Rutherford emerged from the 1970s
punk scene in
Merseyside, finding initial fame with
the Spitfire Boys, one of the members of which was
Budgie (later of
Siouxsie and the Banshees). The Spitfire Boys released the single "
British Refugee/Mein Kampf". The A-side of the single, which opens with the line "He came from Northern Ireland with hate in his heart", describes the life of a
Northern Irish immigrant in England who escaped from the British occupation of his country, and lived in poor working-class conditions.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Rutherford, at that time a member of Hambi and the Dance, joined
Frankie Goes to Hollywood in 1982 after he met them performing at "Pickwicks, a pub in the centre of Liverpool". He sang backing vocals alongside Johnson and also danced, and provided some keyboard parts to the band's recordings. The band ended five years later, and Rutherford attempted a solo career – which was short-lived.
After Frankie Goes to Hollywood Rutherford's 1988 song "
Get Real", a collaboration with ABC, reached No. 47 in the UK and remained on the charts for four weeks. Rutherford released a single, a cover of the
Chic track "
I Want Your Love", and an album,
Oh World, in 1989, which were unsuccessful commercially. He released another single, "That Moon", as Paul Rutherford with Pressure Zone in 1991, and worked as a stylist for bands. He appeared in the music videos for "
Walking on Broken Glass" (1992) by
Annie Lennox and "
Give In to Me" (1993) by
Michael Jackson. In late 2010, he released the album
The Cowboy Years under the name Paul Rutherford/Butt Cowboys. == Personal life ==