Hello again. I am finally coming to terms with Prince and Vanity passing, and think it's time to add another post to lighten the mood here! This time I'm taking you into the mid-2000s, which is rare here. There are other blogs that focus on this era of pop music (and I suspect some will 'borrow' this link for their own - if you must, give credit where credit is due, people!), but this album is special. Earlier this year I discovered the Real Housewives Of Cheshire. Being a rabid fan of the Real Housewives franchise, I was shocked that I hadn't heard of this series sooner. But I binge watched and liked what I saw. I usually need to look up info on all of the housewives, and these ladies were no exception. During my research, I discovered that one of the ladies, Tanya Bardsley, was once in a girl group, when she was still known as Tanya Robinson, and they recorded an album. Of course I needed that album ASAP! And I ordered it immediately. Funny enough, the week I received the CD, I was finally caught up in the series, and in the new episode that week, Tanya finally discussed her brief time in the group, with a lot of self-deprecation. Tanya was a pretty successful 'glamour' model in the UK in the early 2000s, thanks to winning a modelling competition in 2003 thrown by magazine FHM, who were looking for the 'FHM High Street Honey'. As a result, she became a presenter on two shows, Gamenation and Strike. Also, unbeknownst to me at the time, she was featured in a video that my boyfriend and I used to love, a dance remake of Rod Stewart's "
Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" by Girls Of FHM, which was a top ten hit in 2004. The video featured a who's who of sexy British models, singers and starlets (catch her around the 2:34 mark). She was also part of the offshoot
FHM High Street Honeys, who had a top 40 hit with a dance remake of the Divinyls' "
I Touch Myself" in 2006. Although she did not contribute vocals, this experience in music tempted Tanya to pursue a solo music career. With the help and input of irritating photographer and media personality Darryn Lyons (whom I loathed when he was on
Celebrity Big Brother), Tanya decided that perhaps a girl group would be a better idea, as she was not a very good singer. They soon recruited two other ladies,
Shereen Guerin, who Tanya had met during the High Street Honeys competition, and
Paula Jade (Cremin), a singer they met at a recording studio, who would end up singing all of the leads. They chose the name Twisted Sisterz, though they were soon threatened with legal action by the heavy metal band Twisted Sister, and changed it to Mrs Robinson, a play on the Simon and Garfunkel song and Tanya's last name. Hoping to copy the success of girl groups like Atomic Kitten and Girls Aloud, the ladies teamed up with Ryan Laubscher, who wrote and produced the whole album, except for the first single, "I'm A Little Obsessed". The single was not a success, however. They did get some minor attention for the follow-up, "Don't Forget My Name", which was a tribute to the troops and supported the
Army Benevolent Fund. This wasn't enough to garner worldwide - or even countrywide - fame, however, and the girls disbanded. On RHOC, Tanya remembered her time in the group as fun but underwhelming, due to their lack of success and her lack of talent. But she shouldn't be so hard on herself, as the album is full of fun pop songs that fit the time perfectly (though they do sound a bit dated...) And while the other ladies have maintained a low profile since, Tanya is killing it, having married hot footballer
Phil Bardsley, and she continues to be a hoot on The Real Housewives Of Cheshire. She is hilarious, and really should consider a career in comedy instead of music (though I must say, her battle with equally amusing Ampika last season did not please me. I blame pregnancy hormones. ;) ) Though I won't hold my breath, would it be too much to ask for a Mrs Robinson reunion on the next season of RHOC?
