The Kings Are Here

The Kings Are Here is the debut Canadian studio album by the Kings, released in 1980 and certified Platinum in 2021. Its first two tracks, "This Beat Goes On" and "Switchin' to Glide", are usually played together and reached #59 on the RPM singles chart in Canada.

The album was reissued on CD for the first time in 1999 with five bonus tracks as The Kings Are Here and More.

Background
The Kings Are Here was produced by Bob Ezrin, who had just completed working on Pink Floyd's The Wall. Taking some time off, Ezrin was back home in Toronto and stopped by the Soundstage studio, where he had worked with Alice Cooper and others. There he encountered the Kings recording a self-funded album and, liking what he heard, agreed to mix the tracks "This Beat Goes On" and "Switchin' to Glide". However, realizing that he wasn't satisfied with the recordings, Ezrin took the tapes to Elektra Records in Los Angeles and secured the band a deal with the label. Ezrin then made the Kings re-rehearse and re-arrange the songs for a month before they re-recorded the album, with some songs having been re-written.

The album went Gold in Canada and peaked at #74 on Billboard's Top 200 in October 1980, spending 26 weeks on the chart. The single "Switchin' to Glide"/"This Beat Goes On" reached #43 on Billboard's Hot 100.

The Kings released one more album on Elektra, the Ezrin produced and less successful Amazon Beach (#170), before signing with Capitol Canada for the R.S.V.P. EP in 1982.

Personnel

 * The Kings
 * David Diamond – vocals, bass
 * Mister Zero – guitar
 * Sonny Keyes – keyboards, vocals
 * Max Styles – drums
 * Technical
 * Bob Ezrin – producer
 * Michael McCarty – associate producer, engineer
 * Robert Hrycyna – associate producer, engineer
 * Ben Rogers – engineer
 * John Rosenthal – engineer
 * Rick Hart – engineer
 * Doug Sax – mastering
 * Hugh Syme – design, art direction
 * Deborah Samuel – photography