Malcolm Winters Presents Atomic Kitten!

Hi, I'm Malcolm Winters...

Neil's brother on the

award winning soap

daytime drama

The Young and

the Restless.

Neil's buttoned up.

I play it loose.
Neil's uptight.

I'm clean outta sight.
See what I'm sayin'?

 As Genoa City's most prominent fashion and glamour
photographer (I've done lots of model shoots for

Jabot Cosmetics) I know my way around a

darkroom and beautiful women. I also

know a thing or two about hip music.

With that in mind, I'd like to introduce Atomic Kitten, a Brit pop
girl trio from Beatletown, UK, - Liverpool, England, - founded in

1998 by members of OMD - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

The girls asked me to take some publicity shots for their portfolio,

and I'll show them to you as I play their best songs and videos.

Atomic Kitten's original classic lineup consisted of Liz McClarnon,

who co-wrote some of their songs, Kerry Katona and Natasha Hamilton.

Their debut studio album Right Now, was released in October 2000.

In 2001 Kerry Katona (above left) announced her pregnancy

and left the group. She was replaced by Jenny Frost.

Natasha Hamilton - Liz McClarnon - Jenny Frost

The pic above shows the new Atomic Kitten lineup with Jenny Frost.

Now that you know the players, it's time for these ladies to entertain you.

Released as a single near the end of
2002, "Be With You," an adaptation of
the ELO song "Last Train to London,"
hit the top 3 on the UK chart, top 5
in Ireland and top 10 in Australia.
"Be With You" was also released
on the special edition of Atomic
Kitten's second album Feels So
Good and on their third album
Ladies Night.

"Be With You" - Atomic Kitten

(Jan./Feb. 2003, highest cht. pos.

#2 UK/#5 Ireland/#6 Hungary,

#10 Australia)

Atomic Kitten gave us some cool

and very capable covers. In late

2003 they released "Ladies Night,"

a single from the album of the
same name. AK's remake of the
1979-80 chart-topping R&B hit
by Kool And The Gang cracked

the top 10 at home in the UK

and performed well in other

parts of Europe.

"Ladies Night" - Atomic Kitten featuring Kool And The Gang

(Dec. 2003/Jan. 2004, highest
chart pos. #8 UK, #2 Belgium,
#6 Hungary)

Atomic Kitten reaped one of their biggest hits with a version of "The Tide Is High,"

originally recorded in 1966 by the Jamaican group The Paragons. Early in 1981

the song was a chart-topping international hit for Debbie Harry and Blondie.

Atomic Kitten's 2002 release with the title "The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)"

rose to the top of the chart in the UK and three other countries and was used in

the opening credits of the 2003 Hilary Duff film The Lizzie McGuire Movie.

"The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)" - Atomic Kitten

(2002, highest chart pos. #1 UK, Ireland, Scotland & New Zealand,

from Sept. 2002 album Feels So Good, OST May 2003

film The Lizzie McGuire Movie)

Founding member Kerry Katona (above right) was still with Atomic Kitten

in 2000 when they recorded "I Want Your Love," a song from the group's

debut album Right Now. "I Want Your Love" reached the UK top 10.

 I guarantee you'll get a BOOM out of this hot number.

"I Want Your Love" - Atomic Kitten

(July/Aug. 2000, highest chart pos. #10 UK)

Kerry Katona (above right) dropped out of Atomic Kitten in 2001 midway
through promoting what would become the group's biggest hit, "Whole Again."

She was replaced by Jenny Frost. The song spent four weeks at the top

of the UK chart and also reached #1 in six other countries. The music

video was re-shot to replace Kerry with Jenny. You can view it here.

The international success of "Whole Again" brought the new lineup of Atomic Kitten

stateside in May of 2001 to shoot a second video to promote the single in the U.S.
The song failed in America, however, because the release coincided with the
September 11 Terror Attacks. In spite of this, "Whole Again" made
Billboard's list of "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time."
Here's that music video shot in Los Angeles in 2001. 

"Whole Again" (May 2001 U.S. music video) - Atomic Kitten

(single Mar./Apr. 2001, highest chart pos. #1 UK & 6 other countries,

from Aug. 2001 re-release of album Right Now)

When "Whole Again" became

a monster international hit,

Atomic Kitten's debut album

Right Now was remastered and

re-released with Jenny Frost's

vocals replacing those of Kerry

Katona. "Eternal Flame," the

first single to feature new

member Jenny, covers a #1

hit for The Bangles in 1989.

"Eternal Flame" was another

smash for Atomic Kitten,

spending two weeks atop

the UK chart and reaching

#1 in three other countries.

"Eternal Flame" - Atomic Kitten

(Aug./Sept. 2001, highest chart pos. #1 UK, Belgium, Scotland
& New Zealand, from Aug. 2001 reissue of album Right Now)

Atomic Kitten released two versions of

"Right Now," the title song from their

2000 debut album, and each version

has its own promotional video. The

first version of the song is a disco

style number and the original video

features the group's original lineup

of Natasha, Liz and Kerry. Click

here to watch that video.

In 2004 "Right Now" was remixed
and given an updated dance-pop
arrangement. The video features
the post-Kerry Katona lineup of
Natasha, Liz and Jenny. Here's
"Right Now 2004," a song used
on the soundtrack of the 2006
teen fantasy comedy film
Aquamarine.

"Right Now 2004" - Atomic Kitten

(Apr./May 2004, highest chart pos. #8 UK

& Belgium, from 2006 film Aquamarine)

I hope you agree that Atomic Kitten's the bomb...

four exciting and talented zingers... one terrific trio.

Thanks for joining me for my

first hosting stint here at

Shady's Place. I hope we

can do it again someday.

Even as we speak, my

people are meeting with

Shady's people to see if

we can make it happen,

so stay tuned. For now

this is Malcolm Winters

reminding you to keep

your cool. It's my

golden rule. Later!