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B*Witched

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This article is about the girl group. For their self-titled album, see B*Witched (album). For other uses, see Bewitched (disambiguation).

B*Witched
B*Witched performing in Manchester as part of The Big Reunion arena tour. From the left, Edele Lynch, Keavy Lynch, Lindsay Armaou and Sinéad O'Carroll.
B*Witched performing in Manchester as part of The Big Reunion arena tour.
From the left, Edele Lynch, Keavy Lynch, Lindsay Armaou and Sinéad O'Carroll.
Background information
OriginDublin, Ireland
Genres
Years active
  • 1997–2002
  • 2012–present
Labels
SpinoffsBarbarellas
MembersEdele Lynch
Keavy Lynch
Lindsay Armaou
Sinéad O'Carroll

B*Witched are an Irish girl group consisting of twin sisters Edele and Keavy Lynch, Lindsay Armaou and Sinéad O'Carroll. Originally active between 1997 and 2002, they enjoyed success in both Europe and North America between 1998 and 2002, releasing two albums and eight singles, all of which made the UK Top 20. Their first four singles, "C'est la Vie", "Rollercoaster", "To You I Belong" and "Blame It on the Weatherman", all reached number one in the UK Singles Chart and the group has sold over 3 million albums worldwide.

On 18 October 2012, it was announced that B*Witched would reunite for the ITV2 reality-documentary series The Big Reunion in 2013, along with other pop groups of their time. Due to the success, they officially returned. In May 2013, B*Witched unveiled a new song called "Love and Money" which served as the group's lead single from their 2014 EP, Champagne or Guinness. In 2023, B*Witched released the single "Birthday" to celebrate their 25th anniversary.[1][2]

Career

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1996–1998: Formation and B*Witched

[edit]
Edele and Keavy Lynch in 1998

All four members of B*Witched knew each other vaguely from dancing at Digges Lane dance studios in Dublin.[3] Sinéad O'Carroll met Keavy Lynch in a garage in the Dublin suburb of Finglas, where Keavy was working as a part-time mechanic.[4] The two of them became friends after talking about music and the idea of being in a band.[5] Lindsay Armaou met Keavy at a kickboxing class.[6] In 1996,[3][7] Keavy, Sinéad and Keavy's identical twin sister Edele[8] decided to put a group together, originally called Butterfly Farm.[citation needed] They later became a four-piece when Armaou joined.[9]

The group initially used the name Sister, before settling on B*Witched.[4] The band members deliberately cultivated a tomboy image and, in order to appeal to a younger audience, understated their ages in their early years.[10] Edele and Keavy's older brother Shane Lynch (of the band Boyzone) helped the group find a manager, Kim Glover,[11] who signed the group to Glowworm Records, the Epic Records label she ran, in 1997.[12] The label's co-head, Ray "Madman" Hedges, produced all of B*Witched's releases. The group's first ever gig was in Thompsons Garage in Belfast, during which their microphones did not work.[13]

B*Witched released their debut single "C'est la Vie" on 25 May 1998, prior to their first show at Lawmuir Primary School in Bellshill as part of Jobee's 20-year anniversary. Despite mixed reviews, it reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, making B*Witched became the youngest girl group to have a number one in the UK[14] (a feat that has since been surpassed by the Sugababes and Little Mix). Following its release in the United States, the song went to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent singles "Rollercoaster", "To You I Belong" and "Blame It on the Weatherman" also topped the UK chart. They also performed the theme song for the Saturday morning cartoon Sabrina: The Animated Series. Their self-titled debut album, released in October 1998, reached number three on the UK Albums Chart and was certified 2× Platinum in the UK. The album also peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard 200 and was certified Platinum in the US.[15]

