Amazulu

Amazulu (which is taken from the Zulu language word for “Zulu people”) was a pop\ska music group from London, England.

The members originally consisted of Anne-Marie Ruddock (born Anne-Marie Teresa Antoinette Ruddock on June 22, 1963), Clare Kenny, Lesley Beach, Margo Sagov, Nardo Bailey and Sharon Bailey. All the members of the group were female (except for drummer Nardo Bailey).

Amazulu was formed by Sharon Bailey along with original lead singer Rose Minor. Falcon Stuart (who was the former manager for Adam and the Ants & X-Ray Spex) discovered the group and helped them promote their first single “Cairo” in 1983.
In 1983, “Cairo” peaked at #86 on the U.K. Singles chart and received airplay from BBC Radio 1’s John Peel.

The group’s follow-up singles “Smiley Stylee” and “Moonlight Romance” didn’t appear to make any impact on the charts at all.

Amazulu began gaining television appearances on “Top of the Pops” and “The Young Ones.”

In 1985, they released the single “Excitable” which peaked at #12 on the U.K. Singles chart. It was also moderately successful in Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Their next single “Don’t You Just Know It” peaked at #15 on the U.K. Singles chart and #24 in Ireland.

Even though Amazulu started out initially as a six-piece band, it was later reduced to a trio consisting of Anne-Marie, Sharon and Lesley by 1986.
During that same year, they released their self-titled debut album which peaked at #97 on the U.K. Albums chart.
The third single from the album “The Things the Lonely Do” peaked at #43 on the U.K. Singles chart.
The fourth single from the album “Too Good to Be Forgotten” fared better, peaking at #5 on the U.K. Singles chart.
The fifth single from the album, a cover version of Bobby Bloom’s 1970 song “Montego Bay” peaked at #16 on the U.K. Singles chart. In the United States, the song peaked at #90 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their only U.S. chart appearance.
The last single from the album “All Over the World” peaked at #78 on the U.K. Singles chart. In 1987, Lesley left Amazulu, leaving only Anne-Marie and Sharon as a duo.
During that same year, they released a cover version of Tommy James and the Shondells’ 1968 song “Mony Mony” which peaked at #38 on the U.K. Singles chart.
Also in that same year, Amazulu released their sophomore album “Spellbound” which failed to make the charts at all.
Amazulu’s last single “Wonderful World Beautiful People” peaked at #97 on the U.K. Singles chart. In early 1988, Amazulu disbanded.

Anne-Marie Ruddock appeared in the Alex Cox film “Straight to Hell.” According to Internet research, as of 2006, she was residing in London, studying & working in computer software.

Sharon Bailey traveled the world & lived in Brazil & Rome. These days, she divides her time between New York and Buckinghamshire. Sharon also owns her own business and worked in social services. She is still involved in music & drums from time to time.

Clare Kelly went on to join music act Coming Up Roses and became a session player for artists such as Damien Dempsey, Sinead O’Connor and Shakespears Sister. She currently resides in London.

These days, Margo Sagov is involved in architecture and still involved in music. It’s unknown what Nardo Bailey and Lesley Beach are up to these days.

To see the music video for “Cairo,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Smiley Stylee,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Moonlight Romance,” go to:

To see the music video for “Excitable,” go to:

To see the music video for “Don’t You Just Know It,” go to:

To see the music video for “Too Good to Be Forgotten,” go to:

To see the music video for “Montego Bay,” go to:

To see the music video for “All Over the World,” go to:

To see a video for “Wonderful World Beautiful People,” go to:

i5

i5 (which means International 5) was a pop girl group from the early 2000s.

The group consisted of Andi Murphy (from England), Christina Rumbley (from the United States), Gaby Equiz (from Mexico), Kate Macalino (from the Philippines) and Tal Hajek (from Israel).

They were formed by their record label Giant Records who held auditions for members that would be international in order to appeal to a larger fan base.

In the spring of 2000, i5 was featured on the soundtrack to the film “Center Stage” with the song “First Kiss.” By the summer of that same year, they began touring with Nickelodeon’s “All That Music and More” tour where they promoted their debut single “Distracted.”
“Distracted” was released as a single, but didn’t appear to make any Billboard charts.
In September of 2000, the group released their self-titled debut album which also didn’t appear to make any music charts at all.

After Giant Records folded, it left i5 without a record label and after they were unable to find a new one, they disbanded in 2001.

Christina Rumbley (now Christina Rumbley Stratton) did voice-over work and wrote songs for artists such as LeAnn Rimes, No Angels and L5. These days, she resides in Asheville, North Carolina where she owns & operates a day spa called Spa Theology. She also has a daughter.

These days, Kate Macelino (now Geri Kate Pierce) resides in Orange County, California, is married, a mother and has worked with various fundraisers.

Gaby Equiz (now Gaby Equiz-Basso) was a television host in California, but in 2004, she returned to Tijuana, Mexico where she opened a dance studio called Alma Latina in 2006 along with her husband Sergio Basso.

