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Rowetta's dream life is ...
FORMER Happy Mondays' singer and X Factor finalist Rowetta has proved dreams really can come true. MARISSA CARRUTHERS caught up with her to find out about her love for Sunderland.
MANY people will know Rowetta as the bubbly singer who burst on to our screens in the first series of The X Factor.
Others know her singing history stretches to way back before she caught the eye of music mogul Simon Cowell.
Manchester-born Rowetta first realised she had talent at 12 years old when she started singing.
"People would go 'wow' and I couldn't believe it. I think that's when I started to take it seriously," she said.
"No-one else in my family could sing so I felt like I'd really been blessed with something special.
"In my late teens I started singing in clubs and people would come back for more so I kept on at it."
Rowetta put her singing on hold when she married her husband, you became abusive, and fell pregnant with two kids by 19.
But, in 1987, she released two singles with Vanilla Sound Corps and picked up where she left off.
She became a backing singer for the likes of Simply Red, Rebel MC, Billy Ocean and Inner City and started living the dream life she had always yearned for.
In 1989, Rowetta was snapped up by Warner Chappell and started to write and record with other artists including Andy Rourke, KLF and Stereo MCs.
But little did she realise that later that year her life would change forever.
"I was a big fan of Happy Mondays and went to see them play in Widnes. This was before they were massive, they were still playing at small underground clubs then.
"After hearing them I knew I'd end up singing with them so I asked their manager and he said no because it was a lads' band and they didn't want a woman in there."
Determined not to let her dream slip away, Rowetta gave manager Nathan McGough a ticket to one of her gigs.
"He came along and said I was amazing. He asked me to sing on stage at one of their gigs and before I knew it I was on Top of the Pops, performing at Wembley Arena and travelling the world.
"I spent time with the kids, but still led a rock 'n' roll lifestyle."
After the Mondays split in 1993, Rowetta took time off to be a mum and her career was put on the back burner. In 2004 she decided to enter ITV's hunt for pop stars – The X Factor.
Her larger-than-life personality and voice established her as Simon Cowell's favourite, finishing fourth in the competition that saw Steve Brookstein crowned the winner.
Rowetta has since released a self-titled album, has appeared live on Children in Need and has starred on numerous TV shows including Loose Women, Popworld and Big Brother's Little Brother.
Last year saw Rowetta tour the country as part of The Songs of Sister Act, which she loved.
"It was amazing singing alongside the London Community Gospel Choir.
With my mum and myself being Jewish it was like a dream come tru.
"It's so much fun and singing really is my one true love. Sister Act is one of my favourite films and it has so many memorable songs in it.
"We're also doing songs from the sequel so I get to sing some Lauren Hill numbers.
"We had so much fun when we came to Sunderland last year. There were loads of people dressed up as nuns and it was a real laugh, I love the place and the people.
"I performed at the Glass Spider afterwards, which was so much fun, and I've been invited back to perform after the show this year so I can't wait."
ROWETTA is at the Sunderland Empire with Songs of Sister Act on Tuesday, May 19.
For more information or tickets, phone the box office on 0844 847 2499 or visit www.sunderlandempire.org.uk
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Friday 10 February 2012
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