Cleo

Cleo, best known for her Cleopatra days has blossomed from the colourful sweet teen into a sex goddess! Her time in Cleopatra gained her worldwide success having hits over both sides of the Atlantic. Their debut single 'Cleopatra's Theme' off of their Debut album 'Comin' Atcha!' shot straight in at no.3 giving the girls their first top 5 hit in the UK's offical top 40 singles charts.

Since Cleopatra disbanded, Cleo is ready to take the UK by storm once again. With her red hot sex appeal and a powerful voice like no other from the UK it would be wrong to say that Cleo isn't one of the best UK vocalists with the most potential. In 2000 she recorded her first duet with Tenor Russell Watson which appeared on his album 'The Voice' and topped classical charts worldwide. It stayed on the U.S classical charts for 50 weeks and was only knocked off by the Tenors second album. Cleo appeared on his U.K and Ireland Leg of the arena tour gaining a lot of classical fans. Cleo and Russell duet for the second time on 'The best that love can be' for his third album 'Reprise' and joined him on his tour for the second time. Recording her album in London and Europe she has collected some tear jerking ballads that make the hair stand up on the back of your neck and also some real club bangers.

What have you been up to since Cleopatra?

Apart from being a Mom, I recognised problems with the music and my life, management had to go! I then started to write material for my solo adventure!

Has it been hard for you as a solo artist to gain a new fan base and recognition?

It has been! Most people believe because I have a recognised music history it'll be a breeze. The music industry has somewhat changed. It's not charged on talent and heart for music but money. My biggest struggle was getting them to understand that my Ex management from Cleopatra were not in the picture with me or my solo career. The managers we had seemed to have given me a tag for people to stay away. They have a bad name due to their persona of being gangsters! The Good thing is neither the group nor I had a bad rep. I still have some people that believe in me, I just hope it works out as planned!

How would you describe your new material?

Easy to blend with the R&B/Pop from our American cousins. Some funky club hits alongside beautiful love songs. Perfectly balanced harmonies and lyrics to shock, soothe, motivate, inspire, touch the soul and melt the heart! (If I should say so myself). Seriously, I hope you'll like it!

Who have you been working with? Any collaborations?

A lot of my album at the moment has been produced by the Murlyn camp, but no collaborations with singers as of yet. I would love to do something with Will Young even though he's not an R&B artist but my love of music goes much deeper. Maybe Nate James and some U.S female rappers would also go down well.

Will there be a release soon?

Plans are to release the single this summer. Got Me Feeling Like This is the chosen song until further notice, y'know how it goes. Things sometimes change when you least expect it!

Where can we see Cleo live?

No shows lined till I sign the record contract but will be hammering the stages this summer! That's a promise.

Will Cleopatra ever join forces again?

Not likely, but you never know, we are sisters and as a family we know Cleopatra have a magic together and unfinished business to attend, so, maybe.

Are you looking to recreate the success you had last time around?

Yes, but in my own way and I hope to reach even further.

What can we expect from Cleo this year?

A successful start to my solo career, much excitement and energy in my performances, and hopefully a Cleo tour! See you there eh!

By Rashmi Shastri - May 2006