The Korgis formed in 1978 when singer/guitarist/keyboardist Andy Davis and singer/bassist James Warren began writing songs and recording demos together. They had known each other since the late 1960s and were both members of
Stackridge from their formation in 1969. Warren left the band in 1973 and Davis remained with them until their split in 1976. After his departure from Stackridge, Warren took a break from the music industry before beginning to write songs again in 1977. In 1978, Warren sent Davis a demo tape of his own songs, along with a note inviting Davis to
Bath so that they could work together in the recording studio. Davis liked the songs and agreed to form a new musical partnership with Warren, with the aim of writing commercial, radio-friendly material. The duo wrote a number of songs together and began recording demos at Crescent Studios, which
David Lord established in his top-floor flat in
Camden Crescent. The duo released their first single "
Young 'n' Russian" in February 1979 on the label Rialto Records, owned by their managers
Nick Heath and Tim Heath. Their next single, "
If I Had You," was released in May 1979 and moved up to number 13 on the
UK Singles Chart, followed by the release of their debut album in July 1979. As the album neared completion, Davis departed the band to pursue other musical ventures; he went on to join Slow Twitch Fibres. with a further single in September 1981, "Don't Say That It's Over". During this period, the band was augmented by numerous personnel for promotional duties, including guitarist John Baker, keyboardist Maggie Stewart and drummer Roy Dodds. The following year the band was joined by flautist Steve Buck and was contemplating a Korgis Live show that ultimately failed to materialise; leading the band to dissolve and Warren to go solo in 1982. The single "
Don't Look Back" was produced by
Trevor Horn and issued under the Korgis name by
London Records in August 1982. In 1983, the Korgis briefly continued as a duo of Warren and his partner Maggie Stewart. They planned a British tour with the idea of using backing tapes rather than pay to hire additional musicians. The duo booked a concert at the
Theatre Royal in Bath in November 1983, but then suffered a setback due to a dispute with the
Musicians' Union. An agreement between the union and theatres banned the use of backing tapes in place of real musicians and, in order for the concert to take place at all, the Korgis were forced to perform for free, with all ticket purchasers refunded. The duo were then forced to cancel their planned British tour. Warren and Davis reunited in 1985 to produce two new Korgis singles, "True Life Confessions" and "Burning Questions". In 1986, Warren released two solo singles, "They Don't Believe In Magic" and "It Won't Be the Same Old Place", followed by a solo album,
Burning Questions, and another single, "How Did You Know", in 1987. Davis released his own solo LP,
Clevedon Pier, in 1989. That same year saw Warren and former Korgis member John Baker performing in Bath and
Bristol areas as a duo called the Beat Brothers. As they did not own the rights to the original 1980 recording, the duo re-recorded their 1980 hit "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" for the project, With John Baker (vocals, guitar, keyboards) returning to the Korgis, the trio recorded a new album between 1991 and 1992. but the band were not able to secure a release in the UK. reaching number 78 in the charts. That same year, the band planned their first ever live dates. Davis withdrew from the tour project after initial rehearsals, leaving Warren and Baker to recruit four new musicians to take on the road. but they soon realised that a profitable tour was not going to be viable and ceased planning any further shows. In the mid-1990s, the trio decided to put the Korgis on hiatus. When Stackridge took a break from touring in 2014, Warren and Davis organised a tour of the UK in 2015 under the name of the Korgis, using exactly the same five-piece line-up as Stackridge. The re-formed Stackridge usually included some Korgis songs in their live set. Stackridge retired in 2017, and a recording of the farewell concert was released as
The Final Bow. In 2017, Warren, encouraged by guitarist/arranger Al Steele, played some dates as James Warren and Friends. This included a Korgis set, and has led on to the first ever touring version of the Korgis - featuring James Warren. The first gig was at the Sunshine Festival in August 2018, and saw the return of John Baker plus Glenn Tommie from Stackridge (who also played on the original of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime"), and Al Steele from the 1990s touring band. During 2019, the band have played in Leeds, Shoreham, Bristol, and the
100 Club in London. During the Covid lockdown in 2020, the Korgis began recording their first new album in close to 30 years. It was entitled
Kartoon World and was released in 2021. The album had a common thread and was a return to the idea of a 'concept album'. In December 2021 the band played the new album in its entirety firstly in Abbotskerswell and then at the Rondo Theatre in Bath. Since then they have performed a string of dates combining old and new material. Reception of the album was unanimously positive with some parties calling it a "career high". In 2021, the single "Bringing Back the Spirit of Love" reached No1 in
Mike Read's Heritage Chart. Subsequent singles, "Always a Sunny Day" and "Lines" have also charted. In early 2022, the Korgis were asked to release an album for the Japanese market. This is called
Kool Hits, Kuriosities & Kollaborations and features some unreleased songs and the single "Always a Sunny Day" co-written and performed by the Korgis &
Joe Matera. It also features re-recorded versions of the classic hits, plus some alternative mixes of some tracks from 'Kartoon World'. This album was released in the UK later in the year. In April 2023 the band launched a new show titled 'The Korgis Time Machine' which incorporated some cover songs that had been influences to the writers. This also saw a new streamlined line-up where John Baker took on the role of keyboards and backing vocal group Born to Win were replaced by Danielle Nicholls. ==Cover versions==