Too Shy

"Too Shy"
Single by Kajagoogoo
from the album White Feathers
B-side
  • "Too Shy (Instrumental)" (7", 12")
  • "Take Another View" (12")
ReleasedJanuary 1983
Genre
Length3:45
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Kajagoogoo singles chronology
"Fear Machine"
(1981)
"Too Shy"
(1983)
"Ooh to Be Ah"
(1983)
Music video
"Too Shy" on YouTube
"Too Shy '92 Remix"
Single by Limahl
from the album Love Is Blind
B-side
  • "Too Shy (Remix '92) (Acapella)"
  • 7"
Released1992
Length4:12
LabelBellaphon
Songwriter(s)
  • Steve Askew
  • Nick Beggs
  • Stuart Neale
  • Jez Strode
  • Christopher Hamill
Producer(s)Limahl
Limahl singles chronology
"Maybe This Time"
(1992)
"Too Shy '92 Remix"
(1992)
"Love Is Blind"
(1992)

"Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by the British band Kajagoogoo, released in January 1983. The first single from their debut album White Feathers, the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It was also very successful in other European countries and Japan, spending five weeks at number one in Germany, also reaching number one in Belgium and Ireland, as well as reaching number two in France and Switzerland, and number four in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands. In the UK, it became the 13th best-selling single of 1983.[6]

Assisted by heavy rotation on MTV, the song later became a success in the United States, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7] "Too Shy" is Kajagoogoo's only significant hit in the US, where the band is widely regarded as a one-hit wonder. In the UK, Kajagoogoo had further hits, including two more top 10 singles: "Ooh to Be Ah" and "Big Apple", both in 1983.

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Kajagoogoo – White Feathers". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  2. ^ Wide, Steve (22 September 2020). "Honourable Mentions: New Wave 'One-Hit Wonders'". A Field Guide to Post-Punk and New Wave. Smith Street Books. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-925811-76-6.
  3. ^ Simpson, Mark. "1983: The Last Great Year of Pop". Out. Retrieved 11 May 2015. Other 1983 synthpop singles that got played to death either in the common room or in my bedroom included (...) the toe-tapping, fringe-flapping "Too Shy," by Kajagoogoo
  4. ^ Sheffield, Rob (24 February 2023). "The 100 Best Songs of 1983, the Year Pop Went Crazy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 September 2023. An elfin star child named Limahl sings "Too shy-shy, hush hush, eye to eyes," twirling barefoot to the gooshy synth-funk...
  5. ^ Molanphy, Chris (14 April 2023). "The British Are Charting Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Official Top 40 Best Selling Singles of 1983". UK Official Charts.com. The Official UK Charts Company. 19 March 2021.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference awards was invoked but never defined (see the help page).