NATASHA HAMILTON

After global success with Atomic Kitten, leading roles on stage, reality TV and a new baby Natasha has released solo material ‘Edge Of Us’ and we are living for it, Daniel quizzed her on this and so much more.

Hands down, our biggest achievement was staying resilient to get to the point of releasing ‘Whole Again’. On the lead up to ‘Whole Again’ it was very clear and apparent that we were going to get dropped by the record label. They had spent a lot of money on us, they had just re-signed the Spice Girls, they signed Robbie Williams and they basically said they had no money left, the girls haven’t lived up to our expectations, so.... They were actually going to drop us but our old manager fought for Whole Again and that video was done on the cheapest, shoestring budget. The video was this big bulky machine that was in the studio and it was ticking. It was like something from an old sci-fi movie, this is when technology is nothing like it is now, the machine replicated us. You could basically just do it on photoshop now and it would be dead easy. Back then it was this massive machine, god knows where they pulled it from, but it was so cheap. The budget was... bear in mind, pop videos back then could be around £250,000, maybe more to produce... I think this one took a few thousand to put together, but what that allowed us to do was recoup. So because Whole Again was so successful we actually recouped all of the money that we borrowed and the money that the record label spent on us up until that point. I think that we are one of the few bands that actually gets royalties from our music. Lots of the pop bands are millions of pounds in debt still to the record label and they don’t get a royalty or they get minimum royalties, so until you pay it back you don’t get anything.

Your Children range from under 1 to 21biggest difference for you having a child in the 2000’s compared to now, and when was easier?

Now! When I think back to Josh being a baby, it almost feels like I was having a baby in the 1940’s or 50’s. I think that is because I was a young mum and maternity clothes were non-existent, thank god we had the hipster jeans back then. They were all the rage so your bump could sit on top of the hipster jeans. The prams were bulkyeverything was just so much of a chore back then and now you have got a machine that makes a bottle of milk for you, times have changed.

What do your children think of atomic kittens music and your single - Edge Of Us?

My older boys have never really been into Atomic Kitten, they are in their late teens and early 20’s, but they have got total respect for what I did and have achieved, but they are definitely not fans. The younger kids yes. They are all loving the new music, even the older boys are like “ok mum that’s cool”!

You shared images of your body 12 days after having Kitty, you looked amazing btw, do you think there is still a stigma and expectation particularly for women to look a certain way and get into shape after giving birth? I just want to empower myself and empower other people. Be who you are, I really don’t give a s*** to conform to how you are supposed to look because you are labeled a pop star. For me, I look after myself, I go to the gym, I eat well, and I’ve lost weight. But my tummy isn’t flat, it’s got stretched skin and I am happy to let it all hang out now. Yes, I do wear certain underwear and certain clothes, I sit up straight and pull my belly in, you know, the tricks of the trade but I am human. I think we are so used to seeing these airbrushed, AI, whatever it is pictures on social media, and I love to throw a filter on some of my images, but I also show the real me. There are certain pictures and I will say “I do not want that edited” because that is who I am. I am proud of my body - I have had 5 children and it is never going to be how it was 20 years ago but I wouldn’t want it to be. I absolutely love my womanly curves, I was stick thin and scrawny when I was younger, and now I have a really shapely body and I love it!

I have to talk about Musical Theatre - I watched you in Blood Brothers, I think it was 2011, you were incredible, perfect casting, how was the experience for you?

I can honestly say it was the most nerve-wracking job of my career. Nothing has ever come close to the fear of opening night and hearing the band play. I got temporary deafness because my heart was beating so fast and all I could hear was it beating, and I went into a bit of a panic and was like “where’s the music” and the next thing I knew I was singing “Once I had a husband” and then before I knew it I was crying at the end in pain, searching for help, saying “Can someone help me out of this pain”, and the whole audience were on their feet (I have got goosebumps thinking about it). I remember walking off stage and it just felt like an out of body experience, I didn’t know what had just happened, I didn’t even recall most of it.

I had 10 days to rehearse a whole play. For me, Blood Brothers is a musical but it is like a play with songs. It is so gritty and deep. However, as the lead you are on stage for 33 minutes, like it is the longest scene for a leading lady, and I am just like, “oh yeah this is my first West End show”, so there was a lot to live up to. But I gave it my best shot and I feel like I did a good job and I did myself proud.

Would you ever return to the West End in the future?

Because I don’t actually live in London to go and do

West End, it would mean uprooting my life, moving down, spending time away from my baby and my kids, and I have done that so many times over the years and I am not in any rush to do that again. If you take part in campaigns you will be really busy for 6 weeks and then have a lot of time at home whereas the West End is around 8 months for 6 days a week.

I was at the 90’s Reunion in SSE Belfast last month, what an incredible night? Looks like you and Liz were having a ball, do you enjoy the reunion shows?

