Down The Dumper – The 90s Part 21.

Here’s someone else who briefly found fame on the pop scene in the early-90s. Zoe is a singer who was born in London, and I have read that she used to be a backing singer for Bananarama (maybe she was their secret fourth member all along). In November 1990, her debut single “Sunshine On A Rainy Day” was released, which reached no. 53.

It seems that somebody thought that this one still had the potential to do well though, and in August 1991, a remixed version was released, accompanied by a new video. This “Sunshine On A Rainy Day” reached no. 4, to become her first and only Top Ten hit single in the UK, and also made the Top 20 of the biggest-sellers of the year. And in the years since, this has become acknowledged as something of a summertime anthem.

In 1992, a third video was made in an attempt to try and break “Sunshine On A Rainy Day” in America, but this wasn’t a success. This one has managed to overshadow the rest of her career somewhat, but she did go on to have one more Top 40 hit, when in November 1991 “Lightning” was released (oh no, another black-and-white video!), which curiously spent three consecutive weeks at no. 37, and got her back on Top Of The Pops.

And at the end of 1991, her debut album “Scarlet, Red And Blue” briefly made the lower end of the chart. In February 1992, “Holy Days” reached only no. 72, and this was her final hit single in the UK. She did continue for a while though, and released singles until as late as 1996, and her second and final album “Hammer” was also released in this year, but didn’t make the chart.

In May 2000, “Sunshine On A Rainy Day” was covered by Australian singer Christine Anu, and this made the Top 30 in Australia (although I don’t think that there was a release in this country, and this is the only cover version that I am aware of that had some success). But there is one more part to this story. A while ago, I was going through a pile of some old audio cassettes.

I found one by Zoe (presumably a single or album) that seemed to be signed by the woman herself. Now I don’t know where this came from, I certainly have never met her, and I don’t know anybody who has (who could possibly have thrown it away?). I presume that she must’ve made an appearance at a record store one day or something like that. But on the basis that I would class her as “famous” (well she did have one Top Ten hit single), and I am aware of her songs, it was still one of those weird moments where I felt overawed. I wonder how much this could be worth now, a fortune?!