1999–2002: Awake and Breathe, O'Carroll's departure and break up

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In 1999, B*Witched appeared on the ABBA tribute single "Thank ABBA for the Music", which reached number four in the UK, and recorded a cover of "Does Your Mother Know" for the subsequent ABBAmania album and TV special. Singing dolls of the group were made by Yaboom Toys in 1999.[16] Along with Britney Spears, they performed the opening act for NSYNC's world tour NSYNC in Concert. B*Witched's second album, Awake and Breathe, released a year after their debut, peaked at number 5 on the charts and was certified Platinum. Singles from the album were less successful than earlier releases ("Jesse Hold On" reached number 4, "I Shall Be There" number 13 and "Jump Down" number 16 in the UK). After touring Europe and America, where they co-headlined the All That Music and More Festival with LFO and Blaque, the band began work on a third album. Three new songs were recorded: "Hold On" (featured in The Princess Diaries); a cover of Toni Basil's "Mickey" (featured in Bring It On); and a cover of Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music". The latter two appeared on their new American EP, Across America 2000, along with live tracks and the earlier cover of "Does Your Mother Know".[17]

In 2001, a third album was in the works, and the band had chosen "Where Will You Go?" as the new single. On 4 July 2001, B*Witched made a guest appearance on the United States daytime television medical drama, General Hospital.[citation needed] In October, before the group could film a music video for "Where Will You Go?”,[18] the girls received a phone call from their manager telling them their record label Sony had dropped them.[9] In June 2002, after one year without signing a new record deal, O'Carroll left the band, unhappy with the forced hiatus.[9] In September 2002 the group split.[9]

2012–present: Return, Champagne or Guinness and Touring

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On 18 October 2012, it was announced that B*Witched would reunite for the ITV2 series The Big Reunion along with five other pop groups of their time—Honeyz, 911, Liberty X, Five and Atomic Kitten (Blue later joined as well). The show featured each group telling their stories of their times in their respective bands, before rehearsing together ahead of one major comeback performance at the Hammersmith Apollo.[19][20] B*Witched had to hold "emotional clear the air" talks before reforming.[21] Edele admitted that she and Sinéad had fallen out in 2006 and had not spoken to each other since: "My biggest anxiety about doing this – there's only one, and it's Sinéad, I think. It's just how I'm going to feel about being in her person again."[22] Lindsay also said: "Some of the issues we didn't even know were necessarily there until we were faced with this opportunity that we have to work together again, then we were like, 'Oh, OK, in order for us to do this then we have to sort a few things out.' It all just came up. It's been difficult to get to this point. There's been a lot of talking, a lot of talking. But we're here now. It's very surreal being called B*Witched again because it's been 12 years."[21]

Due to the success of The Big Reunion, the bands embarked on an arena tour around the UK and Ireland in May 2013.[23] The groups got together to record a charity single, a cover of Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", for Text Santa. In March, Armaou announced that they would record new material.[24] On 4 May, the group released a promotional single called "Love and Money" on YouTube.[25] On 3 October, Edele Lynch announced in an interview to Today FM that they were recording their third album.[26] On 11 December, B*Witched made an announcement via PledgeMusic.[27] The EP, titled Champagne or Guinness, was released on 28 September 2014. On 12 February 2016, B*Witched released the compilation album C'est la Vie – The Collection, a 36-track double album featuring tracks from their first two albums and two tracks from their 2014 Champagne or Guinness EP. B*Witched had planned to tour Australia in 2017, along with other acts including Atomic Kitten and Liberty X.[28]

In October 2019, the band returned with a brand new single, "Hold On", a cover of the U.S. number-one hit of the same name by Wilson Phillips.[29]

In March 2021, B*Witched started hosting a new podcast called Starting Over with B*Witched.[30][31]

In March 2023, the group released the single "Birthday"[2] to celebrate their 25th anniversary, stating: "We will get to the point of an album. Right now we’re releasing singles, but the singles will keep coming and eventually they’ll be on the album [...] there’s definitely more in the pipeline".[32]

In August 2024 the group released an EP, Ripped Jeans, containing three new tracks: "So into You", "Multiply", "My Greatest Little Mistake", and "Birthday".