Video for
I'm A Little Obsessed
Live performance of
Don't Forget My Name
Download
Obsession
1
Teacher
2
I'm A Career Girl
3
Don't Ask Me
4
Beautiful World
5
Touched
6
I'm A Little Obsessed
7
Don't Forget My Name
8
Hollywood Film Star
9
Survive
10
Falling Asleep
11
Faded Heart
Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all had an amazing holiday! Sorry for my lack of posts yet again, but it was a very busy month for me. Since I happen to have a few moments free, I thought I'd do a quick post to satiate you all for a bit. ;) No Secrets was a teen girl group formed in 2000 in Los Angeles. Carly Lewis was the step-daughter of British musician Adrian Gurvitz, who helped her realize her dream of pop stardom by recruiting the rest of the girls: Hawaiian cousins Jade Ryusaki and Erin Tanner, and friends Angel Faith and Jessica Fried. The teen pop boom that spawned several other groups featured on the Isle (such as Innosense, Nobody's Angel, Sugar Jones, Boy-N-Girlz United and Velvet Empire) was still in full swing, and they were signed to the label that had the most success with teen pop, Jive. They made their first appearance in the Aaron Carter video "Oh Aaron" in 2001 and also did backing vocals on his album of the same name. Then they released their version of Kim Wilde's 80's classic "Kids In America", which appeared on the Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius soundtrack. A year later they released their self-titled album and the single "That's What Girls Do", which also ended up on The Hot Chick soundtrack. The song was not a hit, though the album managed to hit #136 on the Billboard Album chart. The same year they also did a remake of The Little Mermaid's "Kiss The Girl" for the Disneymania series and their track "Little Angel Of Mine" appeared on the soundtrack for Stuart Little 2. But apparently there were disagreements within the group, and the other girls recorded a version of Atomic Kitten's "Whole Again" in 2003 without Angel Faith, prompting her to leave the group. The remaining girls released one last video the same year, for the song "Once Upon Another Dream" which appeared both on Disneymania 2 and the Sleeping Beauty DVD release, and then split up, no doubt foreseeing the imminent end of the teen pop craze. While Carly Lewis and Jade Ryusaki appear to have left the entertainment industry for a more 'normal life', the three other members have carried on singing. Angel Faith went on to release a solo album in 2004 as simply Angel, entitled Believe In Angels...Believe In Me, and released several singles including "Just The Way I Am" and the dance hit "How Can I Lie". Jessica Fried renamed herself Jessi Malay and has released several singles including "Booty Bangs" in 2007, "Cinematic" in 2008, and "Like You" and "Role Play" in 2011. And Erin Tanner renamed herself Nicki Foxx and recorded some independent singles like "Wild & Stupid" in 2008, but has mostly been working as a 'glamour' model since.
After much effort and perseverance, Adriana has provided us with an item that has been on my wantlist for some time, Carrie McDowell's debut album! This is another album that I only had on cassette and wanted desperately to feature on the Isle, but the CD was not easy to find, as Adriana can attest. ;) But she makes wishes come true! Thanks a ton Adriana! (And thanks to Robert as well, who coincidentally sent me this album the same day, but from the vinyl. I appreciate the effort, Robert!) Carrie was born in Iowa in the 1960s. She first showed off her vocal talents at the age of 8 on the local talent show 'Bill Riley's Talent Sprouts'. She then toured with an all-kid band, Love Train. This led to an appearance on 'The Tonight Show', which led to appearances with entertainment legends like George Burns, Danny Thomas and Jerry Lewis. With a new band, she also opened for the likes of Stevie Wonder and Liberace. In 1976, at the age of 13, she released a single with her versions of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and "Sing, Sing, Sing". Despite her success, her mother wanted her to concentrate on her education and pulled her from the spotlight to attend school. She wouldn't return to the music scene until she was 18, moving to New York and then Los Angeles, where her powerful demo got her signed to Motown Records. This was quite a coup, as there were very few white artists signed to Motown up to that point. Her album was primarily produced by legendary Motown artist and producer Willie Hutch, with assistance from other popular Motown producers. It was part funk/dance tracks and part ballads, which adequately featured her strong vocals. The first single release was "Casual Sex". Though the title was suggestive, the song failed to attract much attention. It was promptly remixed with a dancier vibe by Bruce Forest and retitled "Uh Uh, No No Casual Sex" (though the song was against promiscuity, the original title made it seem it was promoting it). The song became a minor Billboard Dance and R&B hit. (To download the original version and the B-side of the single, "Prove It", go to Lost Pop Treasures HERE.) Though another song, the ballad "When A Woman Loves A Man", was released as a promo single, the lack of proper promotion and the failure of her first single to cross over to the pop charts, which was Motown's hope, led to Carrie being dropped from the label. During her time with Motown Carrie had met guitarist Michael Hodge, and the two married in 1989. They moved to Nashville in 1991 and began recording as Two Hearts. They released two country-laced gospel albums, Stand Your Ground in 1992 and Give 'Em The Word in 1993. They continued to tour the world, often performing at charity events, and in 2008 the couple released a Christmas album as Michael & Carrie Hodge. Carrie finally released another solo album as Carrie Hodge in 2010 titled Never Forget, but the album consisted of tracks taken from the Two Hearts records. Since then, Carrie has been said to be working on new gospel and R&B records as well as an autobiography, so expect to hear more from her soon.
