Atomic Kitten is a English girl band from Liverpool composed of Liz
McClarnon ("Lil"), Natasha Hamilton ("Tash") and Jenny Frost (who
replaced original member Kerry Katona in January 2001).
The band 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 Heidi left the band and was only featured on the demo
recordings. The band was first called "Honeyhead" but later renamed to
"Automatic Kittens", the name of the label of their designer, and
The group's first single "Right Now" debuted in December 1999,
reaching the British top 10. After the initial success Atomic Kitten
made an Asian tour during which Atomic Kitten scored their first hit
with "Cradle". Therefore the album, also titled Right Now was first
released in Japan on March 16, 2001 and subsequently released in the
United Kingdom on May 21, 2000 with a slightly modified tracklist.
Right Now was a modest success upon first release, however there were
no plans to focus on the global market yet. This changed when Atomic
Kitten scored their first number one hit in the UK in 2001 with "Whole
Again". The song and video for "Whole Again" originally featured Kerry
Katona, but was remade when Jenny Frost was added to the line-up as a
replacement. The success was such that it was decided to remaster and
rerelease the album which went straight to number one on its second
appearance in the chart.
The next single "Eternal Flame", a cover version of the 1989 hit by
the The Bangles, also became a number one hit. Given the success a new
album, Feels So Good, was released. The first single of the album was
"It's Ok!" and was shot in South Africa. Even though this song
performed well in the charts, securing a number three position, it was
the next single "Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)", a remake of the 1965
song by The Paragons, which managed to get Atomic Kitten their third
number one single. The American market had been neglected upto then
and finally an album called "Atomic Kitten" was released consisting of
tracks for the first two albums.
The band has released 15 singles and five albums: Right Now (2001),
Feels So Good (2002), Ladies Night (2003), The Greatest Hits (2004) &
The Collection (2005). Their careers were going well, but on January
23, 2004 Natasha left the band because combining the band with her
personal life became too much for her and she wanted to spend more
time with her son. They released a single "Someone Like Me / Right Now
2004" as a goodbye 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, which charted at No. 10. The proceeds of the single
since then embarked on solo careers.
Band members
Jennifer Frost (born February 22, 1978 in Liverpool, United Kingdom),
started her musical career in the girl-band Precious and replaced
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.
Natasha Maria Hamilton (born July 17, 1982 in Liverpool, United
Kingdom) joined Atomic Kitten after Heidi Range left the band. On
January 23, 2004 left the band to spend more time with her son.
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 and left in
January 2001 because she had become pregnant. Her place in the band
was taken by Jenny Frost.
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 release "Woman In
Love" is scheduled for early 2006.
Andy McCluskey (born June 24, 1959 in Liverpool, United Kingdom) was
the lead singer and primary songwriter for the band OMD. In 1997 he
founded Atomic Kitten and wrote and produced many of the early songs.
In 2002 the girls terminated the songwriting/production agreement with
Andy.
Heidi India Range (born May 23, 1983 in Liverpool, United Kingdom) was
one of the original members, but left the group shortly after the
group formed and was replaced by Natasha Hamilton. Heidi is currently
a member of Sugababes.