"Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by English band Kajagoogoo, released in January 1983. The first single from their debut album ''

White Feathers ''White Feathers'' is the debut album by English new wave band Kajagoogoo, released on 18 April 1983 by EMI Records. The album contains their most successful single, "Too Shy", a UK No. 1 hit in February 1983, as well as two other UK Top 20 hit ...

'', the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It was also very successful in other European countries and Japan, spending five weeks at number one in Germany, also reaching number one in Belgium and Ireland, as well as reaching number two in France and Switzerland, and number four in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands. Assisted by heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, the song later became a success in the United States, peaking at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Too Shy" is Kajagoogoo's only significant hit in the US, where the band is widely regarded as a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit 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 p ...

. In the UK, however, Kajagoogoo had further hits, including two more top 10 singles: " Ooh to Be Ah" and " Big Apple", both in 1983.

Production

"Too Shy" was written by Kajagoogoo and produced by

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

keyboardist Nick Rhodes and

Colin Thurston Colin Thurston (13 July 1947 – 15 January 2007) was an English recording engineer and record producer. Born in Brentford, Middlesex, Thurston played in bands in London before he "bluffed his way" into audio engineering.Pierre Perrone (24 ...

, the latter of whom had produced Duran Duran's first two albums. In 2006, "Too Shy" was ranked number 27 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communic ...

's ''100 Greatest Songs of the 80's'' and number 9 on VH1's ''100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s''.

Music video

The music video directed by Simon Milne, cast model Carolyn Espley (later wife of

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a strin ...

) as a waitress cleaning up a nightclub at the end of the night. As the band performs the song on the club stage, she has visions of dancers from different eras populating the dance floor.

Chart performance

The song was an immediate hit, topping the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It was also very successful in other European countries, spending five weeks at number one in Germany, and reaching number two in Switzerland, and number four in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands. The song was also a top 10 hit in the United States during the summer of 1983. The 12" maxi single's B-side, "Take Another View", a non-album track, often performed live, was included on the 2004 re-issue of ''White Feathers'', which contained several bonus tracks, including the instrumental version of "Too Shy", originally featured on the B-sides of both the 7" and 12" singles.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Appearances

The song can also be heard in the

Rockstar Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to: Films * ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg * ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali * ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...

video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'', played on the in-game radio station Wave 103. It also appears as a collectable cassette tape in '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''. A

Simlish Simlish is a fictional language featured in EA's ''Sim'' series of games. It debuted in ''SimCopter'' (1996), and has been especially prominent in ''The Sims'' franchise, as well as in its spinoff ''MySims'' series. Simlish can also be heard ...

version of the song is also featured in ''

The Sims 2 ''The Sims 2'' is a 2004 strategic life simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second major title in ''The Sims'' series, and is the sequel to ''The Sims.'' The game was released for Microsoft Windo ...

'' expansion pack, '' The Sims 2: Open for Business''. The song also features in the ''

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'' interactive film ''

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'' on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

References

{{Authority control 1983 songs 1983 debut singles 1992 singles EMI America Records singles EMI Records singles Bellaphon Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Kajagoogoo songs Number-one singles in Germany Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles Song recordings produced by Colin Thurston UK Singles Chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles