Success is a Never Ending Story for Limahl

Lead singers who leave their groups to persue solo careers rarely get the public's support. Audiences tend to view them as self-righteous stars who want to be in the limelight even more than they already are as the frontman for a band. But in the case of Limahl, fans were sympathetic towards him when his fellow bandmates in Kajagoogoo ousted him from the group. Now though, you've got to wonder what Kaja is thinking now that Limahl's popularity is on the rise in the States, while the band still remains relatively anonymous...

By Jae-Ha Kim

Christopher Hamill's rise to prominence was the stuff from which fairy tales are made. Hamill, known to fans as Limahl (an anagram of his last name), and four other good-looking, young men managed to get Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes to co-produce their first single, "Too Shy". In 1983, the song went on to become a #1 hit single in England (a feat that even the Durans were unable to do later on in the year with "The Reflex"), and hit the Top Five charts in numerous countries including America.

But relations with the band began to sour shortly after their meteoric popularity.

"I founght with the manager", Limahl recalls in an exclusive STAR interview. "We just didn't see eye to eye. The band felt very loyal to him because he had met them three years before I joined, so we broke up. They really fired me. They came to me and said, 'We'd like you to go'. So I really didn't have a choice."

But for Limahl, a cherubic looking 25 year old who has a strong following of fans who are a good ten years younger, the breakup turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It gave him the freedom to persue his own artistic talents without having to worry whether the other four people would like what he wrote. In light of Kajagoogoo's recent singles, Limahl says that he enjoys the songs, but that he wouldn't want to record songs like them.

The diminutive vocalist who sports a two toned blond and black skunk haircut has just released his first solo album, Don't Suppose. He also sang the theme song for the film Never Ending Story, and there's talk of a U.S. tour in the near future.

Though he's already been on numerous TV shows including American Bandstand, Solid Gold and Friday Night Videos, Limahl is getting excited about touring and getting a chance to meet his fans, although he is quick to point out that he gets embarrassed by all the adulation at times.

"I was in New York about a month ago, and a whole bunch of girls were walking down Fifth Avenue. And a girl in the group fell on her knees and screamed, 'My God! Limahl!' I was so embarrassed!! She was just so shocked to see me," he relates. "All your life, you're led to believe that a star is something unreal, that it's not one of us. Then suddenly I realized, 'Here I am...I'm a star'. I could tell by the way people acted."

With a thoughtful pause, Limahl adds,"What you realize is that fame is the reaction of other people. You don't change at all."

Tiger Beat Star August 1985