Frontman Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark formed Atomic Kitten in 1998 with a line-up consisting of Liz McClarnon, Kerry Katona, and Heidi Range. Atomic Kitten’s earliest songs were principally written my McCluskey including the No. 10 UK single “Right Now” released in November 1999. Prior to the release, Heidi Range left the group citing artistic differences and moved to the fellow pop charting group the Sugababes, replaced by Natasha Hamilton.
The group’s subsequent single “See Ya” proved an even greater success reaching No. 6 in the UK single chart, followed by their first No. 1 hit in Japan “Cradle”, which led to a tour of the UK and parts of Asia. Atomic Kitten’s debut album “Right Now” arrived in October 2000, spawning the two further singles “I Want Your Love” and “Follow Me”. The single “Whole Again” became the group’s first No. 1 single in the UK, along with 18 other countries, including a 27 week stint at the top of the charts in the Republic of Moldova.
Due to pregnancy Kerry Katona left the group following the release and was replaced by former Precious singer Jenny Frost. With the swap, the album “Right Now” was re-packaged, re-recorded and re-released including the songs “Eternal Flame” another No. 1 hit, “You Are” and “Tomorrow & Tonight”, and was later certified as double platinum.
With the success of “Right Now” Atomic Kitten recorded and released "Feels So Good" in 2002, half way through of which Andy McCluskey departed due to an increase in tension between him and the band. The album spawned the singles “It’s Okay”, “The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)”, “The Last Goodbye” and “Love Doesn’t Have To Hurt”. By this time the group were attracting a buzz in the U.S., often drawing comparisons with The Supremes and the Spice Girls for having over a dozen singles hit the No. 1 spot in the charts.
The group made their U.S. debut with a self-titled album released in April 2003, which turned out to be unsuccessful and led the group to focus on European, South African and Asian markets. Atomic Kitten’s subsequent album “Ladies Night” was released in November 2003 featuring the single of the same name; a collaborative duet with the band Kool & the Gang. The album peaked at No. 5 in the UK album chart and was later certified platinum, spawning the singles “Be With You” and “If You Come To Me”.
After the subsequent tour and the release of their “Greatest Hits” album, Hamilton left the group to focus on her family. In 2012, however, the group, including Hamilton and Katona, reunited for a summer tour. The band later announced they were returning to the studio to record new material, and toured alongside East 17 and All Saints in 2014.
With them being one of the biggest pop groups of the 90s, Steps definitely have provided kids who were growing up during that time with some everlasting memories. Just wait until “5,6,7,8” drops at a party and watch the room break into the line dance from the video. It was something of a phenomenon at the time.
With a catalogue of pop hits under their belt, a Steps live show is never going to fail to entertain. I saw Steps back in 1999 when they were at the height of their success and I remember back then, every kid in the arena knew the routines and words to every song. Steps really were a pop phenomenon in the UK back then, second only to the Spice Girls, and looking back now, they were deserving of their success.
When Steps announced that they would be reuniting, I can’t lie, I was really excited. I saw them live at the London Palladium back in 2012 and more than a decade on, they still delivered, proving that they really did succeed in creating timeless pop anthems! The nostalgia in the room was clear, as the twenty-something’s in the crowd were taken on a journey back through their childhoods with songs such as “Tragedy”, “One for Sorrow” and “Deeper Shade of Blue”. Their were younger children in the room as well, showing that Steps are still having an impact in this current day, competing with some of the biggest pop stars.
Some may be ashamed to reveal they were Steps fans back in the day, but not me. I still am. Appreciate good pop music for what it is and if you get a chance to see Steps, I really think you should take it!
lhulbert1
Liz, Natasha and Kerry: the holy trinity of early noughties girlpop. Boasting a repertoire of hits glossier than a service station magazine stand, a night in the company of Atomic Kitten is a night in the company of greatness. With the original ‘98 lineup back together, after more than a decade apart, it’s nothing short of a privilege to hear ‘Whole Again’, ‘Eternal Flame’ and Blondie redux ‘The Tide Is High’ performed as the artists originally intended.
Indeed, after a dark narrative of fractious arguments and member replacements, the stars aligned in 2012 to reunite Atomic Kitten, along with fellow pop pioneers B*Witched, Honeyz, Five, and 911 for the ITV2 show ‘The Big Reunion’. A huge UK tour ensued culminating with a grandstand finale at London’s O2 Arena, cementing Atomic Kitten’s rightful place at the pinnacle of the noughties cheesepop hierarchy.
How gratifying it has been to see Kerry Katona back on stage, and away from frozen food commercials. Indeed, the journey travelled - emotionally, mentally and physically - by these fine young women, translates directly into the raw power of their live performance; the tinny beats of antiquated backing tracks transcended by true, unadulterated talent.Atoms can be split, and kittens can run away. How lucky we are that Atomic Kitten have been made... whole again.
us_kids_know
When I heard that Basshunter was going to be in town, I jumped at the chance to see them. The venue was Somewhere Loud Event Center in San Diego, California, a little venue meaning that everybody got front row seats to the show.
Like most people outside of his native Sweden, my first introduction to Basshunter was the ridiculous music video for the song Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA, which was about playing a computer game and chatting with friends on the VoIP program Ventrilo. This song spread like wildfire among gamers for two simple reasons: the subject matter was absolutely ridiculous, yet something we could identify with; and second, in spite of that, the song was a number one hit in Sweden.
Sadly, Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA did not get played that night, but I still got to enjoy a night of amazing electronic music. It’s easy to see how Basshunter has so many number one records regardless of how ridiculously goofy the subject matter is; his music is unbelievably addicting and just gets the body moving. Everybody needs to experience this music live so that they can enjoy it while dancing with a huge crowd of people who all also love the same music, just the way it should be.
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