Atomic Kitten is a British girl band from Liverpool composed of Liz McClarnon ("Lil"), Natasha Hamilton ("Tash") and Jenny Frost (who replaced original member Kerry Katona in January 2001).
Biography
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" and abbreviated to "Atomic Kitten".
The group's first single "Right Now" debuted in December 1999, reaching the British top 10. Soon the album, also titled Right Now, was released which was moderately successful. 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 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, 2003 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 in February 2005 to release the charity single "Cradle 2005", a new version of the original on their album Right Now, which charted at No. 10.
Band members
Jenny Frost
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 Hamilton
Natasha Maria Hamilton (born July 17 1982 in Liverpool, United Kingdom) joined Atomic Kitten after Heidi Range left the band. Natasha dated Fran Cosgrave and on August 24, 2002 her first son, Joshua Hamilton-Cosgrave, was born. They split shortly after. On December 31, 2004 she gave birth to her second son, Harry Hatcher-Hamilton with Gavin Hatcher. On July 2005, Natasha and Gavin split and she was reunited and is engaged to Cosgrave.
Kerry Katona
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.
Liz McClarnon
Elizabeth Margaret McClarnon (born April 10, 1981 in Liverpool, United Kingdom) was engaged to childhood sweetheart, Tommy Hibbs until 2002. While in the band, she co-wrote many of their songs. In 2005, she appeared in the ITV reality TV show, Celebrity Love Island. Her solo release is scheduled for early 2006.
Andy McCluskey
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.
Heidi Range
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.
Discography
Albums
| May 21, 2000 | Right Now | UK #39 |  | |
| June 8, 2001 | Right Now | UK #1 | Reissue with Jenny Frost | |
| September 9, 2002 | Feels So Good | UK #1 | ||
| April 22, 2003 | Atomic Kitten | US only | ||
| November 10, 2003 | Ladies Night | UK #5 | ||
| April 5, 2004 | Greatest Hits | UK #5 | ||
| May 2, 2005 | The Collection | UK only |
Singles
| November 29, 1999 | Right Now | UK #10 | 120,000 copies | |
| March 27, 2000 | See Ya | UK #6 | ||
| 2000 | Cradle | JP #1 | Only released in Asia [1] | |
| July 3, 2000 | I Want Your Love | UK #10 | ||
| October 9, 2000 | Follow Me | UK #20 | ||
| January 29, 2001 | Whole Again | UK #1 (4 weeks) | 934,000 copies | |
| July 23, 2001 | Eternal Flame | UK #1 (2 weeks) | 400,000 copies | |
| November 26, 2001 | You Are | DE #61 | NZ, Aus & EU only | |
| June 10, 2002 | It's OK! | UK #3 | 200,000 copies | |
| September 16, 2002 | Tide Is High (Get The Feeling) | UK #1 (3 weeks) | 400,000 copies | |
| December 25, 2002 | The Last Goodbye/Be With You | UK #2 | ||
| March 31, 2003 | Love Doesn't Have To Hurt | UK #4 | ||
| September 27, 2003 | If You Come To Me | UK #3 | ||
| January 26, 2003 | Ladies Night | UK #8 | ||
| March 29, 2004 | Someone Like Me/Right Now 2004 | UK #8 | Re-issue | |
| February 14, 2005 | Cradle 2005 | UK #10 | Charity reissue |