Line
up: Cleopatra Higgins (lead vocals), Zainam Higgins (vocals), Yonah
Higgins (vocals)
Moss
Side's Cleopatra are probably the female equivalent of Hanson; they
are 3 young sisters, Zainam (18), Cleopatra (17) and Yonah (15)
delivering their special brand of teen hip hop and soul.
Moss
Side, once the birthplace and home of Rolls Royce motors, is today
known as 'Manchester's Bronx' (the locals call it 'The Hood'); hardly
a week goes by without a shooting taking place and hard drugs are
as commonplace as alcohol. Nobody chooses to live there and those
that do, want to leave.
Thankfully
for Cleopatra, their soulful brand of R&B has quickly become a worldwide
sensation, taking the girls far away from their Moss Side roots
in a fashion not even they could have dreamed of. Taking Cleo's
name for the group (she also writes the songs), Cleopatra won a
talent contest in 1998 and were promptly offered a deal with Maverick,
the record company owned by Madonna (who incidentally once sang
at The
Hacienda!).
The
reviews continue to match their success in the charts and predictions
for their future are obviously exciting. The catchy "Cleopatra's
Theme" introduced the band impressively to the World in 1998,
debuting at Number 3 in the UK charts (No. 26 in US Billboard charts).
The
band were definately not one-hit wonders though; "Life Ain't
Easy" and "I Want You Back" both reached Number 4 in
the UK singles chart and introduced their eagerly anticipated album,
"Comin' Atcha", which scored an impressive No.20 chart position
in the UK. The album has since spawned the single, "A Touch Of
Love" in November 1999. and their children's television series,
"Cleopatra" has also been an instant success.
Look
out World! Sit-up and take notice because this talented Mancunian
threesome are comin' atcha!
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