Gaby and her husband are ranked among the top ten best dancers in the world.

These days, Andi Murphy (now Andi McCormack) is the owner and artistic director of the Penny Lane Dance Academy.

Taj Hajek worked as a VJ for MTV. She formed a rock band called Public Recipe (with her husband & friends) which disbanded in 2004. As of 2014, she is the CEO of beauty academy MVA.LA in Los Angeles, California.

To see a fan-made video for “Distracted,” go to:

Kiley Dean

Kiley Dean (born on April 12, 1982 in Alma, Arkansas) is a female pop\R&B singer who first appeared in the music scene in the early 2000s.

At the age of seven, Kiley & her family moved to Orlando, Florida. Her experience singing in church & school led to her singing back-up for Britney Spears on her “…Baby One More Time” and “Oops! I Did it Again World” tours.

In 2002, she signed to Timbaland’s short-lived record label Beat Club Records.
In May of 2003, Kiley released her debut single “Make Me a Song” which peaked at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #54 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks.
Kiley’s follow-up single “Who Will I Run To” peaked at #64 on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales chart and managed to peak at #39 on the Radio & Records CHR\Pop Chart. It also appeared on music countdown shows such as “American Top 40 with Casey Kasem” and the “Rick Dees Weekly Top 40.”

The song was remixed in mid-January of 2004 in order to save its spins, but it received limited airplay and failed to achieve any success.

Because of the low success of Kiley’s first two singles, her debut album “Simple Girl” was never released, although practically all the songs from her unreleased album appear on YouTube.

During 2003 and 2004, Kiley provided guest vocals on songs by artists such as Timbaland and Bubba Sparxx. In 2005, she began working on a new album under the name “Blue Eyes” and released the single “Lookin’ For Love” to radio.
In 2006, Kiley released the single “Who I Am” to radio, but it didn’t appear to make any charts at all.

In 2007, she signed with Mathew Knowles (the father of Beyonce & Solange Knowles)’ record label Music World Entertainment & was supposed to release the album “Changes,” but she left the label after six months.

In 2008, Kiley joined Madonna on her “Sticky & Sweet” tour as a backup vocal, replacing Madonna’s long-time backing singer Donna DeLory (who was pregnant at the time).

In 2010, Kiley recorded remixes of cover versions by artists such as Usher, 50 Cent, Ludacris, B.o.B. and Snoop Dogg which became available on her Soundcloud and YouTube accounts.
In March of that same year, Kiley released the album “Changes” digitally on ReverbNation for a limited period. The album consists of recorded music following her 2003 shelved debut album.

In 2011, Kiley joined Matthew Morrison and New Kids on the Block on their tours as a backup singer. In 2012, she sang backup for Madonna on her “MDNA” tour.

These days, Kiley appears to still be active in the music business. She is currently working on a new EP as of 2014.

To see the music video for “Make Me a Song,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Who Will I Run To,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Who I Am,” go to:

First Circle

First Circle was an R&B band from New York that consisted of singer Albert Lee, guitarist Larry Marsden, percussionist Richard Sinclair, bassist Anthony McEwan and drummer Glenn Everette.
In 1987, they released their debut single “Workin’ Up a Sweat” which peaked at #49 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks.
During that same year, First Circle released their debut & only album “Boys’ Night Out” on EMI America Records. It’s unknown how or if the album made the charts at all.

The follow-up singles “Miracle Worker” and “Can’t Find a Love” didn’t appear to make any music charts at all.

After that, it seems as if First Circle has faded into obscurity. Nothing much has been heard from them since.

To see the music video for “Workin’ Up a Storm,” go to:

To see a  fan-video for “Miracle Worker,” go to:

To see a video for “Can’t Find a Love,” go to:

Sarina Paris

Sarina Paris (born on December 22, 1973 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a female dance-pop singer.
She grew up in Toronto in a working-class Italian family. In 1995, Sarina released her debut single “Mystery Man” in Canada only. In 1996, she moved to Italy after the death of her mother to get in touch with her roots.

While in Italy, Sarina met producer\manager Vince Tempera who invited her to become a member of the Gam Gam Project alongside other producers Max Monti and Mauro Pilato in Rimini, Italy which aimed at teaching Italian kids to sing in the English language.

A year later, Sarina moved to Milan where she worked as a receptionist at a CX music publishing & production company where she was discovered by Charlie Marchino & Nico Spinosa (of EMI Records’ Italian music division) and began her music career.
In 2000, she released her debut single “Look at Us” which peaked at #59 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, #23 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart, #31 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart and #29 on Billboard’s Top 40 Tracks chart. It was also an international dance club hit.
Due to the success of “Look At Us,” Sarina was signed to Priority Records in the United States.

In May of 2001, she released her self-titled debut album which peaked at #167 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.
The follow-up single “Just About Enough” was released as a club-exclusive single and was a moderately successful dance hit. During that same year, “Look at Us” was nominated for a Juno Award in the “Best Dance Recording” category.

