Marcel King
Musical artist
About Marcel King
Lived 1958 – 1995 (aged 37).
Marcel Neville King (4 January 1957 - 5 October 1995) was a British tenor singer, who sang lead vocals for Sweet Sensation.
Career
Sweet Sensation King joined Sweet Sensation as a teenager, and was the youngest member of the group. He appeared with the group on New Faces. Their second single "Sad Sweet Dreamer", released in 1974, went to number one in the United Kingdom. Marcel, known for his distinctive high tenor voice, was the lead vocalist. In 1975, King left Sweet Sensation, and was replaced by Recardo "Rikki" Patrick. After failing to represent the United Kingdom in A Song for Europe, they were dropped by Pye Records and disbanded with the status of a One-hit wonder group.
Solo In 1984, King tried to start a solo career. He recorded a song titled "Reach for Love", that featured Donald Johnson of A Certain Ratio and Bernard Sumner of Joy Division and New Order playing backing instruments on the record. According to New Order manager Rob Gretton, he was a "massive fan of King and thought he was as good of a singer as Michael Jackson".
Personal life and death King died of a brain haemorrhage in Manchester on 5 October 1995, aged 38.
In 1997, King's son, Zeus, was shot to death in a gang feud in Longsight, Manchester.
Solo singles
"Reach for Love" / "Keep on Dancin'" (12", Factory FAC-92, March 1984) "Reach for Love (New York remix)" / "Reach for Love (dub)" / "Keep on Dancin'" (12", Factory FAC-92-R, February 1985) "Reach for Love (New York remix)" / Reach for Love (dub)" (12", Factory Benelux FBN-43, March 1985) "Hollywood Nights" (6:02) / "Hollywood Nights (instrumental)" (3:53) (12", Debut 12-DEBT-1, 1985)
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Important facts
People in Marcel King's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Marcel King's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Marcel King?
musical artist
When was Marcel King born?
Marcel King was born on 4 January 1958.
When did Marcel King die?
Marcel King died on 5 October 1995.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Marcel King. https://biography.guide/marcel-king/
MLA: "Marcel King." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/marcel-king/.
Chicago: "Marcel King." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/marcel-king/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
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