Never Ever

Background:

Melanie Blatt is famous as the founding member of the award-winning British all-female vocal group All Saints, which also comprises Shaznay Lewis and the Appleton sisters Nicole and Natalie. Formed in 1996, the group rose to worldwide prominence thanks to the double-platinum hit single “Never Ever,” which was taken from their highly successful debut album, All Saints” (1997), and won them two BRIT Awards. The group continued to have No. 1 hit singles with “Under the Bridge / Lady Marmalade” (1998), “Bootie Call” (1998), “Pure Shores” (2000) and “Black Coffee” (2000) and the Top 10 hits “War Of Nerves” (1998) and ”All Hooked Up” (2001). After the second album '“Saints & Sinners” (2000), All Saints broke up and did not reunite until 2006's “Studio 1,” which went gold.

During the break, Blatt pursued a solo career. She released three singles, most notably “Twenty Four Seven” (2001), a duet sung with Artful Dodger which peaked at No. 6 in the UK charts. She has acted in the films “Honest” (2000), opposite Nicole and Natalie, and “Dog Eat Dog” (2001).

Scoliosis

Childhood and Family:

Named after Melanie Safka, Melanie Ruth Blatt was born on March 25, 1975,in London, England, to a French Jewish mother and a Jewish father whose roots were from Russia and Poland. Along with younger sister Jasmine Blatt, she spent her early years in both England and France. She attended Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, whose schoolmates included future bandmates the Appleton sisters Nicole and Natalie. She was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was a teenager, and to overcome the problem, three metal rods were placed onto her spine. This led her to depart metal detectors in various airports around the globe.

Melanie is the mother of Lilyella, a daughter resulted from her relationship with former Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender. She was born on November 20, 1998 and named after the flowers given to her by her (past) boyfriend and Ella Fitzgerald.

Twenty Four Seven

Career:

11 year-old Melanie Blatt was sent to a theatre school in London after the suggestion of her head teacher who noticed her musical gift. Shortly thereafter, she landed the role of young Eponine in “Les Misérables” and understudied Cosette with schoolmate Denise van Outen. The two would rejoin several years later when they both served as background vocalist for Dreadzone. Blatt's singing career got start in 1993 with the group Drive, along with Julienne Davis. They recorded “Curfew” and performed the song on the TV programme “Access All Areas.” It was not until she met Shaznay Lewis that Blatt founded a girl-group, through which she achieved success. They both sang backing vocals at Sarm West Studios, the ZTT recording studios near All Saints Road, London.

All Saints, previously All Saints 1.9.7.5, was established in 1996. In addition to Blatt and Lewis, it consist of Nicole and Natalie Appleton, who joined the group after the departure of the third original member Simone Rainford. The self-titled debut was released on November 24, 1997. It went on to become a Top 2 hit in UK and receive 5x platinum for sales of more than 1.5 million pieces. The lead single “I Know Where It's At” reached No. 4 on the UK Single Charts, but it was their next single, “Never Ever,” that brought Blatt and her bandmates worldwide fame. It reached No. 1 in both UK and Australia, where it stayed on the charts for 2 and 7 consecutive weeks, respectively, and won the group two BRIT in the categories of Best Single and Best Video. The foursome scored two more No. 1 UK hits with the third single “Under the Bridge / Lady Marmalade” and the forth “Bootie Call” as well as a Top 10 hit with the fifth and final “War Of Nerves” (#7).

Blatt and her group resurfaced in October 2000 with their much-anticipated second album, “Saints & Sinners,” which debuted at No. 1 on the UK Album Charts. It was notable for producing the chart-toppers “Pure Shores,” a collaboration with William Orbit which also emerged as the second best-selling single of the year, and “Black Coffee,” and the No. 7 single ”All Hooked Up.” “Saints & Sinners” finally earned double platinum in England. Also in 2000, Blatt made her feature film acting debut in “Honest,” a black comedy helmed by David A. Stewart. She starred along side Nicole and Natalie as three street wise sisters.

Because of an growing competition between band members, All Saints disbanded in early 2001. Blatt went on to appear as a solo act and in September later that same year, she released a single with Artful Dodger named “Twenty Four Seven,” making her the first All Saints member to kick off solo career. It reached No.6 in UK and was included in the greatest hits album “All Hits” (released in November 2001). Still in that same year, Blatt also made her second film outing with the comedy “Dog Eat Dog” (2001), where she had small but notable role as as ex-girlfriend.

Blatt recorded “I'm Leavin'” with Outsidaz & Rah Digga in 2002 for the UK release of the track. The single reached No. 42. She followed it up by releasing “Do Me Wrong” in 2003 via London Records. The single only peaked at No. 18 and the singer was subsequently dropped by the label due to the miserable chart performance.

In April 2005, Blatt resumed her music career by launching the single “See Me.” Released through Swollen Ankle Ltd., the song was added to the “Robots” film soundtrack and reached No. 78 in UK. She was going to release a solo album, but it had to meet with postponement when All Saints rejoined in early 2006. The third studio album “Studio 1” went gold and spawned the singles “Rock Steady” (#3 UK).

Awards:

• BRIT Awards: Best Single and Best Video, “Never Ever,” 1998

• MTV Music (Europe): Breakthrough Artist, 1998