Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten are an English girl group from Liverpool composed of Elizabeth McClarnon, Natasha Hamilton, and Jennifer Frost - who replaced original member Kerry Katona in January 2001. Many of their singles and albums entered the Top 40 charts worldwide such as “Right Now,” “Whole Again,” “Eternal Flame,” “The Tide Is High,” and “Ladies Night.”
Biography
Atomic Kitten was formed in 1997 by Andy McCluskey of ’80s band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and included Heidi Range in the original line-up. However, Range left the group and was only featured on the demo recordings. In 2001, Range joined another girl group, Sugababes. Atomic Kitten was originally named “Honeyhead”, but later renamed “Automatic Kittens”, the name of the label of its designer. “Automatic Kittens” was eventually changed to “Atomic Kitten.”
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 March 16, 2000 and subsequently released in the United Kingdom on May 21, 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 to record one more single. 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 number-one position because of her pregnancy. 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.
Members & founder
Jennifer Frost (born February 22, 1978, in Liverpool, United Kingdom), and started her musical career in the girl-band Precious. 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 October 10, 2005.
Heidi India Range (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.
Natasha Maria Hamilton (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”
Kerry Jayne Elizabeth Katona (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.
Elizabeth Margaret McClarnon (born 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.
Andy McCluskey (born June 24, 1959, in Liverpool, United Kingdom), was the lead singer and primary songwriter for the group OMD. In 1997, he founded Atomic Kitten and wrote and produced many of the early songs. In 2002, the other members terminated the songwriting/production agreement with him.
Discography
Albums
- Greatest Hits(2004)
- Atomic Kitten(2003)
- Ladies Night(2003)
- Feels So Good(2002)
- Right Now(2000)