There are at least FOUR bands with the name 'King'.

The first is an England-based which was formed in 1983 after the break-up of ska revivalists the Reluctant Stereotypes of which Paul King (vocals) was a member. The remainder of King comprised Tony Wall (bass), Mick Roberts (keyboards), James Lantsbery (guitar) and ex-Members Adrian Lillywhite (drums). They made their debut supporting the Mighty Wah! and signed to CBS Records. Despite extensive touring and a sizeable following, their first three singles and Steps In Time sold poorly. The break came late in 1984 when they supported Culture Club and reached a whole new teen audience. "Love And Pride" was released early next year, and made number 2 in the UK chart, while the album went to number 6. The hits continued throughout the year, most notably with the Top 10 hit, "Alone Without You", but King abruptly disbanded in 1986. Paul King pursued a solo career, releasing Joy in 1987, which at best gave him a minor UK hit with "I Know". The band will probably be remembered as much for their trademark spray-painted Dr. Martens boots and Paul King's affable personality than for their engaging pop songs. Paul King later became a video disc jockey for MTV.

The second is a symphonic death metal band from Slovakia. They have released two albums; 'Royal Metal', recorded in 2000 and released in 2002, and 'Libertarian', released in late 2003.

The third KING is a dance and vocal unit consisting of four girls: AYAKA (leader), MARIYA, AYANO and SAYA. They originally were named ちっちゃいZ when they formed the group in October 2000. (The members were all 12 or 13 at the time.) At that time MARI II was a member and SAYA had not yet joined. At the end of the year MARI II quit the group. When SAYA joined they renamed themselves COSMIC ANGELS. In May of 2002 they renamed themselves KING and became the hip-hop group they are today.

The girls are regulars on the TV show ポンキッキーズ21, have participated in several advertising campaigns and have released four singles, one album and four DVDs. They hail from the Tokyo area and are promoted by the talent agency クィーンズアベニューα. The Wikipedia entry about them where I gathered this information is at http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/KING and their official homepage is at http://www.queens-ave.com/king/.

The fourth King also hails from Japan. As for the independent Japanese rock band named KING, please don’t think they are trying to ride on the coattails of Paul King’s band. Actually Ryo, the band’s founder, named the band KING after his pet Chihuahua. King, the dog, occasionally makes appearances with the band and is featured on some of the bands goods; it is also the reason the “i” in KING is often dotted with a paw-print.

KING was originally started on September 6, 2003 as a session band with the only set member being Ryo and all the members hailing from different bands. As a session band they put out a series of demo CDs entitled "ワン" (more dog references ^_^) repeated once for the first CD, twice for the second CD and so on until the eighth CD. It’s hard to know what to call these demo CDs since they varied from having as many as five songs to as few as one song. Are they singles? Maxi-singles? Mini-albums? By the following year, 2004, KING had become a true and actual band although two members still play with another band on the side. The members are Ryo, vocals; Yoshiyuki (aka: Row-kun), guitar; Hideaki, guitar, Junichiro, bass; and Takafumi, drums.

KING put out their first album “HEAVEN” on September 23, 2004 on an independent label. The following year they released “Everything,” still on an independent label. Their third album, “INNOVATOR,” followed in early 2006. Although this album too was released on an independent label, in March they released a single on AZ Music, a small label but one with some actual PR capabilities and a music festival to call their own. With their move to AZ Entertainment, KING finally was reaching a bigger audience. Their first single, “Starlit sky” made it onto the Oricon charts. It also hit number six on Oricon’s indies charts. The band hopes to do even better with their newest release, their second single entitled “Stand up!” They are definitely on their way, appearing on the soundtrack of the Japan-Korea collaborative movie, “あなたを忘れない” as well as on the collection WORLD INDIES FESTIVAL vol.1. For more information, you can visit their homepage at: http://king-one.jp/