Atomic_Kitten

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Atomic Kitten Atomic Kitten Atomic Kitten Atomic Kitten performing in Kraków, Poland in 2005. Left to right: Liz McClarnon, Jenny Frost and Natasha Hamilton. Background information Origin Genre(s) Years active Label(s) Website Members Jenny Frost (2001-present) Natasha Hamilton Liz McClarnon Former members Kerry Katona (1999-2001) Heidi Range (1999) Liverpool, England Pop, dance-pop, europop 1999-2004, 2004-present (occasionally) EMI/Innocent/Virgin AtomicKitten.co.uk Atomic Kitten are an English girl group from Liverpool, first established in 1999. Formed by Andy McCluskey, the trio is composed of singer-songwriters Liz McClarnon, Natasha Hamilton, and Jenny Frost. Many of their singles and albums entered the Top 40 charts in several countries. The hits include "Right Now," "Whole Again," "Eternal Flame," "The Tide Is High," and "Ladies Night." Biography Atomic Kitten started to be formed in 1997 by Andy McCluskey of ’80s band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.There was a possibility that Heidi Range (now in a band Sugababes) would become a member of Atomic Kitten, she was chosen to be a member of the band along with Liz McClarnon and Kerry Katona, but she had decided to leave before the band was completed and was replaced by Natasha Hamilton who became the third official member along with Liz and Kerry.The band was completed in 1999. The group’s first single "Right Now" debuted in December of 1999 and ended up reaching the British top 10. After the initial success Atomic Kitten made an Asian tour during which it scored their first hit with "Cradle". The album, also titled Right Now, was first released in Japan on 16 March, 2000 and subsequently released in the United Kingdom on 23 October, 2000 with a slightly modified track list. In July 2000, the group released a cover version of "The Locomotion" for the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad Right Now was a modest success upon its release. Initially, there were no plans to focus on the global market and Atomic Kitten’s record label, Innocent Records, was even considering dropping them because of their limited success; however, they persuaded them to be allowed to record one more single.[1] This one single changed the career of Atomic Kitten because they scored their first No. 1 hit in the UK in 2001 with "Whole Again". The song and video for "Whole Again" originally featured Kerry Katona, however, she left the group several days prior to the numberone position because of her pregnancy.[2] The single was remade when Jenny Frost was added to the line-up as Kerry’s replacement. The success was such that it was decided to remaster and re-release the album, which then went to number one on its second appearance on the chart. The next single "Eternal Flame", a cover version of the 1989 hit by The Bangles, also became a No. 1 hit. Second album and independence Given the success of "Whole Again", a new album, Feels So Good, was recorded. The song 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia writing and production agreement with Andy McCluskey was an increasing source of tension within the group and the girls decided to terminate the contract with McCluskey halfway through the recording of the album. The first single off the album was "It’s Ok!". Even though this song performed well in the charts, securing a No. 3 position, it was the next single "The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling)", a remake of the 1965 song by The Paragons (also made famous by Blondie in 1980), which attained Atomic Kitten their third number-one single. In April 2002, Natasha announced that she was pregnant, but had no intention of leaving the group, and wanted the scheduled 2002 tour to continue. Natasha filmed the music video for "The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling)", and made an appearance at Party in the Park before finally going on pregnancy leave.[3] During January and February 2003, Atomic Kitten toured around Southeast Asia, visiting Singapore, Thailand and Korea. Natasha, who had given birth to her son, Josh, on 24 August, 2002, decided to take her newborn baby with her on the tour as well.