Melanie Blatt
Encyclopedia
Melanie Ruth Blatt is a singer, actress, television personality and was a member of the multi-million selling girl group
All Saints
. Following their split she launched a solo career.
in the London Borough of Camden
and is named after Melanie Safka
. She has a French mother and an English father of Jewish descent whose ancestors were from Poland and Russia and a younger sister named Jasmine. She was brought up in both the UK and France. In 1986, Blatt was diagnosed as having scoliosis
. Since her parents were not satisfied with the treatment for the condition in the United Kingdom they decided to move to France, where a specialist inserted three metal rods in her back.
Blatt went to Fitzjohn's Primary School where her musical talent was immediately noticed by the head teacher David Joyne, who encouraged her parents to send her to a stage school. In 1986, she attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School
where she met Nicole Appleton
. The two girls became best friends. During this period, Blatt also played young Eponine
in Les Misérables
for six months, and was the understudy for Cosette together with fellow Sylvia Young student Denise van Outen
.
. They released one single, "Curfew", together. She also did backing vocals for Dreadzone
with Denise van Outen
. Later that year, Blatt met Shaznay Lewis
at the Metamorphosis recording studio in All Saints Road, London
. Together, with Simone Rainford, they formed the group All Saints 1.9.7.5 which was later renamed to All Saints when Rainford left and Nicole
and Natalie Appleton
joined Blatt and Lewis. In 2001, All Saints broke up and Blatt embarked on a solo career.
" by Outsidaz
on which she replaced Kelis
. Her new album was being written and recorded with Matt Hales from Aqualung
and featured "See Me
", which was included on the Robots soundtrack (2005) and released on a single with matching video featuring footage from the movie and Melanie with her face covered in diamonds. During 2005, Blatt played small venues in the UK which featured songs from the album she was working on at the time and included unreleased songs like "In Your Arms," "I Don't Mind," "Now You're Gone," "No Lullaby" and "Love Sweet Love."
On 24 January 2006, it was announced that All Saints had reformed with a new record contract and subsequently released a new album, Studio 1
on 13 November 2006. Blatt's solo record was shelved in favour of the reunion.
opposite Nicole and Natalie Appleton and in 2001 she played a small, but memorable role in the independent British film Dog Eat Dog.
for ITV mobile and ITV 2 - a music programme originally commissioned for mobile phones.
, one-time bassist with Jamiroquai
. They broke up in early 2006.
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
All Saints
All Saints (group)
All Saints were a British/Canadian girl group. Founded in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton...
. Following their split she launched a solo career.
Early life
Blatt was born at University College HospitalUniversity College Hospital
University College Hospital is a teaching hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is closely associated with University College London ....
in the London Borough of Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
and is named after Melanie Safka
Melanie Safka
Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk is an American singer-songwriter. Known professionally as simply Melanie, she is best known for her hits "Brand New Key", "Ruby Tuesday" and "Lay Down ".-Early career:...
. She has a French mother and an English father of Jewish descent whose ancestors were from Poland and Russia and a younger sister named Jasmine. She was brought up in both the UK and France. In 1986, Blatt was diagnosed as having scoliosis
Scoliosis
Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side. Although it is a complex three-dimensional deformity, on an X-ray, viewed from the rear, the spine of an individual with scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line...
. Since her parents were not satisfied with the treatment for the condition in the United Kingdom they decided to move to France, where a specialist inserted three metal rods in her back.
Blatt went to Fitzjohn's Primary School where her musical talent was immediately noticed by the head teacher David Joyne, who encouraged her parents to send her to a stage school. In 1986, she attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent fee-paying stage school, in Westminster, London, named after its founder and Principal, Sylvia Young.-Outline:...
where she met Nicole Appleton
Nicole Appleton
Nicole Marie Appleton-Gallagher is a Canadian pop singer and actress who rose to fame as a member of All Saints. She was formerly a member of Appleton along with her older sister Natalie.-Early life:...
. The two girls became best friends. During this period, Blatt also played young Eponine
Éponine
Éponine Thénardier is a fictional character in the 1862 novelLes Misérables by Victor Hugo.- Éponine in the novel :As children, Éponine and her younger sister Azelma are described as pretty, well-dressed, charming and a delight to see. They are pampered and spoiled by their parents the Thénardiers...
in Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
for six months, and was the understudy for Cosette together with fellow Sylvia Young student Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...
.
Career
In 1993, Blatt sang under the name Melanie Guillaume in the band Drive with Julienne DavisJulienne Davis
Julienne Davis is an American actress, singer, and model. Her acting credits include the pivotal role of "Mandy" in Eyes Wide Shut, Tabloid, House of 9, The Bill, as well as being a main cast member of the television series Too Much Sun...
. They released one single, "Curfew", together. She also did backing vocals for Dreadzone
Dreadzone
Dreadzone are a British band whose music is an eclectic fusion of dub, reggae, techno, folk and rock. They have so far produced six studio albums and two live albums.-Career:...
with Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...
