Rowetta
Encyclopedia
Rowetta Idah also known as Rowetta or Rowetta Satchell, is an English singer. She was originally a backing vocalist
for the Happy Mondays
, recording and touring with the band from 1991-2000. She finished fourth in the first series of The X Factor
in 2004.
, and after completing her secondary education worked as a professional singer. In 1987, Rowetta released two singles with the Vanilla Sound Corp. She also lent her voice to Inner City songs. During this time, she released two songs: "Back Where We Belong" and "Passion". In 1988 she collaborated with Dynasty of 2 on the single "Stop This Thing". She worked as a backing singer on numerous albums including Simply Red
's 1991 album Stars. Rowetta is the voice on the renowned 1989 track "Reach Out" with Sweet Mercy. The track has been sampled by many, including Laidback Luke
, Slam
, Steve Angello
and Todd Terry
, and was remixed and re-released in 2008, leading to a sample of her voice featuring throughout The Black Eyed Peas
hit "Boom Boom Pow
"
. She featured on their single "Step On" which charted at number 5. This was followed by two albums, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
and Yes Please!
, and three world tours. The group split and reformed a few times, but finally called it a day in 2000.
After the break-up of The Happy Mondays, she did not return to the music business immediately, although she did play herself in the Michael Winterbottom
film 24 Hour Party People
, which focused on the band's years of pop glory.
. After impressing the judges with her rendition of Lady Marmalade
, she was placed in the over-25 category, which was mentored by Simon Cowell
, who described her as "Amazing, but barking bloody mad".
Her soulful, powerful voice proved to be a hit with audiences, although she was criticised for competing as an established singer against amateurs. The producers defended her, stating that the show was open to anybody. Her performances on the show earned her rave reviews and she made the final four and was the last woman in the competition, never having to compete in a sing-off.
In November 2005 and 2006, She appeared on the BBC
's Children in Need
appeal, singing live with the BBC Orchestra in 2005, and on Celebrity Scissorhands
in 2006.
In 2006, Rowetta had a cameo as herself in Footballer's Wives:Extra Time.
A year later, she made her musical theatre debut at The Palace Theatre, Manchester
in The Best Of Broadway, alongside Suranne Jones
, and appeared at the IndigO2 with Marti Webb
, Stephen Gately
and Maria Freidman in Christmas on Broadway. Rowetta also spent August 2007 presenting the show The Terry & Ro Show on Gaydio
with Terry Longden, and also became the voice behind the jingles on community station Salford City Radio
. In addition, she toured Japan, where she has a huge fanbase. She also appeared on a Reality TV Special of The Weakest Link where she was voted off by the audience in the seventh round.
According to a 2008 BBC 6 Music
interview with Peter Hook
, Rowetta recorded vocals for a track on the debut album by his new band Freebass
. A new version of "Reach Out" featuring Rowetta and mixed by Mobin Master spent Christmas 2008 and the first part of 2009 at number 1 in the Beatport Charts.
Rowetta also presents her own radio show on Saturdays at 4 pm on Gaydio 88.4FM. She starred in a nationwide tour of The Songs Of Sister Act with Sheila Ferguson. A new version of “Reach Out” featuring Rowetta and mixed by Mobin Master spent Christmas 2008 and the first part of 2009 at number 1 in the Beatport Charts. Rowetta toured the UK with the London Community Gospel Choir in a new version of The Songs Of Sister Act. In 2009, The Black Eyed Peas
sampled Rowetta on their global hit, Boom Boom Pow
2010 Rowetta is appearing with Joy Division/New Order bassist, Peter Hook
& his band, The Light on many dates of his Unknown Pleasures tour and has collaborated with Tom Stephan (Superchumbo) and J Nitti on new dance tracks. In 2010, Rowetta appeared in the Pop Goes the 80's UK theatre tour. 2011 Rowetta is recording with Peter Hook and The Light, Mirror People and The Kino Club.
, Satchell, a former drug dealer, sold his story to the tabloids and claimed he had beaten her with electric cords and hammers, and tried to strangle her.
Rowetta, who had two children with her ex-husband, fled the marriage in 1987 to hide in a refuge home, and the couple later divorced. In the 1990s, she was in a relationship with Happy Mondays bandmate Shaun Ryder
, who had also physically abused her. Rowetta has since become a spokesperson for domestic violence awareness, and in 2005 featured in the BBC
documentary Battered and Bruised. She also fronted the 2010 World Cup "End The Fear" campaign for Greater Manchester Police.