[4] Atomic Kitten Atomic Kitten spent late 2002 and early 2003 in the studio recording their third and final studio album. Up until the recording of Ladies Night, the group mainly relied on songwriters and sometimes co-wrote songs featured on their albums. While recording Ladies Night, they decided to be directly involved in the creation of eight of the fifteen songs. Ladies Night was released on 10 November 10, 2003. In early 2004, a tour to support Ladies Night and the upcoming release of their Greatest Hits album was planned. The tour was dubbed "The Greatest Hits Tour". Shortly before the tour kicked off, the girls announced they would be splitting after the completion of the tour.[7] Reunion appearances On 23 January, 2004, Natasha Hamilton decided to devote more time to her young son and wanted to take a hiatus from the group. Atomic Kitten released the single "Someone Like Me/Right Now 2004" as a "goodbye" to their fans, but were reunited on Valentine’s Day to release the charity single "Cradle 2005", a new version of the original on their album Right Now. "Cradle 2005" peaked at No. 10, with proceeds going to World Vision.[8] In 2005, the group was featured on the soundtrack of Disney’s Mulan II with the song "(I Wanna Be) Like Other Girls" Lyrics. The track was Atomic Kitten’s third time as a featured artist on a soundtrack. In 2005 they also performed together in Krakow, Poland on 28 August as a main star of the Coca-Cola SoundWave Festival. In 2006, Atomic Kitten recorded a one-off single, "All Together Now (Strong Together)", in association with Goleo VI, the official mascot of the FIFA World Cup 2006. The track is taken from The Official FIFA World Cup Album and was released for digital download and in CD form on 6 June, 2006, in Germany, where the World Cup was held ten days later. The single was listed by the HMV website for release in the UK many weeks prior to the competition, the single was taken off from schedule and deleted from the catalogue, due to the amount of competing football records that were being released at that time. The proceeds of the single went to SOS Children’s Villages.[9] American album release In April 2003, the group released the album, Atomic Kitten in the United States. Until that time, the group had not focused on the American market. The album consisted of tracks from the first two Atomic Kitten albums, Right Now and Feels So Good. Promotion for the album began with the single, The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling), appearing on the soundtrack for the Disney film, The Lizzie McGuire Movie starring Hilary Duff. However, the album only managed to peak at #102 on the Billboard chart, it was decided the band would focus on the European and Asian markets.[5] Ladies Night and tour Before recording their third album, Kool and the Gang approached the group about a collaboration for their Odyssey album. Kool and the Gang wanted an updated version of Ladies Night and were looking for a girl group to sing the lyrics. Atomic Kitten liked the idea and enquired whether they could use it for their next album which was subsequently named Ladies Night in honour of this collaboration.[6] 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia On 4 December, 2006, the group reunited once again for a one-off performance of "Whole Again" and two other songs at a benefit concert for the Michael Shields appeal at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. [1] On 31 December, 2006, Atomic Kitten performed at the Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong at Nokia’s New Year’s Eve celebration. The appearance marked their second international appearance since splitting in 2004.[10] Atomic Kitten released another charity single, Anyone Who Had A Heart on 27 January, 2008, a version of Cilla Black’s 1964 hit as part of the Liverpool Number One Project. On 19 January, Atomic Kitten returned to the stage for The Number One Project, where they sang " Anyone Who Had a Heart", "Whole Again" and " The Tide is High (Get the Feeling)" live. On 25 January the band appeared on GMTV, talking about The Number One Project and performed " Anyone Who Had a Heart" in the studio. Later that same day Liz and Tash appeared on Radio 1’s Scott Mills Show. The single reached number 77 in the UK Single Charts.[11] On 12 July, 2008 the band performed on the King’s LynnFestival. Atomic Kitten second single, "Bad Girl," a track originally set for (and recorded by) Lisa Scott-Lee, was planned for 2008.