Alison Moira Clarkson (born 6 March 1970), better known as Betty Boo, is a British

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

. She first came to mainstream prominence in the late 1980s following a collaboration with the

Beatmasters The Beatmasters are an English electronic music group who gained success in the UK in the late 1980s with four top 20 hit singles. They then went on to produce and remix records for other artists, including Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and Marc A ...

on the song " Hey DJ/I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)". Between 1990 and 1992 she had a successful solo career, which spawned a number of chart-placing singles, most notably " Doin' the Do", " Where Are You Baby?", and " Let Me Take You There". In 2025, Betty Boo re-released her first two studio albums and will tour UK for the first time.

Career

1987–1999: Betty Boo

Clarkson studied sound engineering at the Holloway School of Audio Engineering before having several hits between 1989 and 1992. Originally nicknamed " Betty Boop" for her similarity to the cartoon character, she changed it to avoid trademark disputes. Of mixed Dusun and Scottish ancestry, she had an unusual, striking Emma Peel-like look, dressed in mildly revealing outfits and proved to be an influential pop music figure whose "sassy, powerful music and image launched a thousand wannabe's". Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in August 1990,

Lucy O'Brien Lucy O'Brien (born 13 September 1961)Author Biography, O'Brien, Lucy – She Bop: The definitive history of women in rock, pop, and soul, London: Penguin, 1995 is a British author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music. Early musi ...

noted the difference between the "quietly spoken" Clarkson and her "lovable toughie" pop star alter-ego, describing the latter as "a cartoon combination of Betty Boop, Barbarella and

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily American newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, b ...

". Whilst still at school, Boo began her musical career in

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

groups such as Hit 'N' Run and the She Rockers, the latter act who were signed to the British independent record label Music of Life. The She Rockers' success led her to New York and work with

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

, who encouraged her to pursue a solo career. Commenting on her time spent supporting Public Enemy on tour in the US, as well as working with Professor Griff in the recording studio on the song "Give It a Rest", Boo revealed that things did not go as expected: "They were producing our single and I thought it would sound like their stuff, but it didn't at all. And some of the crowds were hostile to us. They didn't throw anything, no, but they wanted to see Public Enemy and they just weren't interested in us." Her big break came when she appeared as a guest vocalist on the 1989 number 7 UK hit single, " Hey DJ – I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)" by the

, which was included in original form on their album '' Anywayawanna''. Boo's first solo single, " Doin' the Do", followed and was also a UK singles chart number 7 success for her in 1990, selling 200,000 copies and reaching number one on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

chart in the United States. One year later, the song was used as the title tune for '' Magic Pockets'' video game by the Bitmap Brothers. '' Boomania'', her platinum-selling debut album, was largely self-written and self-produced in her bedroom. Her second solo single, " Where Are You Baby?", which reached number 3 in August 1990, is her biggest solo hit to date. "24 Hours" was the third and final single to be issued from ''Boomania'', and although it was a hit, it was less so than previous releases, stalling at number 25 in December 1990. Her initial success was compounded at the 1991 BRIT Awards ceremony where she was voted that year's best British Breakthrough Act. In 1991, her "Why, Oh Why?" 1950s-style love

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

featured on the soundtrack of the American film '' A Rage in Harlem''. Her career suffered a setback when in July 1991, while touring Australia, Boo was revealed to be lip-synching at a concert rather than performing live. The 21st Century Dance Club in Frankston, Australia received "hundreds of complaints" after her performance, during which Boo fled the stage after dropping her microphone, revealing she was miming to a backing track. The incident was widely reported, and Boo cancelled the remainder of her tour, citing influenza and fever. Boo returned with a new record deal in 1992 having signed to WEA. Her follow-up album, '' GRRR! It's Betty Boo'', suffered very disappointing sales in the UK, peaking at number 62 on the albums chart. It did, nevertheless, spawn another UK hit single titled " Let Me Take You There", which reached number 12 in August 1992. A further single, "I'm on My Way", featured a musical quote from

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' " Lady Madonna" which, unusually, was not a sample—the song's brass riff was re-created using all the original players. However, the single did not sell well and entered the chart at number 44 in October 1992. Her next single, "Hangover", fared even worse, barely scraping the Top 50 upon release in April 1993. Following the release of ''GRRR!'', Clarkson turned down an offer to sign with

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's Maverick Records, and in 1999 a ''Best Of'' compilation album—effectively an expanded version of ''Boomania'' with extra remixes and a different running order—was released and sold moderately well.

2006–2014: Subsequent works

In 2006, Clarkson formed a pop duo called

WigWam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...

