Of all the many aliases adopted by Simon Fisher-Turner, few have proved as endearing as the foppishly aristocratic King of Luxembourg. The character was one of many devised by the él label's eccentric svengali Mike Alway as part of his mission to create a kind of sunshine fantasy pop whose creators would be forever swathed in mystery and intrigue. As with all of Alway's inventions, however, the character was inspired by the real-life personality of the person playing it. Fisher-Turner had been a teenybop idol and he was a well-spoken middle-class chap from something of an exotic background (his father was a submarine captain, his mother an archaeologist): the rest of his back-story was down to fanciful press releases and the services of a good costumer. As the King, Fisher-Turner recorded two albums and a number of singles aided and abetted by él's in-house arranger/composer Louis Philippe. He also played a small number of live gigs, accompanied by his dancing manservant Clovis, and went down especially well in Japan, where Fisher-Turner was astonished to find himself being treated as a major star. However, when Alway attempted to persuade British audiences that the él stable could cut it live, the results were little short of catastrophic. Topping the bill, the King was partway through an improbable extended cover version of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" when the plug was ignominiously pulled, effectively putting an end to not just the gig but the King of Luxembourg's career. His reign had lasted only two years, but the two albums he left behind are among the most satisfying expressions of Alway's vision. ~ Christopher Evans