| Liberty
& Liberty x |
| Background information |
| Origin |
England |
| Genre(s) |
Pop / R&B |
| Years active |
2001–-2007 |
Liberty X (originally called Liberty)
was a pop group formed from five contestants from the 2001 UK
TV
show Popstars.
The group consists of Tony Lundon, Kevin
Simm, Michelle Heaton, Kelli
Young and Jessica Taylor.
|
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Popstars
- 1.2 Early
Chart Success
- 1.3 Being
Somebody
- 1.4 X
- 1.5 Split
- 2 Discography
- 2.1 Albums
- 2.2 Singles
- 2.3 B-Sides
& other tracks
- 3 External
links
|
Biography
Popstars
Whilst the five winning contestants of Popstars
formed Hear'Say,
the five runners up (who would have been the "backup" had there been a
problem with any members in Hear'Say) formed the group Liberty. The
name Liberty was chosen to reflect the freedom they enjoyed from not
being under the rigid enforcements of the television company and record
label that was put upon Hear'Say. Their runner-up status led to them
being cruelly dubbed "Flopstars" by some commentators. However, this
tag was dropped when they signed a multi-million pound record contract
with Richard Branson's independent record
label, V2
records and they soon became seen as a "cool" alternative to Hear'Say.
Shortly after forming, Liberty received a legal challenge in
the UK
High Court from a funky R&B band called Liberty who had success
in the 1990s,
won Capital Radio Band Of The Year, played Wembley Arena, toured Europe
and released albums in the USA, Europe & UK. The original
Liberty claimed that the new Liberty were taking advantage of the
goodwill that they had created in the name Liberty (which in English
law is the tort
of passing
off). The judge agreed with the original Liberty and so the new group
asked readers of UK tabloid newspaper, "The
Sun" to pick them a new name. The winning name was in fact, not
'Liberty X' and was actually X Liberty and Michelle cleverly placed the
X at the end of the name to give the group name a whole new meaning and
sharpness... although Liberty X was also the name of another musical
group, the band was forced to sell rights to the name Liberty X after
being harassed by the new Liberty's label and management.
Early Chart Success
The group's first two singles "Thinking It Over" and "Doin'
It" launched them to fame, both released whilst the group were known as
Liberty. "Thinking It Over" shot to number 5 in the UK top 40 singles
chart, and the single featured remixes by the Wideboys and Boy
George. The follow up single "Doin' It", released December
2001, didn't do quite as well and charted and peaked at number 14.
Despite the low charting, it is said that if the single was released 2
weeks earlier, it would have been number 1. There was a gap of 5 months
between "Doin' It" and the follow up "Just A Little" due to the band
being involved in a court case. The track indeed took the band straight
to the top of the UK charts and became the 9th best selling single of
2002. 'Just A Little' was also a hit worldwide, reaching the Top 5 and
Top 10 music charts in several countries. It is the single they are
best known for inside and outside the United Kingdom. One good thing
that came out of the whole name change court case is that in the 5
month break between releases, the band recorded "Just A Little" and the
next single "Got To Have Your Love", and the original intended 3rd
single "Wanting Me Tonight" was cancelled. This release was proceeded
by their debut album, Thinking It Over
(originally due to be called To Those Who Wait).
The album was a huge success, peaking at number 3 in the UK, selling
over 1 million copies worldwide. Two further top 5 singles were
released from the album - "Got To Have Your Love" produced by UK
Producer Rod Gammons (Mark Morrison, Beverley Knight), a cover of the 1990
track by electro funk group Mantronix
(Mantronix's founding member, Kurtis
Mantronik, also remixed the Liberty X version for the single
release), which peaked at number 2 in the United Kingdom, however,
midweek sales, during its first week of release, indicated that it was
to debut at number 1. This would have been the band's second
consecutive number 1, and possibly third, had 'Doin' It' been released
2 weeks earlier. The final single to be taken from the album, was
'Holding On for You', released in December 2002. The single debuted and
peaked at number 5 before falling to number 14 the following week.
