Tributes have been paid to Nottingham's Chris King - a veteran Northern Soul DJ and popstar who shot to worldwide fame in the 1990s. King, real name Chris O'Brien, died aged 66 on Wednesday, March 22.
Born and raised in Ilkeston, he was well-known mostly through being a member of KWS, a Nottingham-based dance group that rose to stardom with the single 'Please Don't Go' in 1992. The song, a cover of KC and the Sunshine Band's original, topped the UK charts for five weeks and helped earn KWS a Brit Award nomination for best British newcomer in 1993.
Chris, who was the group's producer, song-writer and keyboard player, was also a successful Northern Soul promoter and DJ, something he carried on until his mid sixties.
Do you agree with the tram fares rising in Nottingham? Let us know
He was known to many as ‘Mr Motown’ and was "always busy with music", his family said. "We thought it was great he was a popstar and we had a laugh about it.
"But he was so many things to so many people, he was well respected and it was really humbling to see all the nice tributes and messages. He was always busy trying to do something with music.
"Music was his life, it was quite usual for him to be anywhere, he'd just travel all over the world by himself, whether it was part of KWS or record producing. He did loads for the dance scene in the 90s in Europe."
Chris was instrumental in introducing some previously unreleased Motown tracks to the Northern soul scene after repeated trips to Detroit to visit the Motown vaults. He went on to have his own record label, X-Clusive records, and released a number of 90s dance tracks for other artists.
He was also a record producer and had his own recording studio and vinyl record pressing plant. In his later years, Chris liked to spend his time restoring classic Lambrettas, which were very much a part of his Northern Soul life.
He was married to wife Sharon for more than 40 years and had two children, Nikki and Christopher, as well as four grandchildren. Chris was also a life-long Nottingham Forest fan, wearing a big tattoo on his arm.
The hit single Please Don't Go was believed to have been written for Forest defender Des Walker, who was rumoured to be leaving the club at the time - however, his family said this was just a myth that originated from an office joke within the record label.
It was sung by fans on the terraces, as recalled by ardent Reds supporter Des Oldham. "I remember it being a thing when Des Walker was leaving for Sampdoria as it was happening for quite a long time," he said.
"It was a big thing, everybody thought the song was written for that reason. Football fans added a bit of romance. Every time I hear it now it's one of those things, my mind springs back to then and what it meant, allegedly."
An outpouring of tributes followed Chris' death, including from American singer Eddie Holman. "I'm very sad to hear of the passing of the legendary Chris King," he wrote on social media.
"He was very kind to me. We had some great times and great shows. Chris King was a great promoter and businessman and most important a great and good person. My deepest condolences and sympathies to Chris King's family, friends and fans. Rest in heavenly peace Chris King."
READ NEXT:
Children's adventure playground 40 minutes from Nottingham named best for all ages
Suspect arrested after stolen car crashes into side of pub in Worksop
Paul O'Grady opened up about heartbreaking loss in his final post on social media
Man assaulted woman and hit man with baseball bat in Nottingham
Woman on Universal Credit now earns £10k a month on Only Fans and makes huge Notts foodbank donation
