VIVA LA STEVENS [FANCLUB]

DISCLAIMER:
WE ARE NOT RACHEL STEVENS!
This is a FANCLUB for Rachel Stevens' Fans to show thier appreciation and support. It is in no way affiliated with Rachel, 19, Polydor or her Official site.
This fanclub page is part of RACHEL STEVENS CENTRAL .
You may already know about Rachel. You may know how as one seventh - and then one sixth - of the global S Club phenomenon she changed the pop landscape, and how over four years S Club scored 12 Top 10 hits, including four number ones, and released five albums, amounting to over 13m record sales worldwide. So youll also know about the countless awards two Brits among them and the sell-out arena tours, and the sponsorship deals with everything from Pepsi to BT, and the TV series broadcast in 110 countries, and the fact that some FHM readers didnt think she was very ugly. Paradoxically, while we may already know about Rachel, an idol and an icon for millions of fans around the world, nobody really knows her. Well not yet, anyway. Thats all set to change as Rachel Ex-Club becomes Rachel Stevens, a popstar like no other whose passion and talent for music will be welcomed by anyone whose musical memory recalls a time when popstars did a little bit more than sit around in nice clothes. In S Club I played a role in a band, Rachel smiles. Inevitably with so many of us we were each given labels this ones the singer, this one does the dancing But now I can go off and be me. And Im enjoying being me. My horizons wide open now. Looking out at her new horizon, 25-year-old Rachel sees an exciting future, but shes not expecting anything on a plate. I want people to see me as a new artist, she says, explaining that her workaholic tendencies ruled out any sort of holiday when the S Club party wound down in April. In fact, she cant begin to think what she might have done in the past six months if she hadnt gone straight back into the studio. Textbook Aries. Youve got to focus on what youre doing, she says plainly, and just do it. If this doesnt sound like the laissez-faire approach typical of most pop group graduates Well, Rachels hardly your typical pop group graduate, any more than shes ever been a typical popstar. This willingness to fling herself back into the world of work is the latest step in a tenacious, focused ambition which one decade ago led a fifteen-year-old Rachel to take on 5,000 hopefuls in a J-17 modelling competition. She won; the prize led to a spell at the London School of Fashion, and with her diploma in hand she went into fashion PR. She put together some dodgy demos, as you do, and when a few things led to a few other things, Rachel Stevens found herself in a band called S Club. Which rather begs the question, how long has Rachel Stevens been yearning for life as a solo artist? I suppose, she says with a mischievous grin, Ive always wanted it. Im a very determined person, and you always have to look to the future. In a way I didnt want S Club to end - none of us did - but in a bigger way we knew that we all wanted to do our own stuff. Given that this is the first time in five years when Rachels been by herself, this should really be the point where she denounces her high-octane pop past. She should be out on benders, dissing her back catalogue and embarking on an ill-advised rock sound with talk of being real. At least, this is how received knowledge tells us she should be doing it. But thats not the way Rachel operates and while it might be easy to turn your back on your past, it takes more dignity and strength of character - qualities hardly in abundance in todays Top 40 - to embrace your roots. At any rate, Rachel still loves her S Club work. Songs like Reach and S Club Party are pop classics, she beams, and Im really proud that I had a part in them. Pop should never be a dirty word, and I dont agree that you need to grow up in a garage with a guitar making your fingers bleed in order to be considered a musician. Just because youve come from a pop background it doesnt mean you have no right to make music. Anyone doubting Rachels right to make music will already be questioning their preconceptions in the light of her debut solo single, the shit-hot, Cathy Dennis-penned slice of girl empowerment Sweet Dreams My LA-Ex. Produced by Murlyn Music hotshot Bloodshy the buy behind tunes from Ms Dynamite and Christina Milian - Sweet Dreams is brassy, bold and distinctive. Its typical of Rachels solo material in that it sounds like nothing else on the nations pop playlist. Nor does it really sound much like anything else on her debut album, Funky Dory (released September 29), a collection of modern pop landmarks at