Biography
-
Years Active
1988 – present (36 years)
-
Founded In
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
-
Members
- Barry Harris
Kon Kan is a Canadian synthpop project conceived & formed by musican/producer/dj Barry Harris (vocals, keyboard, guitar), in 1988 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His debut album, 'Move to Move' (1989), produced the international hit single "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)" (also known as "I Beg Your Pardon"), which sampled pop country star Lynn Anderson's "Rose Garden". Kevin Wynne was a hired session singer to sing lead vocals on IBYP. The name Kon Kan is a parody of the Canadian content regulations (often referred to as "Can Con") that mandate that thirty per cent of songs played on commercial radio stations in Canada must be Canadian in origin.
Though the aforementioned hit single earned much success, particularly in the U.K. where it spent many weeks on the charts and peaked at #5, it also left the group saddled with the 'one hit wonder' label outside of Canada & Brasil. Yet, from the same album, he returned to the Canadian charts with another original/cover combination, "Puss N' Boots/These Boots (Are Made For Walkin')". The track included resung interpolation snippets of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". Another single, "Harry Houdini", failed to chart completely in America, but scored a Top 40 placing in Canada and also peaked at #14 in the New Zealand Singles Chart.
Wynne, who sang on 6 of 9 tracks from 'Move to Move', left shortly after its release at the end of 1989. Wynne did not pursue a solo career & currently owns a printing business since 2010. Harris released two more albums under the group's original name "Syntonic" & "VIDA!" taking on all lead vocals. He then went on to form the eurodance inspired group Outta Control together with musicians Kimberley Wetmore and Rachid. He also later became a celebrated remixer under the moniker Thunderpuss. Harris rerecorded and reissued "Barry Harris Presents Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon 2014" with new remixes. Harris took on sole administrator duties in the digital era on Kon Kan's Spotify page in 2016 and Apple Music/iTunes 2018. In 2020 he rereleased the Kon Kan L.P. VIDA! digitally world-wide with additional remixes never before available. In 2023 Harris continues on as Kon Kan releasing "Stars" July 2023 and "Sinful Wishes (Moonlight Mix) ft. Kimberley Wetmore August 2023.
Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
