Marcel Neville King (4 January 1957 - 5 October 1995) was a British tenor singer, who sang lead vocals for Sweet Sensation.

Career

Sweet Sensation

King joined Sweet Sensation as a teenager, and was the youngest member of the group. He appeared with the group on

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: ...

. Their second single " Sad Sweet Dreamer", released in 1974, went to number one in the United Kingdom. Marcel, known for his distinctive high tenor voice, was the lead vocalist. In 1975, King left Sweet Sensation, and was replaced by Recardo "Rikki" Patrick. After failing to represent the United Kingdom in

A Song for Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English alphabet#Letter names, a'' (pronounced ), plural ...

, they were dropped by

Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

and disbanded with the status of a

One-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

group.

Solo

In 1984, King tried to start a solo career. He recorded a song titled "Reach for Love", that featured Donald Johnson of

A Certain Ratio A Certain Ratio (abbreviated as ACR) are an English post-punk band formed in Greater Manchester in 1977 by Peter Terrell (guitar), Simon Topping (vocals, trumpet), Jez Kerr (bass guitar, vocals), Martin Moscrop (trumpet, guitar) and Donald Johns ...

and

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English musician. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, and Bad Lieutenant. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post-punk, synth-pop, and ...

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

and New Order playing backing instruments on the record. According to New Order manager

Rob Gretton Robert Leo Gretton (15 January 1953 – 15 May 1999) was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was partner in and co-director of Factory Records and a founding partner of The Haçienda. For ten years until his death in 1999, Gretton ra ...

, he was a "massive fan of King and thought he was as good of a singer as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

". He released four records between March 1984 and March 1985. At the time of his death, King ran a recording studio in

Hulme Hulme () is an inner city area and electoral ward of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, immediately south of Manchester city centre. It has a significant industrial heritage. Historically in Lancashire, the name Hulme is derived from ...

called "The Kitchen".

Personal life and death

King died of a brain haemorrhage in Manchester on 5 October 1995, aged 38. In 1997, King's son, Zeus, was shot to death in a gang feud in

Longsight Longsight is an inner city area of Manchester, England, south of the Manchester City Centre, city centre, bounded by Ardwick and Gorton, West Gorton to the north and east; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park, Man ...

, Manchester.{{Cite news , last1=Carter , first1=Helen , last2=Drinkwater , first2=Jane , date=2002-04-13 , title=Gangland shootings claim third victim in two weeks , language=en-GB , work=The Guardian , url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/apr/13/ukguns.drugsandalcohol , access-date=2023-12-19 , issn=0261-3077

Solo singles

* "Reach for Love" / "Keep on Dancin'" (12", Factory FAC-92, March 1984) * "Reach for Love (New York remix)" / "Reach for Love (dub)" / "Keep on Dancin'" (12", Factory FAC-92-R, February 1985) * "Reach for Love (New York remix)" / Reach for Love (dub)" (12",

Factory Benelux A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. They ...

FBN-43, March 1985) * "Hollywood Nights" (6:02) / "Hollywood Nights (instrumental)" (3:53) (12", Debut 12-DEBT-1, 1985)

References

Additional

1957 births 1995 deaths English tenors
Marcel King image