The Kings were
formed in Vancouver, British Columbia and Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
Original members were David Diamond, lead vocals, bass guitar and
songwriter, Sonny Keyes, vocals, keyboards and songwriter, Max Styles,
drums, and Mister Zero, guitar and songwriter. The Kings were
originally known as WhistleKing and rehearsed, did club gigs and wrote
lots of songs for more than three years before going into Nimbus 9
Studio in Toronto to record their first album. While recording, world
famous producer Bob (Pink Floyd) Ezrin dropped by to visit and checked
the band out and liked what he heard. He agreed to mix the tracks The
Kings had recorded but soon discovered that the whole thing needed to
be re-done. He approached Elektra Records in Los Angeles with The
Kings' tapes and the unknown band was signed to a world-wide deal. The
Kings did re-record the songs and the project was released as 'The
Kings Are Here'. The first single, 'Switchin' To Glide', was put out
and did get noticed but the tune was really two songs in one and the
band insisted they be released together. So when the segue 'This Beat
Goes On/Switchin' To Glide' was released radio really picked up on it.
Even at over five minutes in length, the songs caught on all over the
USA and Canada and stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for over six
months. It was named one of the Top 100 U.S. Radio Programmers Picks
of the Decade by Album Network Magazine and The Kings were named most
promising group by Cashbox Magazine. An amazing apperance on Dick
Clark's 'American Bandstand' helped spread the word as well. The album
'The Kings Are Here' went gold in Canada, and since it was re-released
on cd as 'The Kings Are Here and More', combined sales have passed
platinum status. The second Ezrin produced Elektra effort 'Amazon
Beach' did not fare as well and the band left the label and signed
with Capitol Canada which released 'RSVP' which contains the holiday
classic 'This Christmas' which gets lots of airplay every yuletide
season. The next studio project was called Unstoppable and the title
track reached the top 10 in Canada. Always a great live band, The
Kings have logged close to 2000 shows across North America. As of
2006, there is lots of great things going on for The Kings. Through a
deal with Bullseye Records they have put out a new studio album
entitled 'Because of You' which Diamond and Zero regard as their best.
The band also has a live album called 'Party Live in '85' which is the
original band in all its raunchy glory and is a must have for fans.
One current project has been getting as many songs as possible on
iTunes and other legal download sites. 'Are Here and More', 'Because
of You', 'Party Live in '85' and even 'Amazon Beach' are up and
available, 'Unstoppable' will be soon, and so will the long awaited
'Anthology One' which contains 12 super rare songs from the early days
of the band. Perhaps the most exciting news is that there is finally a
video for The Kings massive hit 'This Beat Goes On/Switchin' to
Glide'. This is the video that Kings fans have been waiting for,
edited from more than 40 sources spanning over 20 years, The Kings are
shown in their best light, that of a powerhouse live act. This video
is part of a larger dvd project entitled 'Anatomy of a One-Hit Wonder:
The Kings-Switchin' to Glide' which contains all the videos the band
has made, live concert footage old and new, interviews with the
original guys and more.
BOOKING THIS BAND BRINGS BACK THE 80'S
TO YOUR VENUE OR EVENT !!!
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