Paul Lekakis (born 1966) is a Greek-American actor, model, filmmaker and club music / Hi-NRG singer, who was discovered for his musical and dancing skills at a nightclub while on assignment as a model in Italy.
Contents |
His debut single, "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back to My Room)" was released in 1987. The hit version was produced by the Italo-disco producers Miki Chieregato, Tom Hooker and Roberto Turatti, with additional production by Ric Wake. The song was originally released on ZYX Records and peaked at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100,[1] #60 on the UK Singles Chart,[2] #2 in Canada and #1 on the Pop charts in Australia and Japan. This single received attention for its explicit lyrics (Boom boom boom / Let's go back to my room / Where we can do it all night / And you can make me feel right) and is Lekakis' best-known song. This led to a recording contract with Sire Records, who released his debut album Tattoo It in 1990. The album included the Top 20 Hot Dance Club Play hit, "My House."
Lekakis sang the title track to the British film The Fruit Machine, which was released in 1988. In the US, the film was re-named Wonderland. This song was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman.
Lekakis has since had significant success in the dance music genre with the club hits "Let It Out," "Assume the Position," and "(I Need A) Vacation."
In late 2006, Lekakis filmed a music video for a remix of "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back to My Room)" in Palm Desert, California. The video was directed by Walid Azami. In late July 2007, the 20th anniversary remix appeared on the Billboard dance chart. In 2009, "Boom Boom" ranked #83 on VH1's "Top 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders Of The 80's" list.
Lekakis had a role in the queer horror film, Hellbent, a co-starring role in the 2001 film Circuit, and roles on the television programs Out of Practice and Passions. In June 2005, Lekakis and fitness trainer Clay Adkins released a fitness DVD, Partners, that was sold at Target stores throughout the United States.
He performed in the James Edwin Parker two-man stage play 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night alongside Scott Douglas Cunningham at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre in San Francisco, California in July 2007.
Lekakis tested positive for HIV around 1989, though he did not make this widely known until the 1990s. In recent years, he has played HIV-positive characters in several of his film appearances and has spoken out publicly on HIV-related issues. In 2000, Lekakis appeared on the cover of the February issue of POZ magazine, where he also gave an interview, relating, among other reminiscences, his time as a male prostitute in West Hollywood between 1994 and 1997, the time he "joined a 12-step group and quit drinking, doing drugs and turning tricks".[3]
He lives in the Los Angeles area. In a video interview, Ben Patrick Johnson referred to Lekakis as "my neighbor."[4]