Artist:Jonathan King
Song:Everyone's Gone to the Moon
Album:Jonathan King/Hedgehoppers Anonymous
Jonathan King was still in college when Everyone's Gone to the Moon was a top 20 hit in the US and a top five hit in England and Canada. I remember hearing this song when I was a kid. Some of his other songs charted so he's not a one hit wonder. But this is his only memorable song. He was born Dec.6, 1944 in Marylebone, London, England. His father was from New Jersey and moved to England as a teen. He died in 1954. His mother was an actress so King grew up in boarding schools in Surrey. He went to London to see musicals. Then he heard Guy Mitchell's Singing the Blues and became addicted to pop music. Buddy Holly was his number one addiction. King started attending Trinity College in Cambridge but he was still trying to figure out a way into the music business. He convinced Decca Records to let him record Everyone's Gone to the Moon which King wrote and produced. King plugged it relentlessly and after DJ Tony Windsor accidently played the song three times in a row, the record shot up the charts and King performed it on BBC's Top of the Pops. It reached #5 in England. Then Decca released it in North America. It reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 in Canada. King's other records didn't do well. But he produced the group Hedgehoppers Anonymous and their single It's Good News Week went top five in England. By this time, King started his own publishing company and management office. He heard a teen group called Anon, got them to change their name to Genesis and the rest is history. King produced their debut album From Genesis to Revelation. Then they left for Charisma Records. In the 70s, King released records under pseudonyms and also produced an early version of The Bay City Rollers including the hit Keep on Dancing. And he also produced the 1974 Blue Swede hit Hooked on a Feeling. Then he started his own label UK Records. Of course the big act to record for that label was 10cc. He was also one of the original backers of the musical The Rocky Horror Show. After closing UK Records, King moved to New York and got into broadcasting. He wrote and produced the Brit Awards and the Eurovision Song Contest. He was also sent to prison for sexual assault though now the charges seem like they might have been incorrect. He has also written books and made movies. This CD from the reissue label Wounded Bird has albums by King and Hedgehoppers Anonymous. Here's Jonathan King performing Everyone's Gone to the Moon on Top of the Pops 1965.
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