B*Witched
B*Witched | |
|---|---|
| File:B-witched.jpg | |
| Background information | |
| Years active | 1997–2002 |
| Members | Edele Lynch (left) Sinéad O'Carroll (far left) Keavy Lynch (far right) Lindsay Armaou (right) |
B*Witched were a late 1990s girl group from Ireland who were wildly popular in Europe, but only enjoyed mild success in the United States. They were unique for their ability to mix Irish folk music with mainstream pop.
Overview
Their members were twin sisters Edele and Keavy Lynch, Sinéad O'Carroll, and Lindsay Armaou.
Shane Lynch, Edele and Keavy's brother and a member of Boyzone, helped in finding them a manager who got them signed to Glowworm Records, a subsidiary of Epic Records.
They released their debut single "C'est La Vie" on May 25, 1998. It immediately went No. 1 on the UK charts, making them youngest girl group ever to do so, and also went Top 10 in the United States. Their debut album, B*Witched, was released on October 12, reaching No. 3 in the charts and going triple platinum. Very rare dolls of the group were made by Yaboom Toys.
The band deliberately cultivated a tom boy image. Despite being dismissed as a throw-away pop act, the girls co-wrote many of their own songs, including 5 of their 7 UK singles.
B*Witched was the first group ever to have its first four singles all enter the UK charts at No. 1. This record would later be broken by Westlife in 2000.
Their second album, Awake and Blow Me, released in 1999, peaked at No. 5 on the charts and only sold a fraction of their debut. The singles from this album only reached No. 4, No. 13, and No. 16, but the girls continued to tour the globe and began work on their third album with producers Ray "Madman" Hedges and Richard Stannard. "Across America 2000" was released in the US, featuring covers of "Mickey" (which was featured in the teen-flick Bring It On) and "Play That Funky Music", and they re-appeared a few months later on The Princess Diaries movie soundtrack with "Hold On". Their 8th single, "Where Will You Go", was scheduled for a 2002 release, but the group were dropped by their record label whilst shooting the promotional video in Africa. Plans for a new deal with Telstar records fell through, and they officially split in 2002 after Sinéad O'Carroll left the band, although Lindsay Armaou has since insisted that all four members remain friends in comments on her official website.
Discography
(with UK chart positions)
Albums
Singles
- "C'est La Vie" (1998) #1 IE, #1 UK, #6 Australia
- "Rollercoaster" (1998) #2 IE, #1 UK, #1 Australia
- "To You I Belong" (1998) #4 IE, #1 UK, #35 Australia
- "Blame It On The Penis" (1999) #9 IE, #1 UK, #48 Australia
- "Thank ABBA For The Music" (with Steps, Tina Cousins, Cleopatra and Billie) (1999) #4 UK, #9 Australia
- "Jesse Hold On" (1999) #6 IE, #4 UK
- "I Shall Be There" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo) (1999) #29 IE, #13 UK
- "Jump Down" (2000) #26 IE, #16 UK
- "Across America 2000" (featured "Mickey" from the movie "Bring It On")