Kon Kan is a Canadian synth-pop project conceived and formed in 1988 by Barry Harris in Toronto, Ontario. Kon Kan were awarded a 1990 Juno for the song "I Beg Your Pardon" and nominated for a 1991 Juno Award for the single "Puss N' Boots/These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".

"I Beg Your Pardon"

"I Beg Your Pardon" was inspired in part by both the Pet Shop Boys hit single "Always on My Mind" and an increasingly prevalent use of sampling by artists such as Public Enemy, M/A/R/R/S and Coldcut. The track sampled Lynn Anderson's 1971 hit "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden", Silver Convention's 1976 hit "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)", GQ's "Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)", Tones on Tail's "Go!", Spagna's "Call Me", National Lampoons "Disco Hotline" sketch from their That's Not Funny, That's Sick album, and the opening bars from the theme music from The Magnificent Seven (which was also well known as the theme to a commercial for Marlboro cigarettes in the 1960s).

Move to Move (1989)

Kon Kan's debut album, Move to Move, was recorded in Los Angeles in January and February 1989. Later that year, it appeared on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart. As well as "I Beg Your Pardon", it also spawned the singles "Harry Houdini", "Move to Move" and "Puss N' Boots". The latter track included samples and interpolations of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and "Good Times Bad Times", Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and the Champs' "Tequila".

Vida!... (1993)

Following the commercial failure of Syntonic, Kon Kan was dropped from Atlantic Records' roster.

For the next album, Vida!... (Hypnotic Records), Harris resumed songwriting duties with Bob Mitchell and Kon Kan expanded to a 4-piece band. Along with original songs such as the album's lead single "Sinful Wishes", there was a remake of "Move to Move" and a cover of David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream". The second single released from the album was "S.O.L." (short for "shit outta luck").

In April 2020, Harris released Vida! worldwide digitally with additional previously unreleased remixes.

2013 reformation, Lost 80's Live 2022 tour and 2023–2024 live tour

In June 2013, Barry Harris and Kevin Wynne briefly reunited as Kon Kan, but went their separate ways again in the spring of 2014.

On 16 May 2022, Harris posted a letter to Kon Kan's Facebook Page to announce that he will not be performing as part of the band for the Lost 80's Live 2022 U.S. tour, and that he allowed Wynne to use the Kon Kan name for the said 2022 tour. He also said that there will not be any new Kon Kan music. Also performing as part of the band was Sandy Horne of Spoons.

On 21 October 2023, Harris announced on Kon Kan's Facebook Page the new Kon Kan 2023–2024 live touring band featuring himself (vocals, keyboards, guitar) with new band members Kimberley Wetmore (vocals), Christian McFadden (vocals, bass, keyboards), Adam Weatherup (guitar), and Tim Fleming (drums, percussion).

Kon Kan discography

Albums

  • Move to Move (1989)
  • Syntonic (1990)
  • Vida!... (1993)

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title

! scope="col" colspan="7"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

|-

! scope="col" style="font-size:90%;" | CAN

! scope="col" style="font-size:90%;" | US

! scope="col" style="font-size:90%;" | UK<br />

! scope="col" style="font-size:90%;" | GER

! scope="col" style="font-size:90%;"|NLD

! scope="col" style="font-size:90%;" | AUS<br />

! scope="col" style="font-size:90%;" | NZ<br />

|-

| rowspan=2 | 1988

| align="left" | "I Beg Your Pardon"

| 19

| 15

| 5

| 8

| 3

| 100

| 7

| align="left" rowspan=4 | Move to Move

|-

| align="left" | "Harry Houdini"

| 39

| —

| 88

| —

| —

| 156

| 14

|-

| rowspan=2 | 1989

| align="left" | "Puss N' Boots/These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"

| 61

| 58

| —

| —

| —

| 173

| 11

|-

| align="left" | "Move to Move"

| 84

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

| rowspan=2 | 1990

| align="left" | "Liberty!"

| 91

| —

| —

| —

| —

| 152

| —

| align="left" rowspan=3 | Syntonic

|-

| align="left" | "(Could've Said) I Told You So"

| 72

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

| rowspan=3 | 1993

| align="left" | "Better Day"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

| align="left" | "Sinful Wishes"

| 75

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| align="left" rowspan=2 | Vida!...

|-

| align="left" | "S.O.L."

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

| 1994

| align="left" | "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)" <small>(re-recorded for Hi-Bias Records)</small>

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| I Beg Your Pardon (I Never<br>Promised You a Rose Garden) <small>(EP)</small>

|-

|-

| 2007

| align="left" | "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| 2007 Remixes <small>(iTunes release)</small>

|-

|2014

| align="left"| "I Beg Your Pardon 2014" <small>(Barry Harris presents Kon Kan)</small>

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| "I Beg Your Pardon 2014"<br><small>(Edson Pride Remixes / Part 2)</small>

|-

| 2021

| align="left" | "Arias & Symphonies"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| Spoons "Echoes" <br /><small>(various artists)</small>

|-

| 2023

| align="left" | "Stars"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| rowspan=2 | Non-album singles

|-

| align="left" | 2023

| align="left" | "Sinful Wishes (2023 Moonlight Mix)" <small>(feat. Kimberley Wetmore)</small>

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|}

References

  • Kon Kan Barry Harris' Kon Kan Official Website