Kenny Thomas is a British soul and R&B singer and songwriter from the United Kingdom, born in 1969 and raised in Islington, London. He is known for his warm vocal style and for combining classic American soul influences with British contemporary R&B.

Career

Thomas signs to Chrysalis Cooltempo in 1990 and quickly breaks through on the UK R&B underground. His early success comes in the first half of the 1990s, led by the single Outstanding, which becomes a major new-year hit. His debut album, Voices (1991), reaches the UK top ten, becomes a double-platinum release, and brings nominations for British male vocalist and British newcomer at the Brit Awards.

His second album, Wait For Me (1993), also reaches the top ten and includes contributions from Carleen Anderson. Across this period he scores a string of UK singles, including the top ten hit Thinking About Your Love and further top 20 entries such as Outstanding, Best Of You and Trippin' On Your Love, along with additional top 40 singles.

Style and influences

Thomas grows up on a multicultural housing estate in north London and is drawn early to soul, reggae, lovers rock, jazz-funk and jazz fusion. He buys imported records from R&B Records in Stamford Hill and cites artists such as Stevie Wonder, Rick James, Funkadelic and Headhunters among the music that shapes him. He also shows promise as a boxer before concentrating on music.

His work draws on classic American soul, funk and fusion, but he presents it as his own writing and singing rather than direct imitation. He is also known as an interpreter of songs, with performances of Outstanding and Tender Love identified as signature readings.

Later work and collaborations

After leaving Cooltempo, Thomas continues writing, takes vocal lessons, performs live, and appears at clubs and personal appearances. He records with other artists, including a feature on a Stonebridge album, but avoids becoming a session vocalist for hire. He later returns with Crazy World, a track that gains strong support on the UK soul and northern soul circuit before a fuller album release.

On Crazy World, Thomas works mainly on co-writes and collaborates with writer-producer Eliot Kennedy, South African-born singer-songwriter Jonathan Butler and producer Simon Law, whose credits include Soul II Soul and Chanté Moore. The album includes the tracks Let It Rain and Him, which Thomas co-writes with Butler.

Covers and television appearances

The Crazy World set also includes two covers. I Will reworks Mezzoforte’s instrumental Garden Party, and Don’t Know Why reinterprets the Jesse Harris composition associated with Norah Jones. Thomas says the latter is inspired by his performance of the song on Hit Me Baby One More Time in 2005, where he also sings Thinking About Your Love.

Recognition

Thomas is described as one of the notable voices in British soul. His early 1990s success, his later underground return, and the continued airplay of Thinking About Your Love keep his catalogue present on UK radio and in soul circles. He is also noted as working with independent labels after his major-label period, preferring that environment to the pressures of mainstream chart expectations.