| Michelle Stephenson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michelle Stephenson |
| Born | 3 January 1977 (age 45) Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England |
| Origin | England |
| Genre | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer, presenter, reporter, TV Presenter |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1990s |
| Labels | Unsigned |
| Associated acts | Touch |
Michelle Stephenson (born January 3, 1977 in Abingdon, Oxfordshire) is a British singer and TV presenter.
Biography[]
Touch[]
- Main Article: Touch
At the age of 17 she was briefly a member of the English vocal girl band that would go on to become the Spice Girls. Alongside Melanie Brown, Victoria Adams, Lianne Morgan, and Geri Halliwell, Stephenson completed the original 1994 lineup of "Touch" receiving the highest scores at the audition. Lianne was replaced a week after the auditon by Melanie C, after receiving a letter telling her she looked too old compared to the other girls. Stephenson was a member of the group for only a short period before commitment issues prompted Heart Management to remove her. After a solo audition, Abigail Kis was offered to replace Michelle but she decided against it, and finally Emma Bunton replaced her after 6 months as the fifth member.
On documentary Raw Spice, she commented on her leave after the formation of Touch, she said that she had no regrets about leaving and jokingly added, "though obviously the money would be nice." Also, she mentioned "I was the one at university, the intelligent one as it were. They all thought I was 'Smart Spice.' " One of the reasons she left the band was that she had some contractions of the music produced saying, "I was not happy in the band," and then going on to say, "It was not the kind of music I wanted to be doing. It was very, very pop." But on the same program, Chris Herbert reveals that she did not fit into the group so was asked to leave.
If so, this is very similar to George Martin, The Beatles Music Producer and Brian Epstein, the Beatles Manager deciding to sack Pete Best and replacing him permanently with Ringo Starr back in 1962. Her sacking from Touch and being permanently replaced with Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) is just like when the Beatles sacked their original Drummer Pete best back in 1962 and replaced him permanently with Ringo Starr as he too did not fit into their group so was asked to leave. However just like Michelle, Pete Best is now happily married and continues touring, performing and working in the Music Industry.
The other reason stated on another program airing on the same day was that she had to go take care of her sick mother and to go into education in University.
Career after Touch[]
TV[]
Stephenson worked briefly as a TV presenter for LWT, ITV, Friendly TV and Sky. She also filmed a tv show in Malta called "Wild Games".
Music[]
She has also worked as a session singer for various record companies. She performed backing vocals for singers like Ricky Martin and Julio Iglesias, while working on her own songs as well.
In November 2003, she formed a songwriting partnership with Ben Hackett and Mike Edwards (under the name SHEsongs), recording and releasing 6 solo songs for SHEsongs called "In Control", "Fall Over", "Hey Sugar", "Dirty Music", "Boom, Boom" and "Happens for a Reason."
In March 2001 Stephenson stated in a newspaper interview, "Of course I regret I'm not a multi-millionaire like them. But at the time I left the group I knew I was doing the right thing – and I still think it was the right thing." She also joked that if she had been in the group that her name would have been Mel S.Also, in March 2001 she stated that if she was a Spice name that she would have wanted to be Sexy Spice.
Current[]
Today Stephenson is married, lives in London, and still works in the music industry.
Albums[]
2003 - SHEsongs EP[]
- In Control
- Fall Over
- Hey Sugar
- Dirty Music
- Boom, Boom
- Happens for a Reason
External Links[]
http://www.myspace.com/mchellestephenson - Michelle's Stephenson's MySpace