Paul Young
Paul Antony Young[4][5] (born 17 January 1956)[6] is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. His hit singles include "Love of the Common People", "Wherever I Lay My Hat", "Come Back and Stay", "Every Time You Go Away" and "Everything Must Change", all reaching the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.[7] Released in 1983, his debut album, No Parlez, was the first of three UK number-one albums.[7]
This article is about the solo singer. For the singer with Sad Café and Mike + The Mechanics, see Paul Young (singer, born 1947). For other people named Paul Young, see Paul Young (disambiguation).
Paul Young
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
1978–present
3
- Vocals
- guitar
- bass guitar
Columbia Records
MCA Records
Spectra Records
Young's smooth yet soulful voice belongs to a genre known as "blue-eyed soul". He won a Brit Award for Best British Male in 1985, and his hit "Every Time You Go Away" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Best British Video at the 1986 Brit Awards. Performing on the 1984 charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" which included singing the opening lines, Young played Live Aid held at Wembley Stadium, London in July 1985. He sang the Crowded House track "Don't Dream It's Over" at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute in 1988. In 1992, he sang "Radio Ga Ga" with the surviving members of Queen at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Since the mid-1990s, Young has performed with the band Los Pacaminos.
Personal life[edit]
Young met his wife, former model Stacey Smith, on his video for "Come Back and Stay" in 1983. They married while they were living in Los Angeles in November 1987. They have three children: daughters Levi (born March 1987), Layla (born August 1994), and son Grady Cole (born January 1996). Young and Smith split up in May 2006 and then reconciled in March 2009.[42] During the separation, Smith had a son, Jude, with businessman Ilan Slazenger.[43] On 26 January 2018, it was announced that Stacey Young had died of brain cancer, aged 52.[44][45]
Young is a close friend of former Spandau Ballet lead singer Tony Hadley. The two toured Australia and New Zealand during October and November 2008.[46][47]
