| Carol Kenyon | |
| Alias: | Karol Kenyon |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
| Occupation: | Singer |
| Label: | A&M Records |
| Associated Acts: | Heaven 17, Paul Hardcastle, Brothers in Rhythm |
Carol Kenyon (sometimes spelt Karol; born 1959) is a British singer. She is best known for her vocals on the Heaven 17 hit song "Temptation", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1983.[1] When the song was re-released as a remix by Brothers in Rhythm in 1992, again featuring Carol's vocals, it made number 4. She was also featured on the Paul Hardcastle hit "Don't Waste My Time", which got to number 8 in 1986. She also recorded the songs "Warrior Woman", "Dance with Me" and Fascinating".
When Kenyon was a child, she was encouraged to sing and dance. She took lessons and entered arts festival contests. She played piano. She enjoyed listening to the collection of jazz records her father had.[2]
She was singing with a school choir at a music festival in Harrow. A young musician also appearing there, Guy Barker, heard her. He encouraged her to work more seriously on singing.[2]
Eventually Barker encouraged her to attend an National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) engagement. There, after hearing her sing, NYJO took her on, as its first regular band singer. She was only 14.[2]
Her early performances were as part of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. She has also sung with Go West, Duran Duran, Kylie Minogue, Mike Oldfield, Jon and Vangelis, Pet Shop Boys, Gary Moore, Dexys Midnight Runners, Pink Floyd, Tommy Shaw, Roger Waters, Morrissey–Mullen, Tears for Fears, Rapino Brothers, Paul Hardcastle, Ultravox and Van Morrison. In 1993, Kenyon appeared with David Suchet in Agatha Christie's Poirot novella Yellow Iris.
Although primarily known as a session vocalist on many albums and singles by a variety of prominent artists, as well as in many concerts, Kenyon has also released several singles as a solo artist. Her first single was "Warrior Woman" which was released on A&M Records in 1984.[3]
Kenyon recorded the song "Dance with Me" which was released in 1984. It was reviewed in the 19 May issue of Music Week. Calling it a passable song with great vocals that's soulfully sung, the reviewer also noted the reinforcing of the chorus from the multi-tracked backing vocals, the bubbling bass and rolling drums pinning the beat down.[4] It would spend a week in the UK charts, peaking at no. 87.[5]
Kenyon recorded the song "Fascinating" which was composed by herself, Luke Tunney and Rod Gammons. It was released in Germany on CBS CBS 654707 6 in 1989.[6] It was noted in the 6 May, 1989 issue of Music & Media that the song was added to the playlist of radio NDR in Hamburg, Germany.[7] In Sweden, it was also added to the playlists of Hit FM in Stockholm[8] and Radio City 103 in Gothenburg for the week of 27 May.[9] Also on that week it was added to the playlist of Radio Roskilde in Roskilde, Denmark.[10] Its addition to the playlist of Radio Herning in Denmark was noted in the 19 June issue of Music & Media.[11]
| Year | Title | Label | UK [15] [16] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Warrior Woman" | A&M | align=center | 91 |
| "Dance with Me" | align=center | 87 | ||
| 1987 | "Give Me One Good Reason" | Chrysalis | align=center | — |
| 1988 | "Fascinating" | CBS | align=center | — |
| 1990 | "Never Let Me Go" | align=center | — | |
| 1993 | "Here's My A" (Rapination featuring Carol Kenyon) | Logic/BMG | align=center | 69 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||