| Clea | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Northampton, England |
| Genres | Pop, R&B, dance, Europop |
| Years active | 2002–2007 |
| Labels | 1967 Records (2002–2004) Upside Records (2004-2007) |
| Past members | |
| Emma Beard (2002-2007) Aimee Kearsley (2002-2007) Chloe Morgan (née Staines)(2002–2004) Lynsey Brown (2002–2006) |
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Clea was an English girl group whose members met on the television show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. Chloe Morgan (née Staines), Lynsey Brown, Emma Beard, and Aimee Kearsley, decided to form a band after they were voted off the series. The name 'Clea' is an acronym of the first letter of each member's forename.
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They initially had a management contract and recording contract with Warner offshoot 1967 Records and released their first single, "Download It", in 2003. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 21[1] and the band spent the remainder of the year playing small concerts in the United Kingdom.
In February 2004, the band released their second single, "Stuck in the Middle" which reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] They continued playing, including appearances at Soccer 6 in Liverpool and Reading. In May of that year, Chloe Staines left the band, for reasons which are unclear. Clea's album, Identity Crisis was released in Russia, Eastern Europe and in certain countries in Asia. In these regions, the band had seen some moderate interest; however, due to a lack of success, they were dropped from 1967 Records in late 2004. Clea were then managed by Upside Management and released music independently.
In September 2005, Clea collaborated with production group Da Playaz to release a single, named "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" a dance remake of the Narada Michael Walden song originally made famous by Jermaine Stewart. This single reached number 35 on the UK chart.[1] "Lucky Like That", released in June 2006, was the band's fourth single. This single placed at number 55 on the UK chart. Trinity, Clea's second album (but first UK album), was released on 3 July on Upside Records. Lynsey Brown left the band in November 2006. They then released the double a-side single "Stuck in the Middle"/"I Surrender" in Europe and toured Asia in 2007.
Staines is now living in Canada, married, working on a solo project, and has three tracks up on her MySpace under her married name Chloe Morgan. After she left Clea, she appeared on The X Factor with a new group called Fierce in the first series but did not get through the first round. Brown has pursued a different career. Kearsley and Beard had now decided to leave Clea behind, and move onto a new dance duo project called LoveShy, which disbanded in 2008. Beard appeared as a contestant on Paris Hilton's British Best Friend, she made it to the finale and came third. She recorded a new solo single, "Vanity"; the video to support the release was directed by Lauren Pushkin,[2] and produced by PMA Digital.[3] Beard is now a member of G*Mania, and is looking to revamp her career in the European scene, particularly France, by changing her surname to Barb, which is French for beard.[4]
| Year | Title | UK Singles Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Download It" | 21 | Identity Crisis |
| 2004 | "Stuck in the Middle" | 23 | |
| 2005 | "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" (with Da Playaz) | 35 | Trinity |
| 2006 | "Lucky Like That" | 55 | |
| "Stuck in the Middle" / "I Surrender" | - |
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