of lead singer Paul King.
As lead singer, Paul King wore a mullet haircut and spray-painted Doc Marten's Boots – a look described "like the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". The band released two UK Top 20 albums on CBS, both produced and mixed by Richard James Burgess, who also played drums on most of the debut album Steps in Time (the second LP, Bitter Sweet, saw Adrian Lillywhite on drums). Both albums were certified gold and produced five hit singles, the most successful being the UK No. 2 hit, "Love & Pride". "Love & Pride" was King's only single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 which peaked at No. 55 in September 1985.
Despite a year of success, the band split up in 1986. In 1987, Paul King released a solo album entitled Joy, produced by American producer Dan Hartman. After that, he briefly worked as a VJ for MTV.
In 1998, a compilation album was released, entitled The Best of King – Love & Pride, with 18 tracks, featuring the band's greatest hits and stand-out tracks, including Paul King's one minor solo hit, "I Know".
Cherry Red Records released a remastered version of Bitter Sweet in 2007 followed in 2010 by a remaster of Steps In Time and in 2018 by another King compilation entitled Remixes & Rarities, which contained rare tracks not found on the reissues.
==Links to Peel==
Peel played the group's debut single in 1979 and would often play that track during that year. He also played the Label track, which came from their self titled album, Label, in 1981.
On his 19 August 1985 show, Peel mentions doing Round Table last week with Princess and Paul King and was grateful to King for being nice to his daughter Alexandra who was a fan of his, when Peel took her along. Peel then played a record from Reluctant Stereotypes on the show, who Paul King was a former member.
In 1994, Paul King interviewed John Peel for the MTV 120 Minutes programme after winning the Godlike Genius Award at the NME Awards
==Shows Played==
;thumb|250x250px1979
*19 September 1979: The Lull (7") Oval
*06 October 1979 (BFBS): The Lull (7") Oval
*10 October 1979: The Lull (single) Oval
*05 November 1979: The Lull (7") Oval
;1981
*17 February 1981: The Label (album - The Label) WEA
;1985
*19 August 1985: The Lull (7") Oval
;TOTP (as King)
*11 April 1985 (TOTP): Won’t You Hold My Hand Now (#24)
*25 December 1985 (TOTP): Love & Pride
== See Also ==
*Gigography 1985
==External Links==
*Discogs
*Wikipedia (King)
*Coventry Telegraph
Category:Artists