Melissa Bell

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Melissa Cecelia Ewen Bell (born March 5, 1964 in London - † August 28, 2017 ) was a British singer. She was best known as one of the lead singers in the R&B group Soul II Soul , of which she was a member from 1993 to 1996. She sang on the single Wish and on the album Volume V: Believe .

Life

Melissa Bell grew up in London. After finishing school, she worked in sales for Marks & Spencer from 1982 onwards . As a young black woman with Jamaican roots, she experienced a lot of racism during this time . Margaret Thatcher is said to have refused to shake hands during a visit. In addition to her sales activities, she performed as a singer with various groups. In 1987 she recorded the single Walk on the Wild Side with Bobby E and the Midi City Crew , their first single release.

In 1991 she left Marks & Spencer and tried to be successful as a solo artist. Their first single Reconsider was released in 1991, followed by If It's Love in 1992 . Their first singles caught the interest of Jazzie B from the then very successful R&B group Soul II Soul. Melissa Bell joined the group and was featured on the two singles Wish and Be a Man . After the album Volume V - Believe , she left the group again.

In 1997 the singles Rumbled Sex , Surrender , Mixed Up and Nothing Gonna Stop Me Now followed . She also performed with the soul band The Soul Explosion.

In the 2000s she retired from her musical career because she suffered from a severe form of diabetes that made it impossible for her to tour extensively.

Her daughter Alexandra Burke is an active pop singer, best known for winning the 2008 season of The X Factor . Soon after, her mother's condition worsened. After receiving treatment for kidney failure during one of her daughter's X-Factor shows , she was now dependent on dialysis every day. Bell declined a kidney donation from her daughter. Burke helped her with a fundraising campaign and managed to get her mother to stay at home.

In 2010 her autobiography Heart and Soul was published .

On August 28, 2017, Melissa Bell died at the age of 53 as a result of her diabetes.

Works

  • Heart and Soul: The Emotional Autobiography of Melissa Bell, Alexandra Burke's Mother . John Blake 2010. ISBN 978-1844549214

Discography

With Soul II Soul

Album:

  • 1995: Volume V - Believe

Singles:

  • 1993: Wish
  • 1995: Be a Man

solo

Singles:

  • 1991: Reconsider
  • 1992: If It's Love
  • 1997: Surrender
  • 1997: Mixed Up
  • 1997: Nothing Gonna Stop Me Now (with Potential Bad Boy)
  • 2001: Love's in Need of Love Today (with Dazz)
  • 2002: (No More) Searching

Guest appearances

  • 1985: Fulfill Your Fantasy (by Keith Pole)
  • 1987: Walk on the Wild Side (with BobbyE and the Midi City Crew)
  • 1991: The Dancer from Bingoboys
  • 1998: Temptation from Staxx
  • 2000: Like an Angel from Web
  • 2000: Into My World by Dazz
  • 2001: Radio Heaven from Web
  • 2012: 4 You and Watch Out from Moon Base
  • 2014: Lost & Loved by Thomas Motter
  • 2017: Call & Response 3 by Thomas Motter

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Melissa Bell . In: The Times . August 30, 2017, ISSN  0140-0460 ( thetimes.co.uk [accessed April 4, 2018]).
  2. ↑ Telegraph Reporters: Melissa Bell, Soul II Soul singer and mother of Alexandra Burke, dies aged 53 . In: The Telegraph . August 29, 2017, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed April 4, 2018]).
  3. ↑ a b Peter Gruner: Melissa Bell: Alexandra's rock and inspiration. In: Islington Tribune. September 11, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2018 (UK English).
personal data
SURNAME Bell, Melissa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bell, Melissa Cecelia Ewen (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British singer
DATE OF BIRTH March 5, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 2017