Paul Young was born in the north London town of Luton in 1956 and began playing bass and guitar in local bands as soon as he was able, eventually holding the lead singer title. It was as frontman for the new wave band the Streetband that Young got his first taste of success with the 1978 U.K. smash single "Toast." When the Streetband dissolved in 1979 Young and several former bandmates formed the Motown-minded group the Q-Tips. The retro soul group released an eponymous debut album on Chrysalis and toured excessively, but instead of the entire outfit gaining recognition, Young was the only one to benefit from the Q-Tips. He signed solo with CBS in 1982 and the Q-Tips broke up soon thereafter, although Young and Q-Tips keyboardist Ian Kewley created a songwriting partnership. Kewley also joined Young's new backing band the Royal Family, which included a subset of female singers called the Fabulous Wealthy Tarts.

In late 1982 Young issued his debut solo single, "Iron Out the Rough Spots," followed by "Love of the Common People," a cover of Nicky Thomas' reggae-pop original. It wasn't until the release of "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)," a little-known Marvin Gaye song, that Young made his way to the top of the U.K. charts. No Parlez followed the single to the charts and also spawned Young's first Top 40 U.S. single, the Jack Lee-written "Come Back and Stay" (the song made the Top Ten in the U.K.) While touring to support his successful album, Young suffered the first of what would become many throat ailments, but he reappeared in 1984 with the U.K. Top Ten single "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" (a cover of Anne Pebbles' original.) His sophomore album, The Secret of Association, followed in 1985 with the biggest hit of Young's career, "Every Time You Go Away." His third album, 1986's Between Two Fires, was mostly new material and signaled Young's hiatus until 1990.

With 1990's Other Voices, Young was back on the commercial path with a cover of the Chi-Lites' classic "Oh Girl." Despite several other successes, Young's health problems persisted and 1993's The Crossing was his final album for Columbia. Young has continued to release albums on various labels, most recently with a Tex-Mex band Los Pacaminos in 2002.