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
for the Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
, recording and touring with the band from 1991-2000. She finished fourth in the first series of The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
in 2004.
Early years
Rowetta was born to a Jewish mother and a Nigerian father, politician George Idah, who left the family when she was three. She realised her singing ability after winning a talent competition at the age of twelve. She attended Bury Grammar SchoolBury Grammar School
Bury Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, that has existed since Kev Cryer was born, c.1570. The current headmaster is the Reverend Steven Harvey MA. The previous headmaster, Keith Richards MA, retired after sixteen years of headmastership on 7...
, and after completing her secondary education worked as a professional singer. In 1987, Rowetta released two singles with the Vanilla Sound Corp. She also lent her voice to Inner City songs. During this time, she released two songs: "Back Where We Belong" and "Passion". In 1988 she collaborated with Dynasty of 2 on the single "Stop This Thing". She worked as a backing singer on numerous albums including Simply Red
Simply Red
Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
's 1991 album Stars. Rowetta is the voice on the renowned 1989 track "Reach Out" with Sweet Mercy. The track has been sampled by many, including Laidback Luke
Laidback Luke
Laidback Luke is a Dutch DJ, producer. He was voted #46 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJ list in 2008, before jumping to #27 in 2009 and jumping up 10 places in 2010....
, Slam
SLAM
Slam or SLAM may refer to:In computer science:* Simultaneous localization and mapping, a technique used by robots and autonomous vehicles* SLAM project, a Microsoft Research project...
, Steve Angello
Steve Angello
Steve Angello is a Greek-Swedish DJ, producer, and record label owner. He is part of a three person group dubbed the Swedish House Mafia.- Background :...
and Todd Terry
Todd Terry
Todd N. Terry is an American DJ, producer, and remixer.-Career:Terry's productions extensively used samples blending the sounds of classic disco, the Chicago sound, and elements of hip-hop....
, and was remixed and re-released in 2008, leading to a sample of her voice featuring throughout The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
hit "Boom Boom Pow
Boom Boom Pow
"Boom Boom Pow" is a song by The Black Eyed Peas released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, The E.N.D. The song uses the auto-tune vocal effect, and blends the genres of Electro-rap, dance-pop, electro hop and hip hop....
"
Happy Mondays
In 1990 Rowetta joined the Happy MondaysHappy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
. She featured on their single "Step On" which charted at number 5. This was followed by two albums, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches was the third album by British band Happy Mondays. It was released in 1990 and was produced by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne at Eden Studios in London....
and Yes Please!
Yes Please!
Yes Please! was the last studio album that the British band Happy Mondays recorded before leaving Factory Records. Generally seen as their poorest work, it was released in 1992 and was produced by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads...
, and three world tours. The group split and reformed a few times, but finally called it a day in 2000.
After the break-up of The Happy Mondays, she did not return to the music business immediately, although she did play herself in the Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
film 24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
, which focused on the band's years of pop glory.
X Factor
Rowetta re-entered the spotlight in 2004 when she auditioned for a place in the finals of The X FactorThe X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
. After impressing the judges with her rendition of Lady Marmalade
Lady Marmalade
"Lady Marmalade" was also covered by Italian pop star Sabrina. It was released in 1987 as the album's second single by Baby Records. In some countries, including France and the Netherlands, the song was known as "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? " and was released in 1988.-Track listings:7" maxi#...
, she was placed in the over-25 category, which was mentored by Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
, who described her as "Amazing, but barking bloody mad".
Her soulful, powerful voice proved to be a hit with audiences, although she was criticised for competing as an established singer against amateurs. The producers defended her, stating that the show was open to anybody. Her performances on the show earned her rave reviews and she made the final four and was the last woman in the competition, never having to compete in a sing-off.
Post X Factor
In 2005, Rowetta released an album on Gut Records.In November 2005 and 2006, She appeared on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
appeal, singing live with the BBC Orchestra in 2005, and on Celebrity Scissorhands
Celebrity Scissorhands
Celebrity Scissorhands is a reality show that is part of the BBC's Children in Need charity campaign, in which celebrities attempt to cut people's hair to raise money for the campaign while trained and watched by professional hairdresser Lee Stafford...
in 2006.
In 2006, Rowetta had a cameo as herself in Footballer's Wives:Extra Time.
