Rachel Stevens

Rachel Stevens
Rachel Stevens in 2004
Background information
Birth name	Rachel Lauren Stevens
Born	9 April 1978 (1978-04-09) (age 31) Southgate, London
Genre(s)	Pop, Electro, Synth Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, Actress, Model
Years active	1999–present
Label(s)	Polydor
Associated acts	S Club 8 S Club 7 Vincent Simone Hannah Spearritt Jo O'Meara Tina Barrett
Website	Official site

Rachel Lauren Stevens (born 9 April 1978) is an English singer, actress and occasional model. She is a former member, and one of the lead singers, of the successful pop group S Club (7), and launched a solo recording career in 2003, releasing seven singles and two albums in the UK between 2003 and 2005. In 2008, she came second in the sixth series of the BBC One series Strictly Come Dancing with her dance partner Vincent Simone.

Early life

Born in Southgate, London to a middle class Jewish family, she attended Ashmole School in London.^[1][2] At the age of fifteen, Stevens beat 5000 competitors in a modeling competition sponsored by Just 17 magazine. Following her first modeling jobs, she decided to study at the London School of Fashion and ended up working in public relations.^[3]

Singing career

S Club

At the age of twenty one, Stevens became a member of the British pop group S Club 7, which were a BRIT Award-winning British pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller. The group rose to fame via their own BBC television programme and by selling 16 million records worldwide^[4] and launching four number one hit singles in the United Kingdom. The band eventually split up in 2003.^[5]

In 2001 and 2002 respectively, she was voted the second Sexiest Woman in the World by UK's FHM readers.^[6]

Solo

Funky Dory

After S Club were disbanded, Stevens signed a £1.5 million ($2.3 million) solo four-album deal with Polydor Records and re-signed with S Club manager, Simon Fuller.^[7] Breaking out on her own after success with S Club was hard for Stevens, "I think we ended up conforming to what people's perceptions were," she said about the group. "This one was the ditzy one, this one was the singer, this one was the dancer. And to come out of that and be a whole person has been a real challenge for me. I didn't have my say, really, in the group. None of us did."^[4]

Her first solo single, written by Cathy Dennis (who has also written for Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue) and produced by JuStar, was "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", released in September 2003.^[8]

Taking inspiration from R&B music most reminiscent of TLC and Sugababes, and adult-style pop music by Madonna, Stevens's debut solo album, Funky Dory was released later that month. The album was a minor hit, reaching number nine on the UK albums chart.^[9] Although the album was not a huge commercial success, it did gain praise from pop critics. Jamie Gill, in a review for Yahoo! Launch, said that Stevens "eschews the cheap and cheerful approach of her old band for a slinky adult confidence and musical eclecticism."^[10]

That December, the album's title track, "Funky Dory" was released as the second single. The song was hailed as being sophisticated and sexy, like its predecessor, and featured a sample of the David Bowie song "Andy Warhol" from his album Hunky Dory. Hopes were high that the single would be able to match the success of "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", but like her album, the single made a low showing on the charts, peaking at number twenty four.^[11] The song was given mixed reviews by pop-critics with some calling it "musically better than "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" with a hybrid of pop, Latin and even a hint of jazz infusion" but not a good choice as a single as it lacked anything special and different, as it did not live up to Stevens's previous single.^[1]

Some Girls

In July 2004, Stevens released a brand new song, "Some Girls" which was produced by Richard X. After the commercial failure of both her album and previous song hopes were high for "Some Girls" to perform well on the charts, with critics calling the song her career make or break release. The song became a hit across Europe, and reached number two in the UK. All profits from the song went to the BBC Sport Relief charity. On its release HMV.co.uk called the song Stevens's "finest song to date",^[2] and Yahoo! Launch commented "she came to save her career. She ended up saving pop."^[3]

Due to the success of "Some Girls", Funky Dory was re-released to include "Some Girls" and another new track, a cover of Andrea True Connection's "More More More". "More More More" peaked at number three in the UK, giving Stevens her third top ten solo single in the UK.^[12] At this point, Stevens stepped up promotion, inadvertently earning herself a Guinness World Record for “Most Public Appearances by a Pop Star in 24 Hours in Different Cities” (Seven on 8 September-9 September 2004).^[13]

Come and Get It

In late 2004, Stevens began working on her second solo album with producers and songwriters Richard X, Alexis Strum, and Xenomania.^[14] The following March she released the first single from her upcoming album, "Negotiate With Love". The song was hit in the UK, reaching the top ten.^[15]

"Negotiate with Love" was followed-up by the song "So Good", which was released in July and was another success when it peaked at number ten in the UK.^[16] It was hailed as a good pop song that was "tastily produced and sassily delivered."^[17]

In the summer of 2005, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary which followed Stevens through the summer as she promoted "So Good". After the singles and the documentary appeared, Stevens released Come and Get It in October 2005. The album was, like her previous effort, a minor success peaking at number twenty eight in the UK.^[16] The album was also released as a special 'Limited Edition' CD and DVD. Two years after the album's release, The Guardian placed it in their article "1000 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list.^[18]

The last single released from the album was "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)", released in October 2005 the song peaked at number twelve in the UK.^[16] The single received some of the best reviews of Stevens's career with it being hailed by HMV.co.uk for its "astonishingly flawless vocal performance" and as Stevens's "most commercially accessible and quirky single since "Some Girls"."^[4]

Acting

While Stevens was a member of S Club 7, she appeared in five series of S Club shows: S Club 7 Go Wild! Miami 7, L.A. 7, Hollywood 7, and Viva S Club. The group also starred in the feature film, Seeing Double. In 2004, Stevens appeared in Suzie Gold, followed by a minor cameo role in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005).