Being Somebody
Following a short break, the group released "Being Nobody", a mash-up
of Chaka
Khan's "Ain't Nobody" and Human League's "Being Boiled". The
single was produced by Richard X and released under the name of
Richard X vs Liberty X. The track followed the momentum caused by
Richard X's other mainstream production, Freak Like Me
for the Sugababes,
which topped the charts the previous year. Both tracks featured on
Richard X's album Richard X
Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1. Despite the bands
love for "Freak Like Me" the guys never thought of finding the
mastermind behind the track but they were approached by Richard X who
asked if they wanted to collaborate. The band had just finished a
sell-out tour when the single was to be released. "Being Nobody"
reached number three in the UK singles chart. Proceeding their second
album, Being Somebody,
the group released "Jumpin", which only managed to peak at number 6 and
spent just 4 weeks on the UK Top 40 chart. 'Jumpin' was co-written by
UK singer-songwriter, Lucie Silvas. 'Being
Somebody' was released on 3rd November 2003, debuting at number 12 on
the UK album chart, but fell to number 27 the following week. The album
sold around 200,000 copies, significantly lower then sales of their
debut. The album received a lot of criticism from fans for containing
too many emotional ballads, distancing themselves from their initial
R&B sound. The group released the albums final single
'Everybody Cries' in January 2004. The music video saw the band walking
along disused railway lines, which they were criticised for by safety
organisations. The single missed the UK Top 10, reaching a
disappointing number 13, and spent just 3 weeks on the UK Top 40. The
group took a hiatus following record label issues and each member
decided to work on different individual projects. Kevin
Simm appeared on Channel 4's "The
Games", competing in a series of sporting events (in which he placed
second overall, behind Philip Oliver). Michelle
Heaton appeared on ITV's ill-fated "Celebrity
Wrestling". Jessica Taylor
appeared on the BBC's
"Come Ice Skating." Tony Lundon and Kelli
Young took the time to work on new tracks for the band's
third album, whilst both contributing on other artists album in both
producing and writing. Tony featured on D-Side's debut album, writing and featuring
on a song entitled "Fix You" and Kelli collaborated with Billy
Crawford on a track on his album "Big City" called Go, Go. This track
has now gone on to be sampled by Jamelia for a song that was not used
for her latest album Walk With Me. During this period, The Sun
newspaper reported that the group were to re-release 'Being Somebody',
and was to feature a cover of the 1990 hit 'Back To Life', however this
failed to materialise. They also released a cover version of 'Fresh'
which was released in a selection of European countries, but not the
United Kingdom. It peaked at number 35 on the French music charts.
X
In mid-2005 it was announced that Liberty X had left V2 records, and had signed
to independent label Unique Corp records. Their third album
was announced as being titled, X
to be released in October 2005. Not owning the rights to
certain songs (including collaborations with Richard X),
the band had to write brand new material. The first single, "Song 4
Lovers" however, had been recorded when they were signed to V2 Records back in 2004.
It was finally released in September 2005 and it features Rev Run of Run DMC, who
also co-wrote the track. The single was well received, achieving a
large amount of airplay on British music channels, as well as radio.
During its first week of release, midweek figures showed that the
single was to debut at either number 2 or 3, but finished the week at
number 5, their first Top 10 hit in nearly two years in the United
Kingdom. It spent 4 consecutive weeks inside the Top 10.
Their third album 'X' was released in October 2005, but to a
lukewarm reception, despite the top 5 success of the single which
preceded the album. It peaked at #27, leaving the top 40 after just one
week. People were unimpressed with the content of the album as it
contained 4 previous singles (Just A Little, Got To Have Your Love,
Being Nobody, Holding On For You), plus the current single (Song 4
Lovers), and a track ("Yo DJ") which was used as a b-side to Song 4
Lovers.
In late October, following the top 5 success of their single,
the group announced they had been asked to record the official 2005 Children
In Need single, so they teamed up with producer Rod Gammons again to
record "A Night to Remember, a
cover of the Shalamar
classic, backed with another disco/soul classic, "Everybody Dance." The
group performed both singles live on the night, 18 November 2005. The
double a-side single entered and peaked at number 6 in the official
British singles chart, it also peaked at number 16 in France, their
biggest hit there since 'Just a Little'.
After a long overdue hiatus, the band returned in June 2006
with a slightly remixed new single "X". The song was a fan favourite,
but due to a lack of promotion and lack of airplay and video play (the
video itself was attacked for being considerably low-budget), the song
failed to hit the Top 40, peaking at a low number 47. The re-release of
the album, which contained the new version of X and A Night To Remember
which was planned, still went ahead, unknown to the public. 'X' also
peaked at number 89 in France, their lowest chart placing there, just
ahead of 'Holding On For You' which reached number 109.
