Claire Richards
| Claire Richards | |
|---|---|
Richards performing at Newcastle in 2012
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Claire Anne Richards |
| Born |
17 August 1977 Hillingdon, London, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, dancer |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | AVEX, Jive, WEA, Sony, Steps Recordings, Warner Music |
| Associated acts | TSD, Steps, H & Claire |
| Website | Official website |
Claire Richards (born 17 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and dancer best known for being a singer in the pop group Steps from 1997 until Richards left the band resulting in the band splitting shortly after in 2001. The group reformed in 2011 and went on a comeback tour and released a greatest hits collection followed by their fourth studio album Light Up The World in November 2012.
Richards was a contestant on the second series of Popstar to Operastar before being voted off in the semi finals. Richards possesses the vocal range of a soprano. On 3 January 2013, Richards entered Celebrity Big Brother and came in fourth place. From April to June 2014, Richards was a regular panellist on Loose Women.
Richards began her career in the pop trio TSD. They had little success and were dropped by their record label AVEX after the release of their second single "Baby I Love You". Richards went on to work as a receptionist for seven months, winning the temporary worker of the month award for May 1997.
Richards auditioned for the lineup that would become Steps. She was offered a place in the group on the condition that she lost weight. Steps were formed by Steve Crosby & Barry Upton (writers of "5, 6, 7, 8") alongside Manager Tim Byrne after auditioning hopefuls who answered an ad in The Stage newspaper. She joined the group in 1997 along with Ian "H" Watkins, Lisa Scott-Lee, Faye Tozer and Lee Latchford-Evans, and the band enjoyed considerable popularity across the world over the next five years.
In 2001, following their Boxing Day split, the group were heavily criticised by their own fans. After the group spent much of 2001 strongly dismissing claims of a split, fans were furious and accused the group of capitalizing off the success of a host of merchandise released in the lucrative pre-Christmas market. However, it has since come to light that both H and Claire left the group on the last night of the Steps "Gold: Greatest Hits" tour because of their ongoing unhappiness within the band, although Steps' official statement stated that the split was caused by their belief that they should end on a high, while they were at their best and could be remembered for being the best of their kind.
...
Wikipedia