The Canadian duo
Kon Kan (musician
Barry Harris and vocalist
Kevin Wynne) scored an out-of-nowhere smash in 1989 with the quirky single "I Beg Your Pardon." Incorporating a repetitive drum beat, a catchy keyboard line, Wynne's droll vocal delivery (somewhat similar to New Order's
Bernard Sumner) and the ingenious sampling of
Lynn Anderson's hit "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden," "I Beg Your Pardon" became a dancefloor staple and eventually crossed over to the pop charts where it hit the Top 20.
Kon Kan followed the single's success with the album
Move to Move. "I Beg Your Pardon," included here in two versions, is still engaging dance-pop fluff; although released in 1989, the song could have easily been a hit in 1999. The rest of
Move to Move goes down just as easy, even though the lightweight dance pop doesn't quite scale the heights of "Pardon." "Puss and Boots," which includes snippets from songs by
Led Zeppelin and
Nancy Sinatra, comes pretty close, however; it also became
Kon Kan's only other chart single (at number 58.)
Move to Move is harmless, disposable fun.
Kevin Wynne eventually disappeared from the music scene;
Barry Harris kept the
Kon Kan name for the 1990 flop
Syntonic, eventually forming the short-lived dance outfit
Outta Control and the prolific remix team
Thunderpuss 2000. ~ William Cooper