That was a mad gig! The energy in that arena was like WOW! It was absolutely insane. It is always lovely when you are on that roadshow vibe with all of the different bands coming and going. Just before we left I was catching up with Sonique at the bar and we were just having a giggle and talking about the last time we had a gig. I remember going to a rave in a forest on my first 18 to 30’s, dancing like a lunatic to Sonique and now we were having a brandy at the bar together.

Did you get much free time in Belfast or where you off to the next tour stop?

I had about 3 hours sleep because somebody booked me on the earliest flight home and I had to be up and out by 4am. Honestly, it was madness.

Now onto the single - Edge Of Us, I feckin love it, and what a cracker video. It’s been 16 years since you released anything - why now?

I think number one is life. I have raised five children and I think your mum’s role is to be at home with the kids and there is only so much you can do at times depending on your circumstances in life, your partner, if they are there or if they are not and I have raised some of the kids on my own at times. So it has been partly due to circumstances and partly due to other projects that never saw the light of day, working with people that ended up being like charlatans and wasting my time and things like that. It has been a rollercoaster of life that takes over, so it just happens to be now. But god I am so thankful, because I have got my roots, I have got a solid foundation. My husband is insane, he is my biggest supporter, I have got my mum and dad and his parents, we juggle everything between us. You want to see our diary, it is ridiculous.

Tell us about the creative process and how this song came about?

That is one of my favourite parts because during the writing process you are pulling in on experience and when you get to my age you have lots of experiences. So you are always a bit like, where is this going to go, and you will feel an emotion. When

I heard the backing track for Edge Of Us, it just had grit, I was feeling a bit of anger and it came out. It was instinctive, it was natural and when it comes to the design of a music video I love it. I want to be so far removed from my Natasha mum everyday life, I want ALL the costumes, ALL the make-up, ALL the wigs and you become the character. That is insane. For me, the song is amazing but when you watch the video with the song it is just elevated because I am that bitch! This was my experience and I wasn’t going to put up with it anymore. Lol.

Do you have any other material ready to release and is there an album planned?

I am going to be releasing an EP in July. The reason for this is because this project had a little bit of hiatus in the middle of it for me to have my daughter. There was some work that we started that I just wasn’t feeling it anymore and I just wanted it to be like a body of work that just hits hard. So there is going to be an EP and then I will be releasing a full album next year.

You’re doing Manchester Pride in August, any other festivals or tour planned?

At the moment it has been difficult regarding gigs because no-one knew what the music was. I am kind of planting the seeds this year so that next year it will be fruitful and we will be on tour a lot.

Finally, with this being the Pride issue and maybe some people are struggling with themselves what words of advice and wisdom would you give?

Just believe in yourself. You have everything within you to have a beautiful life. If you can share your innermost feelings and thoughts with a friend, a family member or a charity, there are people there who you can talk to, who can help you find the right words. When I was younger I had all of these emotions, and it was hard to verbalise them, but I think the more you talk about it and accept it and love yourself the easier it will be to say it to other people. But you have got this, it is in you and you have the power!

Thanks for taking the time to chat Daniel

Gary Alan asks would you ever do a reunion with all 4 members?

Sorry Gary, that is just not going to happen. And if you could perform a duet with anyone dead or alive who would it be, what song and why?

That is a really hard question. One of my idols is Quincy Jones. His album The Dude showed me music in a totally different way. When I was growing up it was Kylie and Jason , MC Hammer and whoever else, I used to love the charts. But my dad had LP’s and when I was old enough to babysit I used to start listening to his LP’s and I just fell in love with The Dude. It was the orchestra. My dad had the most amazing sound system in the house, we had the tiniest house and the biggest speakers, it was brilliant. I just remember getting lost in this orchestra, the feeling, the goosebumps, so for me to work with someone like him and orchestrate music with an orchestra, that is what I would love.

Jenna Toland said, I read that you and Kerry no longer speak, given that Girls Aloud lost Sarah and S Club lost Paul, do you think you could reconcile?

With the whole Kerry thing, I wish her the best. I totally wish her the best in life, but where she is at and I am at, it’s like different places. That’s all I can say on that.

Paul Crowe wants to know did it bother you releasing covers from the Bangles and Blondie rather than more new material?

That was nothing to do with us, that was all down to A&R. I personally thought that we had a lot of album tracks that were better than the covers. It would bother me now but back then it was just like my dream job and the covers that we did release I loved, apart from the first time I heard The Tide Is High because obviously we heard the Blondie reggae version. I remember we were just looking at each other going “this is reggae” and the guy said “don’t worry we are going to popify it”.

Natasha’s Single Edge Of Us is OUT NOW

You can watch and keep up to date via https:// linktr.ee/natashahamiltonmusic

Interview with Daniel May