2007 – Natasha England Is Back

 
Natasha is no stranger to the music business. Having moved from Scotland
to London in the early 70s, Natasha soon found herself working back office
for the likes of Rod Stewart and David Bowie as well as fronting
her own band at venues such as The Marquee.
 
Around the same time, a meeting with Bob England (The Love Affair)
resulted not only in marriage but also the formation of a music
management business and the Good Earth Promotions company,
promoting live acts such as Average White Band, James Brown,
Lionel Richie and The Commodores. With an obvious ear for talent,
Natasha was also responsible for the discovery of 70’s
heavyweights The Darts and Chas ‘n’ Dave as well as the formation of
Towerbell Records with Bob.
 
Natasha had been so successful working behind the scenes that it
would have been tempting to stay there, but having the looks, voice and
song writing talent to match her business acumen, a move into the
spotlight was inevitable.
 
After a false start on Magnet Records fronting The Flirts on “He’s The Kind Of Boy
You Can’t Forget”, Natasha quickly developed her own sound on her first singles
for Towerbell, “I Can’t Hold On” and “Strangest Feeling”. Both were incredibly commercial
self penned pop triumphs, but neither attracted enough airplay to secure a chart position.
Shortly after, following a suggestion from Rita Ray of The Darts, Natasha first recorded “Iko Iko”.
 
It was obvious from the session (produced by Tom Newman of “Tubular Bells” fame), that “Iko Iko” was THE ONE. It was released in May and by June was flying up the Top 40, easily beating The Belle Stars rival version into submission. Two Top Of The Pops appearances later, and “Iko Iko” hit the number 10 spot.
 
The single was quickly followed by another hit, “The Boom Boom Room” and a charting album, “Captured” but all was not well in Natasha land both with her record label and husband Bob, who was also acting as her manager. Natasha was very keen to build a more mature sound and audience, whilst Bob was insistent on more cover versions. Although singles like “Pata Pata” and “I Want You To Be My Baby” were good, they weren’t what Natasha was about.
 
By 1984, music was evolving rapidly. Natasha began working on her 2nd album “Don’t Walk Away” with Tony Cox and Dave Bascombe and more importantly she co-wrote all the songs on it herself. Four singles were released from it, including the Big Country inspired “Homeland”, but again radio play proved elusive.
 
By 1985 Natasha and Bob had separated and her time with Towerbell ended. They later divorced and Natasha stepped away from the music business for a while to work with animals, another passion of hers. She competed in cross country races, bred horses and worked on animal rights issues.
 
The lure of music proved too strong and by the late 80’s she found herself in Canada fronting the band “Why” with Gregg Deckert who toured for a couple of years and built up a considerable following before Natasha returned to the UK to continue her work with animals.
 
Throughout the 90’s Natasha kept writing and stockpiling material for her return, as well as engaging in session work with the likes of Jive Nation. A planned comeback a few years ago however had to be postponed when Natasha was diagnosed with breast cancer, which involved radiotherapy treatment. Thankfully, Natasha is again fighting fit and she is currently developing these songs for an album of brand new material in 2008.
 
Preceding that is a new version of the song that started it all – “Iko Iko”. It is taken from her forthcoming Anthology of Towerbell material “Back From The Mists Of Time:1979-1985”, a double CD set including all her Towerbell material and several unreleased songs from the period. The Album 'B.F.T.M.O.T.' Is Available Now on Platform Records and Itunes

Also my new album 'Deeper Into Reality' and the single 'Stop Doing Nothing' are available on itunes and other download sites now. Please check out the video for 'Stop Dong Nothing' on our Look & Listen page.
 

Watch this space. Natasha England is BACK!