[15] Members, former and current • (born February 22, 1978, in Prestwich, United Kingdom), and started her musical career in the girl-band Precious who represented the United Kingdom in the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest. Frost replaced band member Kerry Katona in 2001. After the split of Atomic Kitten, Jenny has embarked on a solo career and released her first single "Crash Landing" on 10 October, 2005. • (born May 23, 1983, in Liverpool, United Kingdom) was an original band member, but left the band and was replaced by Natasha Hamilton. Range later joined the British girl group, Sugababes. • (born July 17, 1982, in Liverpool, United Kingdom) joined Atomic Kitten after Heidi Range left the group. In January, 2004, she decided to take a break from Atomic Kitten because she wanted to spend more time with her son Josh. She is currently working on her first solo release "Round and Round" • (born Elizabeth Margaret McClarnon, April 10, 1981, in Liverpool, United Kingdom), was one of the original members of the group. While in the band, she co-wrote many of their songs. Her solo single "Woman in Love" was released on February 14, 2006. • (born September 6, 1980, in Warrington, United Kingdom), was one of the original members of Atomic Kitten. Kerry was featured on the original Right Now album in 2000, but left in January 2001 after she became pregnant with her daughter. Solo careers • Natasha Hamilton was scheduled to release a solo single, "Round and Round," at the end of 2008.[12] • Liz McClarnon has also embarked on a solo career, releasing the single "Woman in Love / I Get the Sweetest Feeling." The single entered the chart at No. 5.[13] McClarnon competed to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with "Happy" but failed to win. The song, however, was released as a download-only track. Her solo debut album is scheduled for 2008, and she won Celebrity Masterchef on 25 July 2008. In October 2008, Liz was chosen to front the National Lottery Show on BBC1 and made her debut on 29 October 2008. On 19 January 2009, Liz announced on her official Myspace that she’s about to release a single named "Lately" and that she’s going to Sweden to record more songs and part of the video. The release is due for May 2009. • Jenny Frost released her debut solo single "Crash Landing" on 10 October 2005.[14] The single peaked at No. 47. Frost’s Discography Albums Number-one singles References [1] BBC News: Atomic Kitten’s perfect year (Accessed 29 July, 2006) 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Year 2000 2002 2003 2004 Year Title 2001 "Whole Again" "Eternal Flame" 2002 "The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling)" Album Right Now Feels So Good Atomic Kitten Ladies Night Greatest Hits Chart positions AUT[18] IRE[19] NZ[20] UK[21] NOR Atomic Kitten Chart positions UK AUS NZ[16] GER U.S.[17] 1 1 – 5 5 86 21 – 67 – 12 3 7 3 8 6 6 – 12 35 Album – – 102 – – 1 3 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 — 13 11 Right Now Feels So Good [2] BBC News: McFadden and Katona tie knot (Accessed 30 July, 2006) [3] Fun Trivia: Atomic Kitten (Accessed 29 July, 2006) [12] Official Natasha Hamilton site (Accessed 15 October, 2006) [13] EveryHit.com UK Top 40 database (Accessed 30 July, 2006) [4] Atomic Kitten active - News 9 January, 2003 (Accessed 30 July, 2006) [5] The Arkansas Traveler online: Atomic Kitten: what America is missing (Accessed 16 August 16, 2006) [6] CBBC News: Ladies Night interview (Accessed 29 July 29, 2006) [14] I’m a celebrity biography of Jennifer Frost [15] "Bad Girl" [16] New Zealand peak. charts.org. Retrieved 31 May, 2007. [17] The Arkansas Traveler online: Atomic Kitten: what America is missing (Accessed 16 August, 2006) [7] CBBC News: Atomic Kitten reveal new tour dates (Accessed 30 July, 2006) [8] AtomicKittenz (Accessed 31 December, 2005) [9] Natasha Hamilton’s official site - News section (Accessed 29 July, 2006) [10] "Nokia New Year’s Eve celebrates the start of 2007 in global style". http://www.huliq.com/4251/nokia-newyears-eve-celebrates-the-start-of-2007-inglobal-style. Retrieved on 2008-02-26. [11] UK Chart Stats [18] AustrianCharts.at Atomic Kitten page Accessed: 28 October, 2006 [19] IrishchartsAccessed: 1 June, 2007 [20] Charts.org.nz Atomic Kitten single page Accessed: 29 October, 2006 [21] Chart Log UKAccessed: 17 July, 2007 External links • Atomic Kitten Official Site • Atomic Kitten at Allmusic Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Kitten" Categories: Girl groups, 2000s music groups, Musical groups established in 1997, English musical groups, English-language singers, Music from Liverpool, Musical trios, English pop music groups, Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists This page was last modified on 10 May 2009, at 03:43 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers 4