1977–1979: Early years Jeremy Ryder, known professionally as
Jack Hues (lead vocals and guitar), and
Nick Feldman (guitar) would eventually form the core of Wang Chung. They first met when Hues answered Feldman's advertisement for musicians in the classifieds section of the weekly British music magazine
Melody Maker in 1977. They were joined by Bud Merrick on bass and
Paul Hammond (ex-
Atomic Rooster) on drums, forming the Intellektuals. Gorman would go on to play bass in
Adam and the Ants, Gregory went on to become the lead vocalist for
Heaven 17, and Gorman later played in
Bow Wow Wow.
1980–1982: Huang Chung years At the beginning of Huang Chung's career, all the members performed under pseudonyms. Jeremy Ryder was "Jack Hues" (a play on
Emile Zola's 1898 open letter ''
J'Accuse...!''), Nick Feldman was "Nick DeSpig", and Darren Costin was "Darren Darwin" (and later, just "Darwin"). The band then signed to a label called 101 Records. The first Huang Chung release, "Baby I'm Hu-man", appeared on a 101 compilation album in 1980. Three live tracks were subsequently released on another 101 Records compilation in 1981. Later in 1980, the independent record company Rewind Records signed the band for a two-single deal. Huang Chung's debut single for Rewind Records was "Isn't It About Time We Were on TV", followed by "Stand Still". Neither single charted, but the group had begun to attract the attention of
Arista Records, who signed them on a two-album deal in early 1981. Around the same time, the group expanded to a quartet, with the addition of saxophonist Dave Burnand. In keeping with the all-pseudonymous nature of the band, Burnand was known as "Hogg Robinson" for the first Arista single, and later, simply as "Hogg". In late 1983, Hues and Feldman collaborated in a one-off project with vocalist
David Van Day of duo
Dollar. A demo of the track "Ringing the Bell" was submitted to Van Day by their publisher as one of many songs for consideration by Van Day as a possible follow up to his single "Young Americans Talking". It was recorded in November 1983 but remained unreleased for some time before eventually surfacing under the band name
Music Academy in 1985. Wang Chung followed up the release of
Points on the Curve with a spate of soundtrack work. Director
William Friedkin specifically sought out Wang Chung to score his 1985 film
To Live and Die in L.A. The resulting
soundtrack became the group's third studio album, and is recognizable as one of their more mainstream works. It went top ten on the US
Billboard chart for soundtracks. The band recorded "Fire in the Twilight" for the 1985
John Hughes film
The Breakfast Club and contributed "There Is a Nation" for the soundtrack to
First Born. and "
Let's Go!" (No. 9 US). "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" features the lyric "Everybody Wang Chung tonight", and also has a
music video (directed by
Godley & Creme) where virtually every frame featured a
jump cut. During some US dates in the summer of 1987, they were the opening act for
Tina Turner during her
Break Every Rule World Tour. Their final US top 40 single, "
Hypnotize Me" (No. 36), was also from the same album, and also was featured on the soundtrack of the 1987 film
Innerspace. Wang Chung released their fifth studio album,
The Warmer Side of Cool, in 1989. The album featured "
Praying to a New God" (No. 63 US), which charted but was not a hit. The album was considered a commercial disappointment. Hues and Feldman then went on to other projects and the band effectively disbanded in 1990.
1990–1997: Hiatus During the 1990s, Feldman joined up with drummer
Jon Moss of
Culture Club to form the band Promised Land, and subsequently released their self-titled debut studio album,
Promised Land, in 1992. Also in the 1990s, Hues worked on various film soundtracks, including
The Guardian (1990). He was signed to a solo deal by
Sony Records in the early 1990s, but his intended debut solo studio album,
The Anatomy Lesson, was shelved by the label and remains unreleased. Hues later teamed up with
Tony Banks of
Genesis to form the one-off group
Strictly Inc., which released a self-titled studio album in 1995.
1997–2016: Reformation 1997 saw the return of Wang Chung, still consisting of Hues and Feldman, with a greatest hits collection entitled ''
Everybody Wang Chung Tonight: Wang Chung's Greatest Hits.'' Included on this CD was a new single, "Space Junk". The group also toured North America around this time to promote the new compilation. A 2000 edition of Wang Chung played several dates in the United States, both headlining their own tour and also a part of the Club 80s Flashback Tour with
A Flock of Seagulls,
Missing Persons, and
Gene Loves Jezebel with
Michael Aston. Hues was the only original member of this iteration of the band, as Feldman bowed out due to other commitments. In March 2005, Wang Chung (once again consisting of Hues and Feldman) contributed "Akasha", a previously unreleased song, to the
Of Hands and Hearts compilation, in response to the
2004 Southeast Asia tsunami crisis. In June 2005, Wang Chung appeared on the reality TV series
Hit Me Baby One More Time, performing "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" and a cover version of "
Hot in Herre" by
Nelly. Beginning in June 2009, Wang Chung were a part of the Regeneration '80s tour along with
ABC, Berlin,
Cutting Crew, and Missing Persons. In June 2010, Wang Chung released a digital "double EP" entitled
Abducted by the 80s. This was subsequently released as a double
CD set in mid-2011. The eight song collection included four re-recordings of previous hits, and four new songs. Wang Chung toured the United States from June to July 2010 to promote the new release. On 21 September 2010, The Beatles Complete on Ukulele released Wang Chung's reworking of the Beatles' "
Rain", in an arrangement which features the ukulele. On 31 October 2010 their song "Space Junk" was featured in the
pilot episode of the
AMC series
The Walking Dead (and is also included on the episode
"What Comes After").
The Fighter, a 2010 film starring
Mark Wahlberg, featured Wang Chung's music. They played the
Rewind Festival in
Perth in July 2012, and
Henley-on-Thames in August 2012. In December that year, Wang Chung released
Tazer Up!, their first studio album in 23 years. All four original tracks from
Abducted by the 80s appear on
Tazer Up! (some in remixed and/or edited form); the album also features a remix of the re-recorded
Abducted version of "Dance Hall Days". The remaining 6 tracks are unique to this release. In 2013, Darren Costin rejoined Wang Chung for a special one-off performance in England.
2016: Jack Hues on hiatus In 2016, the band began to perform live with Gareth Moulton of
Cutting Crew on lead vocals.
2017–present In 2017, Hues returned to performing live with Wang Chung, and in 2019, they recorded a greatest hits album with the
Prague Philharmonic Orchestra titled
Orchesography. Two EPs consisting of the orchestral versions and remixes were released of "
Dance Hall Days" and "
Everybody Have Fun Tonight" on both CD and digital download.
Orchesography was released on 10 May 2019. In 2024, Wang Chung headlined the Abducted by the 80's tour with 18 dates across the US and Canada with fellow 80's acts
Men Without Hats,
The Motels, and
Naked Eyes. In March 2025, Wang Chung headlined 80's Mania festival tour across Australia which also included
Katrina & The Waves' Katrina,
The Escape Club (for their first Australian tour), Scott Carne from
Kids In The Kitchen, Brian Mannix from Uncanny X Men, &
The Chantoozies. In May the same year, they released a new retrospective 2 disc compilation album called
"Clear Light / Dark Matter - Greatest Hits & Near Misses". ==Awards and nominations==