. Later that year, Blatt met Shaznay Lewis
Shaznay Lewis
Shaznay Lewis is a British female singer-songwriter and a former member of All Saints.-Biography:...
at the Metamorphosis recording studio in All Saints Road, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Together, with Simone Rainford, they formed the group All Saints 1.9.7.5 which was later renamed to All Saints when Rainford left and Nicole
Nicole Appleton
Nicole Marie Appleton-Gallagher is a Canadian pop singer and actress who rose to fame as a member of All Saints. She was formerly a member of Appleton along with her older sister Natalie.-Early life:...
and Natalie Appleton
Natalie Appleton
Natalie Jane Appleton Howlett is a Canadian pop singer and actress who rose to fame as a member of the band All Saints. During All Saints' five years of inactivity, she was a member of Appleton with her younger sister Nicole.-Biography:...
joined Blatt and Lewis. In 2001, All Saints broke up and Blatt embarked on a solo career.
Solo career
Blatt's solo releases were of variable success; her most prominent being "TwentyFourSeven", a collaboration with The Artful Dodger, peaking at No 6 in September 2001 and the UK version of "I'm Leavin'I'm Leavin'
"I'm Leavin" is a song by Outsidaz featuring Rah Digga and Melanie Blatt, which was released as a single in March 2002 in the United Kingdom and Europe...
" by Outsidaz
Outsidaz
The Outsidaz was a hip hop group from Newark, New Jersey, perhaps best known through their affiliation with fellow New York area rappers, the Fugees, and Detroit area rappers D12.-History:...
on which she replaced Kelis
Kelis
Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart...
. Her new album was being written and recorded with Matt Hales from Aqualung
Aqualung (musician)
Matthew "Matt" Hales , better known as Aqualung, is an English singer and songwriter best known in the UK for his song "Strange and Beautiful", which was featured on a television advertisement for the new Volkswagen New Beetle during the summer of 2002 and went on to become a Top 10 hit in the UK...
and featured "See Me
See Me
"See Me" is a single by Melanie Blatt written for the Robots movie. It peaked at #78 in the UK charts.. The single was not released on the Robots soundtrack.-Tracklist:-Song information:-Charts:-Video:...
", which was included on the Robots soundtrack (2005) and released on a single with matching video featuring footage from the movie and Melanie with her face covered in diamonds. During 2005, Blatt played small venues in the UK which featured songs from the album she was working on at the time and included unreleased songs like "In Your Arms," "I Don't Mind," "Now You're Gone," "No Lullaby" and "Love Sweet Love."
On 24 January 2006, it was announced that All Saints had reformed with a new record contract and subsequently released a new album, Studio 1
Studio 1 (album)
-Special edition DVD:-Singles:-Release history:-Charts:-External links:*...
on 13 November 2006. Blatt's solo record was shelved in favour of the reunion.
Acting
In 2000, Blatt appeared in the critically panned film Honest directed by Dave StewartDavid A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
opposite Nicole and Natalie Appleton and in 2001 she played a small, but memorable role in the independent British film Dog Eat Dog.
Current activities
She is currently co-hosting The Hot DeskThe Hot Desk
The Hot Desk is a British music show hosted by Nicole Appleton, Melanie Blatt, Dave Berry and Emma Willis.The Hot Desk first appeared on ITV Mobile in November of 2007 and represented ITV Mobile's first made-for-mobile commission. It has recently been extended and, from 2008, is shown on ITV2.The...
for ITV mobile and ITV 2 - a music programme originally commissioned for mobile phones.
Personal life
Blatt gave birth to daughter Lilyella on 22 November 1998, the father of whom is Stuart ZenderStuart Zender
Stuart Patrick Jude Zender is an English bassist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for being the original bass player for Jamiroquai.-Early life:...
, one-time bassist with Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...
. They broke up in early 2006.
Albums
"Shine" (unreleased)- 1. "Love Sweet Love"
- 2. "I'm Leaving"
- 3. "I Don't Mind"
- 4. "No Lullaby"
- 5. "Who I Am"
- 6. "Wonderfully Mean"
- 7. "We Two"
- 8. "Now You're Gone"
- 9. "In Your Arms"
- 10. "Shine"
Collaborations
- "Curfew" with Drive (1993)
- "TwentyFourSeven" with The Artful Dodger (2001)
- "I'm Leavin'I'm Leavin'"I'm Leavin" is a song by Outsidaz featuring Rah Digga and Melanie Blatt, which was released as a single in March 2002 in the United Kingdom and Europe...
" with OutsidazOutsidazThe Outsidaz was a hip hop group from Newark, New Jersey, perhaps best known through their affiliation with fellow New York area rappers, the Fugees, and Detroit area rappers D12.-History:...
and Rah DiggaRah DiggaRah Digga is an American rapper. Well known as a long time member of the Flipmode Squad, a hip hop group led by Busta Rhymes, she parted ways amicably with the group in 2007. She has been called "one of rap's most prominent women MCs" by Allmusic and "one of hip-hop's most skilled female MCs" in...
(2002) - "Let's Get Nice" with K-GeeK-GeeK-Gee is the alias for Karl Gordon, a British DJ, producer and songwriter and former member of the Outlaw Posse.Gordon was brought up listening to reggae by his father and was inspired to become a DJ after listening to Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" and other early hip-hop tracks.K-Gee and his...
(2002) - "Dreaming About Tomorrow" with Rupeski (2002)
- "Why Birds" with MozezMozezOsmond Wright, better known by his stage name Mozez, is a Jamaican born London-based soul singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a singer for British downtempo group Zero 7, although he has been working solo since 2005 when his debut album was released.Mozez began singing at an early...
(2008)