Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! – Alesha Dixon

Mis-Teeq’s hit ‘Scandalous’ was picked to replace which singer’s track in the 2004 movie Catwoman?

“No clue! I’ve never heard this story before. Christina Milian? Brandy?”

WRONG. According to Mis-teeq member Su-Elise Nash, the film’s theme song was originally meant to be ‘Outrageous’ by Britney Spears, but it was scrapped when she broke her knee on the set of the music video.

“I didn’t know that. We met Catwoman star Halle Berry at the movie premiere, and she was lovely and thanking us for being a part of it. When ‘Scandalous’ came on halfway through the film, we cheered and whooped in the cinema – even though you’re supposed be reserved [Laughs]. And we got to meet Snoop Dogg at the party afterwards.”

“Whilst ‘Scandalous’ was becoming a hit in America, our record company in the UK [Telstar] went into liquidation, so it was a strange time for Mis-Teeq. It was a random story with ‘Scandalous’. Carson Daly, who was a TV/radio host and big character in the music industry, overheard the song on holiday in France and asked: ‘Who is this?’ and he tracked us down and helped push us in the States.”

You danced in the 2004 video to N.E.R.D’s ‘She Wants to Move’. Name the album that single appears on.

“‘Fly or Die’.”

CORRECT.

“YES!! I got one right! [Laughs] I was watching Friends when Mis-Teeq’s PR phoned to say Pharrell had picked me personally to be in the video. I asked: ‘Have you seen the video treatment? Because if I have to kiss him or do anything like that, I’m not doing it.’ He reassured me: ‘No, you’re just dancing’. I was grinning from ear-to-ear and left for LA within a few days. During the shoot, I performed it so much to the point where I couldn’t breath and they had to bring out an oxygen tank and mask for me. Being from the UK, people were surprised to see me in the video. I felt honoured. My dream is for Pharrell to ask me to come out and perform it with him onstage. If he’s ever doing a show in the UK, I’d love to come out and dance to that song.”

Your debut solo album, 2006’s ‘Fired Up’, never received a physical release in the UK – until this year. What number did it chart at in Japan?

“[Laughs] I know the first single ‘Lipstick’ did well there, but I couldn’t guess.”

WRONG. 54.

“Japan’s a big place so I’ll take that! Having the album released on vinyl in the UK now is surreal. Coming out of Mis-teeq after eight years, I spent a year-and-a-half, every day bar Christmas Day, in the studio experimenting with producers, writing and recording and discovering who I was as an artist. I felt proud of ‘Fired Up’ and prefer the album as a body of work over [2008’s] more successful ‘The Alesha Show’. I was heartbroken and devastated when ‘Fired Up’ never had a physical release here, but the label [Universal] gave me the rights so I was able put it out in Japan. ‘Lipstick’ was Number One in the ringtone charts there! [Laughs] It was October 2006 when I received the dreaded call that a big radio station wasn’t going to playlist my second single ‘Knockdown’, and the record company had lost faith and didn’t want to risk putting the record out. It was a dark time. In the space of two weeks, my marriage [to Harvey from So Solid Crew] ended and I lost my record deal. ‘The Alesha Show’ was a rebirth, but ‘Fired Up’ has a special place in my heart.”

You allege that when you signed your solo deal for ‘Fired Up’, the label higher-ups claimed ‘Black women don’t sell records’…

“That was a conversation that I had with my manager. When I got the offer from Universal, he sat me down and said: ‘Look, here’s the offer, but it’s important you know that this is the top people at this label’s attitude’. Or it was back then. But being a competitive person, I had a ‘I’ll show you!’ attitude and wanted to prove that it was possible – so it was that drive that made me say yes to that record deal. My A&R and the person who signed me had great faith in me, so I wasn’t focussing on the powers above them. After I won Strictly Come Dancing and I wrote [2008 top five single] ‘The Boy Does Nothing’, the label that dropped me tried to sign me again. They said: ‘Who would you rather sign with – Manchester United or Arsenal?’. I replied: ‘Well, I’m a huge Arsenal fan!’ – so I signed with Warner.”

Which indie anthem did you perform on The Charlotte Church Show in 2006?

“Was it The Killers’ ‘Somebody Told Me’?”

CORRECT. You duetted with Church on the track. Any reactions to your covers from the original artists?

“When I performed Skepta’s ‘Shutdown’ on Lip Sync Battle UK [in 2016], he gave me some props which was nice, and when I sang Stormzy’s ‘Shut Up’ in a style of a Disney princess on That’s My Jam, he acknowledged it and thought it was funny – he’s always so lovely to me when I see him.”

Your 2009 single ‘Let’s Get Excited’ namechecks Madonna. But which other track on its attendant album ‘The Alesha Show’, shares its title with a famous T-shirt slogan that Madonna once wore?

“‘Um….’Italians Do It Better’?”

CORRECT. What are your memories of that album?

“From October 2006 when I was let go by the label to August 2007, I was lost and sad, didn’t feel good about myself and was confused about what to do next – even though I was still writing and loved music. One day, Brian Higgins [of production company Xenomania with whom she wrote ‘Knockdown’] called me and said: ‘I believe in you. Do you want to come to my studios and we keep writing?’ That was a magic moment for me. I’d drive down to Kent every day and I was a student to Brian Higgins and the Xenomania team. They would send me home with 90 melodies to write lyrics to. That’s when ‘The Boy Does Nothing’ was born and it felt like a big hit. At that time, I’d said yes to doing Strictly… because I never had the chance to learn how to dance when I was younger, and I needed escapism.