Members

[edit]

Discography

[edit]
Main article: B*Witched discography
Title Album details
B*Witched
Awake and Breathe
  • Released: 18 October, 1999
  • Label: Epic Records, Glowworm Records
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, LP, streaming
Across America 2000
  • Released: 4 July, 2000
  • Label: Epic Records, Glowworm Records
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, streaming
Champagne or Guinness
  • Released: 26 May, 2014
  • Label: PledgeMusic
  • Formats: CD, digital download, streaming
Ripped Jeans

Concert tours

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Headlining

  • Jump Up Jump Down Tour (1999)
  • All That Music & More Tour (1999–2000)
  • B*Witched Live (2014–2019; 2021–2022)
  • 25th Anniversary Tour (2023–present)

Co-headlining

References

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  1. ^ "WATCH: Irish pop legends B*Witched release first single in nearly a decade". Irish Central. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "B*Witched announce new single 'Birthday'". Retropop Magazine. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b Walshe, John (6 June 2019). "On this day in 1998: Irish acts top both the UK singles and albums charts for the first time ever". Hot Press. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b "B*Witched Debut on Irish TV". RTÉ Archives. 30 May 1998. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  5. ^ Golden, Anna Louise (1999). B*Witched. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4668-7361-2.
  6. ^ "B*Witched No.1 Top Group". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  7. ^ Cole, Stacey (27 December 2016). "B*Witched's Keavy Lynch Opens Up About Difficult Reunion And 'Living in Her Twin's Shadow'". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  8. ^ Middleton, Paul (6 August 2013). "B*witched's Keavy Lynch: I had my twin's pregnancy cravings". Metro. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "B*Witched & Honeyz". The Big Reunion. Series 1. Episode 3. 14 February 2013. ITV2. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  10. ^ Senior, Raymond (12 June 2000). "Sinead O'Carroll B*Witched by Michael Ramon". Showbiz Ireland.
  11. ^ "Spooky or what?". The Irish Times. 6 June 1998. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  12. ^ Dachille, Arielle (23 July 2014). "Where Has B*Witched Been for All These Years?". Bustle. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  13. ^ O'Dornan, David (26 July 2023). "B*Witched: 'Our first gig was in Belfast... but we didn't even know how to use mics'". Belfast Telegraph.
  14. ^ Myers, Justin (7 June 2013). "Official Charts Flashback: 1998 – B*Witched's C'est La Vie". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  15. ^ "RIAA – Gold and Platinum – B*Witched Search". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  16. ^ "Yaboom Launches New Line of Entertainment Products with MCD Technology". BusinessWire via AllBusiness.com. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  17. ^ "B*Witched Across America 2000 USA 5" CD SINGLE (176317)". eil.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  18. ^ Bond, Nick (13 October 2018). "B*witched star Edele Lynch on group's rapid rise, fall and reunion". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018.
  19. ^ Goodacre, Kate (26 April 2013). "Atomic Kitten, 5ive, B*Witched, 911, more to reunite for ITV2 show". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  20. ^ Lazarus, Susanna (18 October 2012). "Atomic Kitten, 5ive and B*Witched to reform for ITV2's The Big Reunion". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  21. ^ a b "B*Witched held emotional talks before their Big Reunion". virginmedia.com. 30 January 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  22. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "911 & B*Witched". The Big Reunion. Series 1. Episode 5. 28 February 2013. ITV2. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  23. ^ Nissam, Mayer (11 February 2013). "5ive, Atomic Kitten, B*Witched, Liberty X, 911 for Big Reunion arena tour". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  24. ^ Copsey, Robert (3 May 2013). "B*Witched tease music comeback: 'It's possible'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  25. ^ Rigby, Sam (4 May 2013). "B*Witched unveil new song 'Love and Money' – listen". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  26. ^ "Celebrity Apprentice contestant, Edele Lynch, speaks to Anton". Today FM. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  27. ^ "B*Witched: New EP on PledgeMusic". 11 December 2013. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  28. ^ Cole, Stacey (27 December 2016). "B*Witched's Keavy Lynch Opens Up About Difficult Reunion And 'Living in Her Twin's Shadow'". Inqusitr.
  29. ^ Havelock, Polly (31 October 2019). "B*Witched Resurrected in Time For Hallowe'en With New Track, 'Hold On'". Essentially Pop. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  30. ^ Mallon, Sandra (18 March 2021). "B*Witched star 'drank holiday away' and had one-night stand as band was dropped". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  31. ^ "Starting Over with BWitched on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  32. ^ "B*Witched are back with their brand new single Birthday". Retro Pop Magazine. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
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