Clea (band)
Encyclopedia
Clea was an English
girl group
whose members met on the television show
Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. Chloe Morgan (née Staines), Lynsey Brown, Emma Beard, and Aimee Kearsley, decided to form a band after they were voted off the series. The name 'Clea' is an acronym of the first letter of each member's forename.
with Warner offshoot 1967 Records and released their first single
, "Download It", in 2003. It entered the UK Singles Chart
at number 21 and the band spent the remainder of the year playing small concert
s in the United Kingdom
.
In February 2004, the band released their second single, "Stuck in the Middle" which reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart. They continued playing, including appearances at Soccer 6 in Liverpool
and Reading
. In May of that year, Chloe Staines left the band, for reasons which are unclear. Clea's album, Identity Crisis
was released in Russia
, Eastern Europe
and in certain countries in Asia
. In these regions, the band had seen some moderate interest; however, due to a lack of success, they were dropped from 1967 Records in late 2004. Clea were then managed by Upside Management
and released music independently.
In September 2005, Clea collaborated with production group Da Playaz to release a single, named "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off
" a dance remake
of the Narada Michael Walden
song
originally made famous by Jermaine Stewart
. This single reached number 35 on the UK chart
. "Lucky Like That
", released in June 2006, was the band's fourth single. This single placed at number 55 on the UK chart. Trinity, Clea's second album (but first UK album), was released on 3 July on Upside Records
. Lynsey Brown left the band in November 2006. They then released the double a-side
single "Stuck in the Middle"/"I Surrender
" in Europe and toured Asia in 2007.
with a new group called Fierce in the first series but did not get through the first round. Brown has pursued a different career. Kearsley and Beard had now decided to leave Clea behind, and move onto a new dance duo project called LoveShy, which disbanded in 2008. Beard appeared as a contestant on Paris Hilton's British Best Friend
, she made it to the finale and came third. She recorded a new solo single, "Vanity"; the video to support the release was directed by Lauren Pushkin, and produced by PMA Digital. Beard is now a member of G*Mania, and is looking to revamp her career in the European scene, particularly France, by changing her surname to Barb, which is French for beard.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
whose members met on the television show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. Chloe Morgan (née Staines), Lynsey Brown, Emma Beard, and Aimee Kearsley, decided to form a band after they were voted off the series. The name 'Clea' is an acronym of the first letter of each member's forename.
History
They initially had a management contract and recording contractRecording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Warner offshoot 1967 Records and released their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Download It", in 2003. It entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number 21 and the band spent the remainder of the year playing small concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
In February 2004, the band released their second single, "Stuck in the Middle" which reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart. They continued playing, including appearances at Soccer 6 in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. In May of that year, Chloe Staines left the band, for reasons which are unclear. Clea's album, Identity Crisis
Identity Crisis (Clea album)
Identity Crisis is the debut album by pop group Clea. Although the album wasn't released in the U.K, Identity Crisis was released in Russia, Eastern Europe and in certain countries in Asia. In these regions, the album had some minor success. The album spawned two singles, "Download It" and "Stuck...
was released in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and in certain countries in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. In these regions, the band had seen some moderate interest; however, due to a lack of success, they were dropped from 1967 Records in late 2004. Clea were then managed by Upside Management
Upside Records
Upside Records is an independent pop-dance record label run by the Upside Management company for their acts. The label has released records by girl group Clea such as the album, Trinity, and the singles "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off", "Lucky Like That", "Stuck in the Middle"/"I Surrender",...
and released music independently.
In September 2005, Clea collaborated with production group Da Playaz to release a single, named "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off
We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off
"We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" is pop vocalist Jermaine Stewart's first of three singles from 1986. The song was included on Stewart's second album "Frantic Romantic"...
" a dance remake
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden is an American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter. He was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy in the early 1970s and his musical career spans three decades, in which he was awarded several gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
originally made famous by Jermaine Stewart
Jermaine Stewart
William Jermaine Stewart was an American R&B singer best known for his Billboard hits "The Word Is Out" and "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" .-Early life and career:Born in Columbus, Ohio, to parents Ethel M...
. This single reached number 35 on the UK chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. "Lucky Like That
Lucky Like That
"Lucky Like That" is Clea's fourth single and last to be released in the UK. It was released in the UK in June 2006, giving them their fourth Top 75 hit, reaching No. 55.The song appears on their first UK album, Trinity.-Charts:...
", released in June 2006, was the band's fourth single. This single placed at number 55 on the UK chart. Trinity, Clea's second album (but first UK album), was released on 3 July on Upside Records
Upside Records
Upside Records is an independent pop-dance record label run by the Upside Management company for their acts. The label has released records by girl group Clea such as the album, Trinity, and the singles "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off", "Lucky Like That", "Stuck in the Middle"/"I Surrender",...
. Lynsey Brown left the band in November 2006. They then released the double a-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
single "Stuck in the Middle"/"I Surrender
I Surrender
"Stuck in the Middle/I Surrender" is Clea's fifth and final single. It was not released in the UK; however, it was released in the rest of Europe...
" in Europe and toured Asia in 2007.
After Clea
Staines is now living in Canada, married, working on a solo project, and has three tracks up on her MySpace under her married name Chloe Morgan. After she left Clea, she appeared on The X FactorThe X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
with a new group called Fierce in the first series but did not get through the first round. Brown has pursued a different career. Kearsley and Beard had now decided to leave Clea behind, and move onto a new dance duo project called LoveShy, which disbanded in 2008. Beard appeared as a contestant on Paris Hilton's British Best Friend
Paris Hilton's British Best Friend
Paris Hilton's British Best Friend is a British reality television show where Paris Hilton searches for her new British best friend and is the second incarnation of the My New BFF franchise....
, she made it to the finale and came third. She recorded a new solo single, "Vanity"; the video to support the release was directed by Lauren Pushkin, and produced by PMA Digital. Beard is now a member of G*Mania, and is looking to revamp her career in the European scene, particularly France, by changing her surname to Barb, which is French for beard.
Albums
- Identity CrisisIdentity Crisis (Clea album)Identity Crisis is the debut album by pop group Clea. Although the album wasn't released in the U.K, Identity Crisis was released in Russia, Eastern Europe and in certain countries in Asia. In these regions, the album had some minor success. The album spawned two singles, "Download It" and "Stuck...
(2004) - Trinity (2006)
Singles
| Year | Title | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Download It Download It "Download It" is Clea's debut single. It was released in the UK on 22 September 2003 and missed the top 20 charting at #21, selling 15,000 copies in the UK... " |
21 | Identity Crisis |
| 2004 | "Stuck in the Middle" | 23 | |
| 2005 | "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" is pop vocalist Jermaine Stewart's first of three singles from 1986. The song was included on Stewart's second album "Frantic Romantic"... " (with Da Playaz) |
35 | Trinity |
| 2006 | "Lucky Like That Lucky Like That "Lucky Like That" is Clea's fourth single and last to be released in the UK. It was released in the UK in June 2006, giving them their fourth Top 75 hit, reaching No. 55.The song appears on their first UK album, Trinity.-Charts:... " |
55 | |
| "Stuck in the Middle" / "I Surrender I Surrender "Stuck in the Middle/I Surrender" is Clea's fifth and final single. It was not released in the UK; however, it was released in the rest of Europe... " |
- | ||