A year later, she made her musical theatre debut at The Palace Theatre, Manchester
Palace Theatre, Manchester
The Palace Theatre, Manchester, is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its 'sister' theatre the Manchester Opera House on Quay Street are operated by the same parent...
in The Best Of Broadway, alongside Suranne Jones
Suranne Jones
Suranne Jones is an English actress. She first rose to prominence playing the role of Karen McDonald in ITV1's soap opera Coronation Street over a period of four years...
, and appeared at the IndigO2 with Marti Webb
Marti Webb
Marti Webb is a musical actress from England, who appeared on stage in Evita, before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one woman show Tell Me on a Sunday in 1980...
, Stephen Gately
Stephen Gately
Stephen Patrick David Gately was an Irish pop singer–songwriter, actor, dancer, musician and author, who, with Ronan Keating, was one of two lead singers of the pop group Boyzone. All of Boyzone's studio albums hit number one in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful...
and Maria Freidman in Christmas on Broadway. Rowetta also spent August 2007 presenting the show The Terry & Ro Show on Gaydio
Gaydio
Gaydio is a radio station for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community broadcast from Manchester, UK. It is broadcast on 88.4FM in Greater Manchester and online through their website and the UK Radioplayer....
with Terry Longden, and also became the voice behind the jingles on community station Salford City Radio
Salford City Radio
94.4FM Salford City Radio is a triple award winning community radio station based in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester. It launched in September 2007 after securing a 5 year FM licence to broadcast full time on 94.4 MHz. The station broadcasts a mixture of community news, music and talk shows...
. In addition, she toured Japan, where she has a huge fanbase. She also appeared on a Reality TV Special of The Weakest Link where she was voted off by the audience in the seventh round.
According to a 2008 BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
interview with Peter Hook
Peter Hook
Peter Hook is an English bass player, musician and author.He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until...
, Rowetta recorded vocals for a track on the debut album by his new band Freebass
Freebass
Freebass were an English band consisting of, originally, three bassists Andy Rourke , Peter Hook and Gary "Mani" Mounfield and singer Gary Briggs...
. A new version of "Reach Out" featuring Rowetta and mixed by Mobin Master spent Christmas 2008 and the first part of 2009 at number 1 in the Beatport Charts.
Rowetta also presents her own radio show on Saturdays at 4 pm on Gaydio 88.4FM. She starred in a nationwide tour of The Songs Of Sister Act with Sheila Ferguson. A new version of “Reach Out” featuring Rowetta and mixed by Mobin Master spent Christmas 2008 and the first part of 2009 at number 1 in the Beatport Charts. Rowetta toured the UK with the London Community Gospel Choir in a new version of The Songs Of Sister Act. In 2009, The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
sampled Rowetta on their global hit, Boom Boom Pow
Boom Boom Pow
"Boom Boom Pow" is a song by The Black Eyed Peas released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, The E.N.D. The song uses the auto-tune vocal effect, and blends the genres of Electro-rap, dance-pop, electro hop and hip hop....
2010 Rowetta is appearing with Joy Division/New Order bassist, Peter Hook
Peter Hook
Peter Hook is an English bass player, musician and author.He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until...
& his band, The Light on many dates of his Unknown Pleasures tour and has collaborated with Tom Stephan (Superchumbo) and J Nitti on new dance tracks. In 2010, Rowetta appeared in the Pop Goes the 80's UK theatre tour. 2011 Rowetta is recording with Peter Hook and The Light, Mirror People and The Kino Club.
Personal life
During her time on The X Factor, it was revealed that Rowetta had been a victim of domestic violence in the hands of her ex-husband Noel Satchell, whom she had married at the age of eighteen. In an interview with The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, Satchell, a former drug dealer, sold his story to the tabloids and claimed he had beaten her with electric cords and hammers, and tried to strangle her.
Rowetta, who had two children with her ex-husband, fled the marriage in 1987 to hide in a refuge home, and the couple later divorced. In the 1990s, she was in a relationship with Happy Mondays bandmate Shaun Ryder
Shaun Ryder
Shaun William Ryder, aka X, is an English musician, occasional newspaper columnist, actor, author, singer-songwriter and television personality, best known as lead singer for Happy Mondays and Black Grape – and more recently as the runner-up of the 2010 version of the British TV Show I'm a...
, who had also physically abused her. Rowetta has since become a spokesperson for domestic violence awareness, and in 2005 featured in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary Battered and Bruised. She also fronted the 2010 World Cup "End The Fear" campaign for Greater Manchester Police.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People 24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom... |
Herself | Cameo appearance |