In the late s there was no girl group like Cleopatra. Cleo, Yonah and Zainam Higgins – three teen sisters from Manchester – sounded like The Jackson 5, dressed like they’d grown up with early TLC posters on their walls and kicked their way into the industry with single “Cleopatra’s Theme (Comin’ Atcha)”. As the story goes, Madonna was so impressed she signed them to her Maverick record label and they broke America, selling hundreds of thousands of records.
The reality was a bit more complex. For a time they seemed unstoppable – earning BRIT and MOBO nominations, bagging a TV series replicating their family life (and featuring their mum and little sister). I mean, they sang at a Vatican Christmas carol concert. But as Cleo told me, a record label-directed change in their look and sound meant the band’s second album Steppin’ Out missed the mark and was only released in the US.
Videos by VICE
A Haçienda and male-focused music history hasn’t really remembered Cleopatra in their hometown. It’s a shame, not only because their songs about homelessness (“Life Ain’t Easy”) or bullying (“Don’t Suffer In Silence”) still resonate today, but also because their televisio
“We were the first black girl group from Manchester at a time where R&B was at its finest. We were smack bang in the middle of a pop Revolution, pumping Girl Power to the masses. It was insane! We were chart-topping alongside Rock legends,” says Cleo Higgins, one-third of the s girl band Cleopatra from up north. Together with her teen sisters Yonah and Zainam, Cleo took over the UK with their infectious sound whilst remaining unphased by industry heads trying to whitewash their look. Taking to America, the group were signed by Madonna, known to the girls as Auntie Mad (“Madonna is on that mega level of stardom but we were close, she insisted we call her Auntie Mad”), and sold thousands of records across the states. The band’s debut single, Cleopatra’s Theme entered the UK Charts at Number 3, and had three UK Top 10s during their time in the spotlight. Cleopatra remembers the moment she first saw the debut single chart high as a “moment of reckoning”. “Everything we had endured in life was for that moment of reckoning, our lives were about to change for the better,” she said. “Every song I’d practised, written, every d
Story Comin’ Atcha is a television series based on the girl band Cleopatra – Cleo, Yonah and Zainam Higgins. The show follows their day-to-day life as they perform with the band, and at home with their family. In each episode the girls perform some of their own music, as well as overcoming obstacles like writing new songs and going on tour. The series also features their mother and younger sister and shows how the sisters’ fame affects their lives. Why we chose it Cleopatra were among the the first mainstream black artists to rise from the UK and were role models a generation of girls. Where it came from CITV started with a 60 minute Christmas Special for to launch the series. Comin’ Atacha was the name of their first album and their first single, Cleopatra’s Theme, reached number 3 in the UK in 'Cleopatra, Comin’ Atcha' became the girls’ catch phrase. Where it went next After the success of Comin’ Atcha they released another series, In the House in Several of the girls’ songs tackled big issues including Life Ain’t Easy which is about homelessness. The band split up in and lead singer Cleo attempted a solo career so no more series were
Cleo Higgins (born Cleopatra Lynvest on April 30th in Birmingham, U.K.) is best known as the lead singer of the eponymously-named RnB/pop sensation, Cleopatra. Formed as children in the ’s with her sisters Zainam and Yonah, after winning a talent contest Cleopatra secured management and worked the boards which led to a record deal. The debut album ‘Comin’ Atcha!’ was released on Warners yielding three top 5 hit singles in the U.K. – ‘Cleopatra’s Theme’, ‘Life ain’t Easy’ and the Jackson 5 cover ‘I Want you Back’. The Xmas T.V. special was also well-received paving the way for the popular children’s sitcom series ‘Comin’ Atcha!’ and its sequel ‘In The House with Cleopatra & Friends’. Madonna’s Maverick label signed Cleopatra for the U.S.A. and the girls worked with several luminary producers on their more grown-up second album ‘Steppin’ Out’. They were promoted on Jay Leno’s Tonight show and the Queen Latifah show, toured America with Jessica Simpson, Next, Brian McKnight, and performed on the Disney cruise ship which was broadcast worldwide on television. But with little crossover on the more risqué singles ‘You Got It‘ and ‘Come and Get Me’ and the second a
Col john ripley biography graphic organizer Retired Marine Corps Col. John W. Ripley, a Vietnam War hero who was awarded the Navy Cross for risking his life to blow up a bridge and halting the advancement of North Missing: graphic organizer. John deere steel plow biography sample John Deere, pioneer, inventor, and entrepreneur, singlehandedly revolutionized American agriculture by developing and marketing the world's first self-polishing cast steel plow. Born in Missing: sample. Judge joan gottschall biography samples Joan B. Gottschall is an Article III federal judge serving on senior status for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She joined the court in . Mlungisi gegana biography examples Mlungisi Gegana needs no introduction. His name sits comfortably among legends from the ‘little jazz town’. Born in , he could not have anticipated that the days spent Missing: examples. John owen dominos biography templates John Owen Dominis February 18, – October 4, 22 Years, Days * March 10, † August 27, ; General and commander of the Hawaiian Army. During . Aage bohr biography of george Aage Niels Bohr was a Danish nuclear physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in with Ben Roy Mottelson and James Rainwater "for the discovery of the connection between collective motion and particle motion in atomic nuclei and the development of the theory of the structure of the atomic See more. Lotfi mansouri biography of alberta Lotfi Mansouri, Canadian Opera Company's eminent second general director and San Francisco Opera's distinguished fourth general director was one of the world's leading Missing: alberta. Cibulkova tennis player biography Coached by Matej Liptak Introduced to tennis at age 7 by parents, Milan and Katarina Speaks Slovak and English Favorite surfaces are clay and hard; Read Full Bio.
“Our lives were about to change for the better”
Comin’ Atcha
Biography
Biographies you may also like