Purring their way into your hearts

August 2000
After rocking the charts with their previous two singles, Liz, Kerry, and Tash, the feisty trio from Liverpool, better known as the Atomic Kittens, are here to nuke the world with their new album release "Right Now," armed with more playful feline attitude than ever before.

There weren't always three kitties in the litter, however. The seeds of the band started as a mere glimmer Kerry Katona's eye almost two years ago. She was then a backup singer in a band near Liverpool who had dreams of dominating the world with a pop group of her own. Fate stepped in when the 19-year-old rugby-playing party girl (also the band's choreographer) met future fellow kitty Liz McClaron, just before her 18th birthday.

Also 19, and a former aspiring lawyer, Liz and Kerry soon became flat mates, sharing a crib in Liverpool (to the sheer annoyance of their neighbors because of the constant ruckus the two used to create); and started performing as a duo around the area. Big hearted, pizza-loving funny girl Natasha (Tash) Hamilton, 18, who provided the perfect complement to the spunky, sassy attitude Kerry and Liz exuded, joined them some nine months later, making them the cozy threesome they are now.

The kittens performed together under a name borrowed from a friend's clothing label called "Automatic Kitten," which they later modified into "Atomic Kitten." Their talent and marketability were very soon spotted, and the the three found themselves in a bidding war between record companies around the U.K. before they eventually signed with Hugh Goldsmith's Innocent label, home to such acts as Billie Piper, in the Summer of 1999.

The girls made their mark in the U.K. last year with their top ten single "Right Now," and touring with the boy band formerly known as 911 (who separated last year). Since then, the girls have been inching closer and closer toward their plan for worldwide domination. So far, they've been on a Smash Hits tour, made appearances across the U.K. and Asia, been nominated for a Disney award, acquired their very own sponsorship deal for a Japanese chocolate bar, had their song "Something Spooky" used as the theme for a Brit kids' drama, "Belfy Witches," and not only that -- they now have three Top 10 singles tucked snugly under their belts.

Sometimes, the girls have to pinch themselves from time to time, to check that all the recent excitement is really real and not just a dream!

* Source : MTV Asia