once totally diverse and utterly Rachel. The writers really got my personality and the direction I want to go in, Rachel says. The first single is a great example the first time I heard it I knew its what I wanted. In the last month or so Rachels been sorting out her CD collection. It made me laugh, she smiles. For a start, there are things in there which I havent listened to in a year but I refuse to throw away. What kind of person could throw music away? But the variety of whats in there is what most took me by surprise. From Justin and Christina to Coldplay and The Strokes, diversity is the key to Rachel Stevens, in the CDs on her shelf and in the music she makes for other peoples shelves. I love pop and I love mainstream music, but theres more than one way to skin a cat. This album is the type of music I listen to and am passionate about. Theres plenty of passion on Funky Dory, from the undulating ice-like glide of Silk to the sassy funk workout of Glide, via classic modern pop anthems like Breathe In Breathe Out and the smart R&B of Little Secret. Backroom talents like Anders Bagge (Janet Jackson, Britney) and Mike Peden (Will Young) bring the album to life, with bluechip songwriters ranging from Cathy Dennis to Guy Chambers. Rachels even been lending her own hand to the songwriting - a new experience she describes as an absolute thrill. One of the albums highlights is the title track, mooted as a forthcoming single, which spins a hypnotic pop thumper out of David Bowies Hunky Dory album track Andy Warhol. Among Warhols various legacies is a philosophy on which Stevens thrives: pop is about more than popularity. Pop is a state of mind. Pop is art. Pop is an art. A pop song is never just a pop song, any more than a tin of soup is ever just a tin of soup. S Club wasnt about taking itself seriously, it was about filling dancefloors, and thats exactly what we did, Rachel summarises. But now, its just about me. Its scary and its daunting, but its an absolute thrill. I feel brand new. Pop can be a tough place: its competitive, harsh, turbulent and cruel. Sometimes it can be downright rubbish. But Rachel Stevens is willing and able to take on the world with style, wit and an album of tunes to die for. And shes going to win. Pop may sometimes be in the gutter, but Rachel Stevens continues to reach for the stars...Rachels back with a collection of songs so strong and inventive that, like Rachel, they are simply impossible to ignore - I want to put pop music back on the map, she states. The style of her new material pitches the new album light years ahead of its predecessor. And while Rachel is proud of the first album she happily admits that it represented only the first step in pinpointing her personality as a solo star. It would be a boring life if I just released the same album every two years, she explains. Lead single Negotiate With Love is a tale of lost identity in a floundering relationship. On one hand it is yet another defining moment in modern pop and on the other its a melodically rich tour de force. Just 18 months into her solo career Rachel scored two of the best British pop singles in recent memory - 2003s Sweet Dreams My LA Ex and last years summer anthem Some Girls. Released in September 2003, Sweet Dreams My LA Ex kicked things off in style. Originally an imagined answer to Justin Timberlakes Cry Me A River, LA Ex was the work of Cathy Dennis and Bloodshy & Avant (who worked with Britney on Toxic) and its unusual sound found some unlikely fans including rockers Lostprophets, who covered the song for a 2004 b-side. LA Ex was one of 2003s biggest sellers and was quickly followed by Rachels debut solo album, Funky Dory. Hitting the Top 10 after just one week, it went on to sell over a quarter of a million copies. By the summer of 2004, Rachel had another huge hit with the Richard X produced Some Girls. The song provoked rave reactions everywhere from the Pollwinners Party to the Popbitch messageboard and fronted 2004s BBC Sports Relief campaign. Richard X and his Some Girls collaborator Hannah Robinson also worked with Rachel on a brand new song, Crazy Boys, one of Rachels favourite new album tracks. Among Rachels other new material we find the breezily self-confident So Good and the seismic I Said Never Again But Here We Are. With each new song recorded and with each new single to hit the charts, Rachel Stevens seems to have less and less to prove, exploring new avenues while still, undoubtedly, reaching for the stars. This album is about putting pop music back on the agenda, and Rachel cant wait to get started. When you hear what shes got up her sleeve, youll realise why.