As part of promoting music releases, Stevens often appeared on live children's television shows such as Smile and SMTV Live. When appearing on Dick and Dom In Da Bungalow, a show known for children playing games which were sometimes messy, she refused to take part, much to the dismay of the hosts and left before the end of the show. ^[19]

In 2005, Stevens played a character called "Jane-Mary" in a Spider Man charity spoof called Spider-Plant Man for the BBC appearing opposite Rowan Atkinson. In December 2007 it was announced that Stevens would be transformed into a nine-inch high plasticine character for Glendogie Bogey, a new animated comedy for BBC Scotland.^[20] Later in 2005, Stevens also played a minor role in Dominic Veall's ITV television drama Flawless playing Lucy Carlts, the sister of Rodger Carlts.

In January 2009, Stevens was reportedly "in talks" to appear in the second series of BBC One's Merlin.^[21]

Strictly Come Dancing

In August 2008, it was announced that Stevens would take part in the 2008 series of Strictly Come Dancing, which started on 20 September. She was partnered with professional dancer Vincent Simone, and together they hold the record for the most perfect 10s ever achieved in any series of Strictly Come Dancing, thus beating out other contestants including 2007 winner Alesha Dixon and 2008 winner Tom Chambers. Stevens finished in second place. ^[22][23]

Performances

Personal life

On Valentine's Day in 2002, Stevens became engaged to actor Jeremy Edwards.^[24] The couple broke up in early 2004 after they had been dating for over three years.^[25]

After the breakup, she dated Gavin Dein, son of former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein.^[26] The relationship did not last long, with the couple splitting up in August 2005.^[27]

Stevens has also been linked to actor Stephen Dorff^[28]and American-based British singer Oli Trevena (Oli T).^[29]

In June 2008, Stevens became engaged to boyfriend Alex Bourne in Italy (who had changed his surname from Leigh) after 18 months of dating.^[30]. The couple were planning to get married in the autumn of 2008 but decided to postpone their wedding until August 2009 due to Stevens's busy autumn schedule training and performing on Strictly Come Dancing.^[31]

Stevens is cited as 2D's (member of fictional band Gorillaz) Jewish ex-girlfriend, in the book Rise Of The Ogre.^[32]

Stevens is a well known for her chain smoking, she became addicted quite late to cigarettes at 21 years old after pressure from other S Club 7 members forced her into an addiction she didn't want, but now she can't resist them.

On 9 June 2009, Stevens was robbed of her jewellery by three men who followed her to her home. The items believed to be stolen included her engagement ring, a necklace and a Rolex watch. She was shaken by the experience but was otherwise unhurt.^[33] In the same month, on 27 June 2009 she and Bourne were dining in Harry Morgan's restaurant in St John's Wood, London when a gunman entered in pursuit of two men and started firing. The pair were not injured in the incident.^[34]

Awareness campaigns

In 2005, Stevens fronted the Everyman Testicular Cancer Awareness campaign. Stevens's role was notable as she was the first woman to represent this campaign. Her television commercial raised eyebrows with its suggestive content that included her telling men to "put one hand down their trousers and give their testicles a good feel". On the commercial, Stevens commented, "Sometimes men need a little encouragement to think about their health. This is a funny way of raising awareness about a serious subject."^[5]

In 2005, Stevens also took part in the Make Poverty History campaign, which aims to eliminate poverty in developing countries by cancelling old debts, improving the way aid is given and removing barriers, so these countries can trade more effectively with the rest of the world. Stevens donated an undisclosed amount of money to the campaign, and also starred in television and magazine advertisements supporting the cause. Her official Web site also displayed the campaign's official online banner.^[6]

Endorsement deals

While in S Club 7, Stevens fronted the World Wide Fund for Nature. More recently, she has been the front woman for Pretty Polly,^[35] Sky Sports, Marks & Spencer,^[36] and Focus Dailies.^[37] In 2009, Stevens became the new ambassador for Schwarzkopf Gliss hair products.^[38]

Discography

• 2003: Funky Dory
• 2005: Come and Get It

Filmography

Awards

Notes

References

External links

• Official website
• Rachel Stevens at the Internet Movie Database
• Rachel Stevens at TV.com
• Rachel Stevens at Allmusic
• Rachel Stevens at Discogs
• FHM's Rachel Stevens Special