Kon Kan

Musician Barry Harris said the name "Kon Kan" is a play on the term "Can Con", the Canadian radio regulation that states radio stations must play Canadian artists at least 30% of the time. Harris named the group "Kon Kan" as a subtle advertisement to Canadian stations that he was Canadian. However, he said the move didn't work, and he wasn't noticed by the stations until Atlantic Records signed them.[2]

"I Beg Your Pardon" was inspired in part by both the Pet Shop Boys hit single "Always on My Mind" and an increasingly prevalent use of sampling by artists such as Public Enemy, M/A/R/R/S and Coldcut.[3] The track sampled Lynn Anderson's 1971 hit "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden", Silver Convention's 1976 hit "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)", GQ's "Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)", Tones on Tail's "Go!", Spagna's "Call Me", National Lampoon's "Disco Hotline" sketch from their That's Not Funny, That's Sick album, and the opening bars from the theme music from The Magnificent Seven (which was also well known as the theme to a commercial for Marlboro cigarettes in the 1960s).[4][5]

It was recorded part-time during weekends in a home basement midi studio in Hamilton, Ontario, in March, April and May 1988, which was where Harris met Kevin Wynne, who was hired to sing the song's verses.

The resulting single was released in June 1988 on (now defunct) indie label Revolving Records, in Toronto.

In a 1989 Billboard magazine interview, Harris reported it was a trip to Portugal that inspired him to write "I Beg Your Pardon", stating that he "got frustrated not getting anywhere as a DJ, so I went to Portugal to clear my mind. That's where the idea for 'Beg' came." The record was Harris' first studio project.[6]

Barry Harris, Kon Kan tour, Singapore 1989

Marc Nathan, a New York-based Atlantic Records employee (and radio promoter) who was on vacation in Toronto, heard "I Beg Your Pardon" in a dance club, where Barry Harris was DJing. Nathan bought several copies of the single from a record store around the corner from the club and took them back to New York. The single was sent to four radio stations and was received particularly enthusiastically in Houston.

By fall of 1988, Kon Kan was signed by Atlantic Records, and marketed as a duo. "I Beg Your Pardon", eventually re-released in the spring of 1989, was a worldwide hit, and reached the top 5 in several countries (including the UK) and the Billboard top 20 in the US. The song earned Kon Kan a Juno Award for Best Dance Recording in 1990.

Kon Kan's debut album, Move to Move, was recorded in Los Angeles in January and February 1989. Later that year, it appeared on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart.[7] As well as "I Beg Your Pardon", it also spawned the singles "Harry Houdini", "Move to Move" and "Puss N' Boots". The latter track included samples and interpolations of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and "Good Times Bad Times", Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and the Champs' "Tequila".

The album also featured collaborations with Bob Mitchell (who had co-written Cheap Trick's number one hit, "The Flame"), Jon Lind (co-writer of Madonna's "Crazy for You") and Dennis Matkosky. The album also featured a cover version of the smash hit "Bite the Bullet" by fellow Canadian group They Never Sleep.

The album was mixed by Alan Meyerson, who was later a film score mixer.

Kon Kan embarked on a world tour with backing vocalist Kim Esty and were particularly well received in South America and Asia.

Kevin Wynne, who sang on all but two tracks from Move to Move, left Kon Kan in 1989 and entered the club business. He is now involved in graphic design and print. Wynne also recorded a Depeche Mode-inspired solo single in the 1990s called "Last Chance", but it was not released.

Kon Kan, now effectively a solo vehicle for Barry Harris, released their second album, Syntonic late 1990. Harris again teamed up with several writers (including Bob Mitchell), fusing dance and pop tracks with original songs such as Jimmy Soul's "If You Wanna Be Happy" (on "(Could've Said) I Told You So") and Canadian band Trooper's "We're Here for a Good Time" (on "Time"). The album was produced by a number of established producers, including renowned disco producer John Luongo, who had also worked with Blancmange, and Martyn Phillips (who had produced the Beloved's Happiness album that year). Paul Robb of Information Society also produced a couple of tracks.

The album was preluded by the single "Liberty", which featured vocals by Debbe Cole. At the time, Cole was a well established session vocalist, who is best known for her work on Malcolm McLaren's "Madam Butterfly". Cole also provided backing vocals on the subsequent Syntonic tour. Another single, "(Could've Said) I Told You So" was also released but, like the previous single and parent album, it was not a hit.

Following the commercial failure of Syntonic, Kon Kan was dropped from Atlantic Records' roster. Marc Nathan (who had been fired in April 1991 following an altercation with the record company's president) stayed loyal to Barry Harris and, in his new role with management company Between the Ears, helped to secure a new deal for Kon Kan with Hypnotic, a subsidiary of A&M Records.

For the next album, Vida!... (Hypnotic Records), Harris resumed songwriting duties with Bob Mitchell and Kon Kan expanded to a 4-piece band. Along with original songs such as the album's lead single "Sinful Wishes", there was a remake of "Move to Move" and a cover of David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream". The second single released from the album was "S.O.L." (short for "shit outta luck"), a collaboration with Crash Morgan.

The album, released only in Canada, failed to regain Kon Kan's earlier success and Harris wound up the Kon Kan brand over the next couple of years.

In 1994, Harris re-recorded "I Beg Your Pardon" without any samples and re-recorded all the vocals. It was released as an EP double pack 12" with various remixes on Hi-Bias Records in early 1994.

• Move to Move (1989)
• Syntonic (1990)
• Vida!... (1993)