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Liberty X
Liberty X (originally called Liberty) are a British girl group (formerly a British-Irish mixed group) consisting of Michelle Heaton, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young. The group's best-known line-up also included Tony Lundon and Kevin Simm.
The group was formed by the five finalists of the 2001 ITV talent show Popstars who failed to make it into the winning group Hear'Say. The group released their debut album, Thinking It Over on 27 May 2002, featuring their biggest single "Just a Little" which gave them international success. They released their second studio album Being Somebody a year later on 3 November 2003, not matching the success of their debut. Following disappointing sales, the group were dropped and later signed with Virgin, released a final studio album X on 10 October 2005 and disbanded in 2007. Liberty X achieved ten consecutive UK top 20 singles, and various charting singles worldwide, leading to greater commercial success than Hear'Say. In 2013, the original line up toured until 2014.
While the five winning contestants of Popstars formed Hear'Say, the five runner-up contestants—Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young—formed the group Liberty. The name Liberty was chosen to reflect the freedom the members experienced following their participation in Popstars. Amidst pejorative media commentary (including the term "Flopstars"), the act signed a multi-million-pound record contract with Richard Branson's independent record label, V2 Records.
Shortly after forming, Liberty received a legal challenge in the UK High Court from a funk R&B band, also called "Liberty", who achieved success in the 1990s, including being awarded Capital Radio Band of the Year, playing Wembley Arena, European tours and the release of albums in the US, Europe and UK. The original Liberty claimed that the newly formed Liberty was taking advantage of the goodwill that had been created by the former's success (known in English law as the "tort of passing off"). The final judgment was in favour of the funk R&B band and the ex-Popstars then asked readers of UK tabloid newspaper The Sun to suggest a new name. The winning name was "X Liberty", but the group used the entry as the basis for the official title, Liberty X.
On 24 September 2001, whilst the group were known as Liberty, they released their debut single, "Thinking It Over". It was an instant hit, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart; the single's physical release featured remixes by the Wideboys and Boy George. The follow-up single, "Doin' It", released on 3 December 2001, peaked at number fourteen. Following a five-month gap, in which the band were involved with the High Court dispute regarding their original name, their third single, "Just a Little", was released. That song reached number one in the UK and became the ninth best-selling single of 2002, as well as becoming a top ten hit in several other countries. It was also the fifth most played song on the radio of the 2000s.
"Just a Little" preceded the release of Liberty X's debut album, Thinking It Over (originally called To Those Who Wait). The album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart, eventually selling over one million copies worldwide.[citation needed] Two more hit singles were released from the album: a cover of the 1989 track by electro funk group Mantronix, "Got To Have Your Love", which peaked at number two in the UK; and "Holding on for You", which peaked at number five. During 2002, the group headlined their first arena tour.
Following a short break, the group released "Being Nobody", a mash-up of Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" and The Human League's "Being Boiled". The single was produced by Richard X and released under the billing of Richard X vs Liberty X, featured on Richard X's album Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1. "Being Nobody" reached number three on the UK singles chart. Proceeding their second album, Being Somebody, the group released "Jumpin", which peaked at number six. Being Somebody was released in November 2003, debuting at number twelve on the UK albums chart, but sold around 200,000 copies, significantly less than sales of their debut. The group released the album's final single, "Everybody Cries", in January 2004. The music video featured the group walking along disused railway lines, for which they were criticised by safety organisations. The single underperformed, reaching number thirteen.
The group took a hiatus following record-label issues, and each member decided to work on different individual projects. Simm appeared on Channel 4's The Games, competing in a series of sporting events (in which he placed second overall, behind Philip Olivier). Heaton appeared on ITV's ill-fated Celebrity Wrestling. Jessica Taylor appeared on ITV's Dancing on Ice. Lundon and Young took the time to work on new tracks for the band's third album, whilst producing and writing for other artists. During this period, The Sun newspaper reported that the group were to re-release Being Somebody with a cover of the 1990 hit "Back to Life", but this never materialised. They also released a cover version of the Kool & The Gang song "Fresh" which was released in a selection of European countries, but not the UK. It peaked at number 35 in France.