Sarina released another dance track called “This is My Life” which featured on a Canadian dance compliation album “Euro Mix 5” on SPG Records.

In 2003, Sarina released the single “You Are My Valentine” which is available on “EuroBeats Vol. 3” only. In May of 2004, she toured with singer La Toya Jackson in various parts on Hawaii.

After that, not much was heard from Sarina until 2011 when she released the single “Sophisticated” which is said to be the first single from her second album which has yet to be released.

To see the music video for “Look At Us,” go to:

To see the music video for “Just About Enough,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Sophisticated,” go to:

Good Question

Good Question was an R&B\dance duo that consisted of brothers Sean & Marc Douglas (from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
In 1988, they released their debut single “Got a New Love” which peaked at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100, #14 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, #51 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart (staying on the chart for 11 weeks) and topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play Singles chart for a a week in October of 1988.
During that same year, Good Question released their self-titled debut album on Paisley Park Records. It’s unknown how or if the album made the charts at all.
The follow-up single “Listen to Your Heart” didn’t appear to make any impact on the charts and after that, it seems as if Good Question has faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what they are up to these days.

To see the music video for “Got a New Love,” go to:

To see a  video for “Listen to Your Heart,” go to:

F.A.T.E.

F.A.T.E. (which means For All They’ve Endured) was a female R&B trio that consisted of Tiff (born Tiffany Chisolm from Jersey City, New Jersey), Shy (born Shaunesa Walker from Jersey City, New Jersey) and Precious (born Patricia McKelvin from Harlem, New York). They formed as a trio in 1997.

Tiff and Shy met in high school and they met Precious at an audition for another music group. Precious’ mother Alegra Harris was the co-manager of the trio along with Valerie Hicks of New York-based label AppleGarden Entertainment who gave the trio’s demo tape to an employee at Flavor Unit Records (a Warner Bros Records imprint by Queen Latifah and Shakir Compere).

The employee forwarded the demo tape to Shakir Compere and the trio was signed to the label.
In 1999, they released the single “Just Because.” The single didn’t appear to make any music charts, but it was featured on the soundtrack to the film “The Takeover.”
In 2000, F.A.T.E. released their debut and only album to date “For All That’s Endured.”

The album peaked at #196 on the Billboard 200, #35 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart and #14 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.
The follow-up single from the album “They’ll Never Be” also failed to make any Billboard charts at all.

After that, it seemed as if F.A.T.E. faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what the other members of the trio are up to.

To see a fan-made video for “Just Because,” go to:

Hoku

Hoku (born Hoku Christian Ho on June 10, 1981 in Oahu, Hawaii) is a pop music singer from the early 2000s.

She is the daughter of late entertainer Don Ho and Patricia Swaillie. She has a younger sister, Kaimana and eight half-siblings. As a child, she frequently performed with her dad who taught her how to write songs. She attended and graduated from La Pietra: Hawaii School for Girls in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Hoku attracted the attention of songwriter\producer Antonina Armato who encouraged her to move to Los Angeles, California to meet with other producers and was offered a $300,000 contract with Geffen Records.

At the time, she was attending Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California and dropped her last name when she moved from Hawaii. Armato helped Hoku secure the record deal, and her father insisted that he and his lawyers review it before she signed it, saying: “I didn’t want her signing something that wasn’t good.” In 1999, she married her high school sweetheart, Jeremy Clements.
In January of 2000, she released her debut single, “Another Dumb Blonde” which peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #29 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart. A day after the music video premiered on MTV, it was the network’s 10th most-requested video.
Shocked by the success of the single, Hoku dropped out of college and began recording her debut album. She released the album in April of 2000 which peaked at #151 on the Billboard 200 and #8 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.

The follow-up single from the album, “How Do I Feel (The Burrito Song)” failed to make any impact on the charts at all.
In March of 2001, Hoku released the single, “Perfect Day” which was featured on the soundtrack to the film, “Legally Blonde.” After releasing the single, she planned to work on her sophomore album, but she later left the label due to disagreements with them regarding her image and marketing which she felt clashed with her Pentecostal Christian upbringing.
After leaving her record label, nothing much was heard from Hoku until 2007 when she released an EP called “Listen Up” through her own record label, Ola Vista Records. Later that month, she opened up for Gwen Stefani on “The Sweet Escape” tour during her shows at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
In 2017, Hoku released the single, “O Holy Night (Hallelujah).” A year later,  she released a Christian music EP, “Called by Name.” These days, she and her husband, Jeremy have three children and serve as Arts & Worship Architects at Branches Church in Dana Point, California.

To see Hoku’s official website, go to:
https://www.hokumusic.com/

To follow Hoku on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/hoku_music_official/

To see a video for “Another Dumb Blonde,” go to:

To see a video for “How Do I Feel (The Burrito Song),” go to:

To see a video for “Perfect Day,” go to:

To see a video for “Listen Up,” go to:

To see a video for “O Holy Night (Hallelujah)”, go to:

To see a video for “Called By Name,” go to:

[updated on 11\30\2021]