Alison Moira Clarkson, better known as Betty Boo born 6 March 1970 in Kensington, London) is an English dance-music artist, singer, and songwriter

Contents 1 Career 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 3 Trivia 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Career

Clarkson studied sound engineering at college before having a string of hits between 1989 and 1992. Originally nicknamed "Betty Boop" for her similarity to the cartoon character, she changed it to avoid trademark disputes with Boop's owners. Of mixed Asian and European descent, she had an unusual, striking look and dressed in mildly provocative and revealing outfits.

A sampled version of her 1990 hit "Doin' The Do" was used as a title tune for the 1991 video game Magic Pockets by the Bitmap Brothers.

Boo started off working with the group the She Rockers, before going solo. Her big break came with the 1989 number 7 UK smash, "Hey DJ - I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)", with the Beatmasters. "Doin' The Do" followed and was another Top 10 single in 1990, also reaching number one on Billboard's dance chart in the USA. Her debut album Boomania was hailed by many as a witty, contemporary pop masterpiece and sold very well. "Where Are You Baby?", Boo's biggest solo hit to date, reached number 3 in August of 1990. "24 Hours" (December 1990) was the last single from Boomania, and although it was a hit, it was less so than previous releases. In 1991, an Australian tour was cancelled when it was reported that she was lip-syncing to tapes whilst performing. She was however singing over playback tapes though the local promoter had promoted the tour as a full live band and ticket holders were naturally disappointed. The incident was scandalised and many cite it as the beginning of the end of her solo career.

Nevertheless, Boo still returned with a new record deal with (WEA) in 1992, and her follow up album, GRRR! It's Betty Boo. The album itself suffered very disappointing sales in the UK, reaching only number 62. It did, nevertheless spawn a hit single in the summer of 1992 - "Let Me Take You There". "I'm On My Way", which featured a musical quote from The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" (the brass riff using all the original players) was very well received by the media. It did not sell well though, and the next single, "Hangover" fared even worse, barely scraping the Top 50. "Thing Goin' On" failed to even reach the UK singles chart. In 1999 a Best Of compilation (effectively an expanded version of Boomania with extra remixes and a different running order) was released and sold moderately well.

After her solo career floundered, Boo turned to songwriting and had success co-writing the song "Pure and Simple" for Hear’Say which earned her £2 million in net profit. She has also written for Girls Aloud, Louise Nurding, Dannii Minogue and The Tweenies.

As of 2006 she is in a new band called WigWam, with Alex James, bassist from Blur. However, their début single release flopped having reached only number 59 in the UK charts.

In 2007 she appeared as an interviewee on BBC Three's "The Most Annoying Pop Songs..." show passing comment on several songs that made the top 100 list.

Discography

Albums

• Boomania (1990) UK #4
• GRRR! It's Betty Boo (1992) UK #62
• Doin' the Do: the Best of Betty Boo (1998 - comprises tracks and remixes from Boomania only)

Singles

• Hey DJ/I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing) (with the Beatmasters) (1989) UK #7
• Doin' the Do (1990) UK #7
• Where Are You Baby (1990) UK #3
• "24 Hours" (1990) UK #25
• "Let Me Take You There" (1992) UK #12
• "I'm On My Way" (1992) UK #44
• "Hangover" (1993) UK #50
• "Catch Me" (1993)- not released as a single in the UK
• "Thing Goin' On" (1993)- not released as a single in the UK
• "Wigwam" (2006) as part of WigWam with Alex James UK #60

Trivia

• There was a previous female vocalist who recorded under the name of 'Betty Boo'; Boo 1 released 'Say It Isn't So', a recording which has become a popular Northern Soul track.
• Boo is of Malaysian and Scottish descent.
• "Doing The Do" was featured in two episodes of the FOX TV hit teen drama Beverly Hills 90210 - ("Isn't It Romantic?" Episode #10 originally aired: 3 January 1991; and "April Is the Cruellest Month" Episode #19 originally aired: 11 April 1991).

See also

• List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7

External links

• Betty Boo fan site - Boomania
• Betty Boo fan site - Planet Boo
• Yahoo! Group - Betty Boo
• Yahoo! Group - Boomaniacs