Despite rumours of the band splitting, members leaving and
being dropped by their label, the band announced that they were still
together but each doing separate things. Michelle, not long back posted
on the bands official site stating the band were still together and
would be releasing a new single in the new year (January 2007) with a
song from a forthcoming film. However, this failed to materialise. Michelle
Heaton since then has married her lover of 4 years, Andy
Scott-Lee who is best known for making the final seven in the second
series of Pop Idol. Jessica Taylor
got engaged to cricket star, Kevin Pietersen, Kevin
Simm has appeared on Channel 4's The Games:
Champion of Champions, competing for his team, and Tony
Lundon was busy writing tracks for what would have been the band's
fourth album.
Split
On Sunday May 20th 2007, the band posted a message on their
website, saying that they won't be recording together anymore. They
said "We want to let the fans know that Liberty X won't be doing any
more recording together".
"All of us have separate projects we're working on and are
excited about. We're still the best of friends and we'll still be doing
all the dates on the current club tour.
"Also, we still intend to come together sometimes as Liberty
X, for one-off events." Rumours on the internet suggest that a
'Greatest Hits' album is to be released featuring all their 12 single
releases and 3 unreleased album tracks.
The band failed to attend a booked appearance at the Newcastle
University Graduation Ball on the June 14 2007. The awaiting audience was
notifed after the time the group was due to finish that they weren't
able to make it, which was after midnight. It was reported that the
cancellation was due to a seven hour flight delay at Stansted.
The group are doing a "farewell gig" at Bar Seven, and
Belfast's Odyssey pavillion to an intimate crowd of 400 people on 4th
August 2007. This will be the bands last performance together, bar the
"one-off events" which they plan to occasionally come together for.
Discography
Albums
| Year |
Title |
Chart positions |
| United Kingdom |
| 2002 |
Thinking It Over |
3 |
| 2003 |
Being Somebody |
12 |
| 2005 |
X |
27 |
| 2007 |
The
Greatest Hits |
|
Singles
| Year |
Title |
Chart Positions |
Album |
| United
Kingdom |
Australia |
France |
| 2001 |
"Thinking It Over" |
#5 |
#81 |
#22 |
Thinking It Over |
| "Doin' It" |
#14 |
— |
#36 |
| 2002 |
"Just a Little" |
#1 |
#4 |
#10 |
| "Got to Have Your Love" |
#2 |
#75 |
#49 |
| "Holding On For You" |
#5 |
— |
#109 |
| 2003 |
"Being Nobody" |
#3 |
#36 |
#67 |
Being Somebody |
| "Jumpin" |
#6 |
— |
#56 |
| 2004 |
"Everybody Cries" |
#13 |
— |
#29 |
| "Fresh" |
— |
#58 |
#35 |
The Hits Reloaded - Kool
& the Gang |
| 2005 |
"Song 4 Lovers" |
#5 |
— |
#40 |
X |
| "A Night to Remember" |
#6 |
— |
#16 |
| 2006 |
"X" |
#47 |
— |
#89 |
B-Sides & other tracks
- "No Clouds" (1st Version) (Thinking It Over B-Side/original
version on Thinking It Over album)
- "Greed" (Thinking It Over B-Side)
- "Never Meant To Be" (Thinking It Over B-Side)
- "Right Here Right Now" (Doin It' B-Side/Thinking It Over
album track)
- "Never Meant To Say Goodbye" (Doin' It B-Side/Thinking It
Over Import album track/Alternative Version on Jumpin')
- "Breathe" (Just A Little B-Side)
- "Good Love" (Got To Have Your Love B-Side)
- "Get With You" (Got To Have Your Love B-Side)
- "Everything" (Got To Have Your Love B-Side)
- "Shut Up And Dance" (Holding on For You B-Side)
- "Before It's Goodbye" (Holding On For You B-Side)
- "It Helps" (Jumpin' B-Side)
- "Shake It" (Jumpin' B-Side)
- "Sunshine" (Everybody Cries B-Side)
- "Enemy" (Everybody Cries B-Side)
- "Yo DJ" (Song For Lovers B-Side/X album track)
- "Everybody Dance" (A Night To Remember B-Side)
- "O Holy Night" (A Night To Remember B-Side)
- "Practice What You Preach" (Only on rare promo of 'To Those
Who Wait')
- "Licence To Kill" (Never released)
External links
