Kenny Thomas (singer)
| Kenny Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kenny Thomas |
| Born |
12 September 1968 Islington, London, England, UK |
| Genres | Soul, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | Cooltempo Records |
Kenny Thomas (born 12 September 1968,[1] Islington, London) is an English soul singer who had a successful solo career in the 1990s with eight UK Top 40 singles and two UK Top Ten albums.
Early life
Thomas grew up on Hillside Estate, Stamford Hill and attended Cardinal Pole Roman Catholic School in Hackney. He was a boxer and a BT technician before turning to a singing career.
Breakthrough and debut album
Thomas's breakthrough came in 1991 with his debut hit "Outstanding", a cover of a Gap Band song, which went to number 12 in the UK Singles Chart.[2]
He placed another three singles in the UK chart that year including his biggest hit in the July "Thinking About Your Love", which peaked at number four and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks, and "Best of You", which peaked at number 11 and was in the chart for 7 weeks.[2] The former hit was produced by Tim Lever and Mike Percy formerly of the band, Dead or Alive. Thomas's debut album Voices (1991) made number three in the UK Albums Chart[2] and selling over 300,000 copies.[3]
At the annual BRIT Awards, in February 1992 Thomas was nominated for an award in two categories, Best British Male Vocalist and Best British Newcomer.
Second album and further singles
His second album Wait For Me, released in 1993, was produced by Ian Green and included contributions from Nu Colours and the Young Disciples and made number 10 in the UK Albums Chart. The lead single from the album, "Trippin' On Your Love", originally recorded by The Staple Singers, made number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. Two more singles from the album followed, both of which failed to make a big impact on the charts. The single "When I Think of You" was released in 1995, this was taken from his intended third album, which remained unreleased due to a split with the record label.
Recent career
Thomas's career enjoyed a brief revival in 2005 when he took part in the televised singing contest on ITV's Hit Me Baby One More Time. He was joined by other one time big pop stars including Shakin' Stevens and Shalamar; the show was eventually won by Stevens.
Thomas supported Level 42 on their Autumn 2006 tour of the UK. July 2006 also saw the release of a new studio album called Crazy World. In 2010 Thomas completed three years of study graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine and is now a qualified practitioner.[4] He released a new album, Breathe, in September 2011.[5] Producers on the album include the UK-based Mark Jaimes & Danny Saxon, 5AM, Sir Piers and The Drizabone Soul Family.[6]
Thomas's latest album and project was 2013's The Thomas Brown Affair. It is a collaboration with hit songwriter, producer and jazz pianist Wayne Brown who has collaborated with a diverse array of international artists. The album is a collection of some of their favourite classic songs performed in their own personal and unique style.
Personal life
Thomas is married to South African singer-songwriter Francisca Blasich; the couple have two children.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK[2][5] | ||
| 1991 | Voices
|
3 |
| 1993 | Wait For Me
|
10 |
| 1999 | The Best
|
— |
| 2001 | Greatest Hits
|
— |
| 2006 | Crazy World
|
— |
| 2011 | Breathe
|
— |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [2] |
IRE | NED | FRA | GER [7] |
SWE | NZ | ||||
| 1990 | "Outstanding" | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Voices | |
| 1991 | "Outstanding" (reissue) | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | ||
| "Thinking About Your Love" | 4 | — | — | — | 50 | 22 | — | |||
| "Best of You" | 11 | 27 | 87 | 23 | 66 | — | 31 | |||
| "Tender Love" | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1993 | "Stay" | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Wait for Me | |
| "Trippin' On Your Love" | 17 | — | — | — | 100 | — | — | |||
| "Piece By Piece" | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1994 | "Destiny" | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995 | "When I Think Of You" | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 2006 | "Crazy World" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Crazy World | |
| 2011 | "The Show Is Over" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Breathe | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||
References
- ↑ Nfo.net
- 1 2 3 4 5 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London, UK: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 557. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ BPI - Certified awards - Kenny Thomas
- ↑ Kenny Thomas official site; accessed 21 August 2011.
- 1 2 Allmusic - Discography
- ↑ Kenny Thomas interview by Pete Lewis, bluesandsoul.com, August 2011.
- ↑ "Kenny Thomas - German Chart". charts.de. Retrieved 28 December 2015.