When I made ‘The Alesha Show’ and returned to Strictly…to perform ‘The Boy Does Nothing’ in 2008, its success felt sweeter given everything that happened with ‘Fired Up’ – because there was one point where I was sitting on my kitchen floor and didn’t know what was going to happen with my life. So the 360-degree moment with ‘The Alesha Show’ was magnificent.”

You co-hosted and displayed your MC-ing skills during the Eurovision Song Contest this year. Which country won and who placed last at the grand final?

“Sweden won with Loreen’s ‘Tattoo’, which remains one of my favourite songs. The UK came second to last, but I can’t remember who came last.”

WRONG. Sweden did indeed triumph, but Germany were rock-bottom with Lord of the Lost’s ‘Blood and Glitter’.

“I felt bad for the UK’s Mae Muller because everyone was talking about her coming second to last, which was surprising because she went down a storm in the room. I’ve fallen in love with Eurovision. There were many years that I didn’t watch the show because I never felt there was anything there musically that suited my tastes. My kids have been playing the Eurovision soundtrack constantly and there’s so many brilliant pop songs on it and I’m super-impressed!”

Ever been asked to represent the UK in the contest?

“There were some rumblings about it years ago, but I’ve never fancied it. There’s too much pressure. It’s hard enough putting music out, let alone entering into the biggest music competition in the world.”

In 2022, a former contestant on Britain’s Got Talent (on which you’re a judge) Nathan Wyburn, took three days to make a portrait of your face out of 644 what?

“Digestive biscuits!”

CORRECT.

“As you’d casually do! The things that people come up with! That’s what’s great about Britain’s Got Talent. People come up with things you’d never think of.”

Obviously BGT is a huge mainstream success – any numbers you have in your phone that would blow the teenage Alesha Dixon’s mind?

“Gary Barlow. When I was 13, I was part of the Take That army – we were a force to be reckoned with! During Mis-Teeq’s second appearance on Top of the Pops, Robbie Williams told me: ‘I love your rapping!’. That made my year. Gary’s since become a good friend, we’ve written songs, and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro together.”

When you appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2021, which two queens lip-synced to Mis-Teeq’s ‘Scandalous’?

“I can see their lovely faces but can’t remember their names! Ugh! That’s annoying! Was one Scarlett Harlett?”

CORRECT-ISH. HALF A POINT. Scarlett Harlett was one, but you missed Vanity Milan.

“I didn’t know that was coming, and I was floored by them!”

In 2002, Mis-Teeq rocked up to Brixton Academy to collect a posthumous NME award for which artist?

“Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes?”

WRONG. You collected the Best R&B/Soul Act accolade on behalf of Aaliyah.

“Gosh, wow! Bless her soul. I loved that Mis-Teeq were at the NME Awards. We’d come from the world of garage and had crossover to the pop commercial world which meant we could play Glastonbury or turn up at the NME Awards and it would be authentic and make sense. When younger artists say: ‘I would try and learn all your raps when I was growing up’ or saw us an inspiration, it makes me realise that Mis-Teeq opened a lot of doors and showed things were possible. Growing up, we’d look to artists in America because we didn’t always have role models – particular women of colour – in our own country, so it’s important that we broke down perceptions and stereotypes. Even 22 years after releasing Mis-Teeq’s first single, I still feel there’s work to be done and more to achieve.”

Any chance of a Mis-Teeq reunion?

“We’ve talked about creating a moment. We’ve not talked necessarily about creating another album – although I do feel like Mis-Teeq’s third album should probably have come out because we split up halfway through making it which is a shame because it feels like Mis-Teeq have unfinished business. We still communicate, there’s still a lot of love, so we would like there to be a moment. We’re going through a period of many bands reforming and I’ve never wanted to look like we’re jumping on a trend. If we come back, I don’t want people to see it coming. I want it to be a surprise. So it’s definitely something we’ve considered and when the time is right, hopefully we can come up with something special. Watch this space!”

In 2003, Smash Hits magazine released a version of Top Trumps, awarding each pop luminary a rating. So, in the spirit of your late friend Bruce Forsyth*’s ‘80s/’90s game-show Play Your Cards Right, can you guess whether the next musicians in the pack have a higher or lower Smash Hits rating. Your base card is Alesha Dixon, who has a Smash Hits Factor of 43. The next card is Eminem. Is he higher or lower than you?

“So you’re asking if Eminem is better than me? I’d say he has a higher pop factor.”

WRONG. Lower by one point at 42.

“Really? I’d have put him a lot higher! Can we try another? [Laughs]”

OK… Madonna.

“Higher than Eminem.”

WRONG. Lower. She ranked 36.

“Who did this?!”

One final chance to salvage a point: Charlie Simpson from Busted.

“Lower.”

WRONG AGAIN! Higher at 49.

“I’m going by my personal taste here which is probably the wrong thing! [Laughs]”

NO POINTS OVERALL. Who were the best bands to party with back in the day?

“Blue were the most fun. They were like our annoying brothers. We’d do kids’ tv shows and were always in and out of each other’s dressing rooms. I remember performing at Miss World with McFly and we were drinking neat tequila and I fell over and injured Dougie [Poynter, McFly member]’s eye, and they had to help me up from the floor. We were living our best lives.”

*Forsyth once branded Dixon “the British Beyoncé“.

The verdict: 4.5/10 

““I’ve the world’s worst memory and knew I’d be terrible at this game, but it was a nice trip down memory lane!””

Alesha Dixon’s solo albums ‘Fired Up’ and ‘The Alesha Show’ are available on vinyl now

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