Great Moments In Pop – The 90s Part 70.

There haven’t been that many people who have appeared in a British soap and then gone on to have some hits with some good pop songs, but I think that this is one of them. Michelle Gayle started out as an actress in the late-80s, appearing in Grange Hill. In the early-90s, she joined EastEnders as Hattie (I think that we once had a hamster called Hattie, but I’m not sure if it was named in her honour).

After a few years she left, and launched a pop career. Although she didn’t exactly shake the world, and the majority of her success was local, she made a more than decent attempt at being an acclaimed soul singer. In August 1993 her debut “Looking Up” was released, which reached no. 11. Next in September 1994 was “Sweetness”, which reached no. 4, her first Top Ten hit in the UK.

One of the reasons this did well was because manning the controls was Narada Michael Walden, the soul singer who had a couple of big hits in the 80s. Her first album was well received too. Next in December 1994 was “I’ll Find You”, which reached no. 26. Then in May 1995 “Freedom”, reached no. 16, and she hosted an edition of Top Of The Pops around this time.

Then she married “Brighty”, a Premier League footballer who was the mate of “Wrighty”, a few years before a lot more famous pop stars would be doing such a thing. In August 1995 “Happy Just To Be With You” reached no. 11. This is my favourite single of hers, mostly because this, like many other songs, samples Chic’s “Good Times”, and you can’t go wrong with that really.

This could’ve peaked higher, but was released in the same week as the Blur/Oasis nonsense, so this ended up being rather overlooked unfortunately. Michelle returned in February 1997 with “Do You Know”, which reached no. 6, her second and final UK Top Ten hit, which was definitely as good as her previous singles. She had her seventh and final hit in April 1997 when “Sensational” reached no. 14.

Her second album also did well, but then she dropped off the scene. Since then, her most high-profile music moments were in 2005 when she took part in Reborn In The USA, a competition where past-it singers attempted to find some fame stateside, and in 2008 she narrowly missed the chance to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing second.