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Liberty X
Liberty X (originally called Liberty) are a British girl group (formerly a British-Irish mixed group) consisting of Michelle Heaton, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young. The group's best-known line-up also included Tony Lundon and Kevin Simm.
The group was formed by the five finalists of the 2001 ITV talent show Popstars who failed to make it into the winning group Hear'Say. The group released their debut album, Thinking It Over on 27 May 2002, featuring their biggest single "Just a Little" which gave them international success. They released their second studio album Being Somebody a year later on 3 November 2003, not matching the success of their debut. Following disappointing sales, the group were dropped and later signed with Virgin, released a final studio album X on 10 October 2005 and disbanded in 2007. Liberty X achieved ten consecutive UK top 20 singles, and various charting singles worldwide, leading to greater commercial success than Hear'Say. In 2013, the original line up toured until 2014.
While the five winning contestants of Popstars formed Hear'Say, the five runner-up contestants—Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young—formed the group Liberty. The name Liberty was chosen to reflect the freedom the members experienced following their participation in Popstars. Amidst pejorative media commentary (including the term "Flopstars"), the act signed a multi-million-pound record contract with Richard Branson's independent record label, V2 Records.
Shortly after forming, Liberty received a legal challenge in the UK High Court from a funk R&B band, also called "Liberty", who achieved success in the 1990s, including being awarded Capital Radio Band of the Year, playing Wembley Arena, European tours and the release of albums in the US, Europe and UK. The original Liberty claimed that the newly formed Liberty was taking advantage of the goodwill that had been created by the former's success (known in English law as the "tort of passing off"). The final judgment was in favour of the funk R&B band and the ex-Popstars then asked readers of UK tabloid newspaper The Sun to suggest a new name. The winning name was "X Liberty", but the group used the entry as the basis for the official title, Liberty X.
On 24 September 2001, whilst the group were known as Liberty, they released their debut single, "Thinking It Over". It was an instant hit, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart; the single's physical release featured remixes by the Wideboys and Boy George. The follow-up single, "Doin' It", released on 3 December 2001, peaked at number fourteen. Following a five-month gap, in which the band were involved with the High Court dispute regarding their original name, their third single, "Just a Little", was released. That song reached number one in the UK and became the ninth best-selling single of 2002, as well as becoming a top ten hit in several other countries. It was also the fifth most played song on the radio of the 2000s.
"Just a Little" preceded the release of Liberty X's debut album, Thinking It Over (originally called To Those Who Wait). The album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart, eventually selling over one million copies worldwide.[citation needed] Two more hit singles were released from the album: a cover of the 1989 track by electro funk group Mantronix, "Got To Have Your Love", which peaked at number two in the UK; and "Holding on for You", which peaked at number five. During 2002, the group headlined their first arena tour.
Following a short break, the group released "Being Nobody", a mash-up of Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" and The Human League's "Being Boiled". The single was produced by Richard X and released under the billing of Richard X vs Liberty X, featured on Richard X's album Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1. "Being Nobody" reached number three on the UK singles chart. Proceeding their second album, Being Somebody, the group released "Jumpin", which peaked at number six. Being Somebody was released in November 2003, debuting at number twelve on the UK albums chart, but sold around 200,000 copies, significantly less than sales of their debut. The group released the album's final single, "Everybody Cries", in January 2004. The music video featured the group walking along disused railway lines, for which they were criticised by safety organisations. The single underperformed, reaching number thirteen.
The group took a hiatus following record-label issues, and each member decided to work on different individual projects. Simm appeared on Channel 4's The Games, competing in a series of sporting events (in which he placed second overall, behind Philip Olivier). Heaton appeared on ITV's ill-fated Celebrity Wrestling. Jessica Taylor appeared on ITV's Dancing on Ice. Lundon and Young took the time to work on new tracks for the band's third album, whilst producing and writing for other artists. During this period, The Sun newspaper reported that the group were to re-release Being Somebody with a cover of the 1990 hit "Back to Life", but this never materialised. They also released a cover version of the Kool & The Gang song "Fresh" which was released in a selection of European countries, but not the UK. It peaked at number 35 in France.
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