, with Alex James, bassist from Blur. Together, they worked with music producer Ben Hillier, along with former Boo collaborators the Beatmasters. Despite working to create "an album of experimental yet accessible 21st century pop", just one single emerged from their musical partnership, the self-titled "WigWam" released on 3 April 2006 via Instant Karma Records. In August 2007, Clarkson released a new single titled " Take Off". The song, which was playlisted on Radio 1's dance-orientated shows, was a joint project with the London-based dance act Jack Rokka and, as such, is much more dance-orientated than her previous work. She went on to perform the collaboration in a live set at

Manchester Pride Manchester Pride is a Charity (practice), charity that campaigns for LGBT, LGBTQ+ Equality Act 2010, equality across the United Kingdom, predominantly in Greater Manchester. The Charity offers dialogue, training, research and policy analysis, a ...

in 2007, along with some of her other songs. The video sees Betty Boo's trademark look resurrected and even features the 'Boosters' – Betty Boo's backing dancers, who always appear with identical hair and outfits to hers – and the Betty Boo spiral. Clarkson appeared on ITV's '' Loose Women'' on 16 October 2007 to promote the single, and has also appeared as an interviewee on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

's ''The Most Annoying Pop Songs...'' show, passing comment on several songs that made the Top 100 list. In July 2009, historian Kate Williams reported on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's ''

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

'' that she is working with Clarkson to develop a musical version of Williams' biography ''England's Mistress: The Infamous Life of

Emma Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), known upon moving to London as Emma Hart, and upon marriage as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becom ...

''. In June 2011, Clarkson featured as Betty Boo (and is credited) on the track "Virtually Art" by

the Feeling The Feeling are an English rock/ pop band from Horsham, Sussex. Following a limited release of their first single " Fill My Little World" in late 2005, the band entered the UK Singles Chart at #7 with their first full release " Sewn" in Fe ...

on the double-album edition of their 2011 release, '' Together We Were Made.'' In July 2014, Betty Boo performed on stage at the Penn Festival, while in 2021 she was announced as one of the artists performing as part of the Let’s Rock retro music festival line-ups, at various dates throughout the UK.

2022–present: Return to music

On 10 January 2022, Boo announced the release of the single "Get Me to the Weekend". The second single "Shining Star", was released on 12 May 2022. Her first album in 30 years, ''Boomerang'', was released on 14 October 2022. On 14 June 2024, Boo released the single "It Was Beautiful" (featuring HEX) from her fourth album ''Rip Up the Rulebook''.

Songwriter

After her solo career effectively ended when her mother contracted terminal cancer in the early 1990s, Clarkson turned to songwriting, at the request of Chris Herbert, who was in the process of forming a new, all-girl group. Herbert asked her to contribute to the project after revealing that she was his inspiration in forming one of his previous projects, the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

: "He told me that when they were auditioning for the Spice Girls, they were looking for five Betty Boos – larger-than-life cartoon characters. He asked me to get involved in this other band he was putting together, Girl Thing, because he wanted this signature Betty Boo sound, a bit of hip-hop." Clarkson went on to co-write a number of songs for Girl Thing, including " Pure and Simple". Although the group's A&R man,

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

, initially rejected her song, it was included in the Japanese edition of Girl Thing's self-titled debut album, released in 2001. The song became a huge, record-breaking hit single when it was re-recorded and released as the debut single of

Hear'Say Hear'Say were a British pop group. They were created through the ITV (TV network), ITV reality TV show ''Popstars (British TV series), Popstars'' in February 2001, the first UK series of the international ''Popstars'' Media franchise, franch ...

—winners of the reality TV show, ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

''—in March of the same year. On the release, Clarkson commented: "The arrangement they used was almost identical. I never met the band. It was a bit disheartening". The song went on to win the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for the biggest selling single of 2001, however despite finding renewed success by writing for other artists, Clarkson criticised the audition-based, manufactured pop process which created them. Clarkson has also written songs for

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop music, pop girl group that was created through the ITV (TV network), ITV talent show ''Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, N ...

(reunited with the Beatmasters), Louise,

Dannii Minogue Dannii Minogue (; born 20 October 1971) is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. As a child, she became known for her appearances on the television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988). She went on to play the r ...

, The Tweenies and for Sophie Ellis-Bextor's fourth studio album '' Make a Scene'' (though her contributions did not make the final album).

Awards and nominations

{, class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" , - ! scope="col" , Award ! scope="col" , Year ! scope="col" , Nominee(s) ! scope="col" , Category ! scope="col" , Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable", , - ! scope="row" rowspan=3, Brit Awards , rowspan=3,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, rowspan=2, Herself , British Breakthrough Act , , rowspan=3, , - , British Female Solo Artist , , - , " Where Are You Baby?" , British Video of the Year , , - !scope="row",

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, " Pure and Simple" , Best Selling UK Single , , , - !scope="row", ''NME'' Awards , 1991 , Herself , Object of Desire , ,

Discography

Studio albums

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" , - ! rowspan="2" , Title ! rowspan="2" style="width:225px;" , Album details ! colspan="7" , Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2" style="width:130px;" , Certifications
( sales thresholds) , - ! style="width:4em;font-size:85%" , UK
! style="width:4em;font-size:85%" , UK
Down.
! style="width:4em;font-size:85%" , AUS
Australian (

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

) peaks: *"Hey DJ/I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)": *Top 50 peaks: *Top 100 peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: *''GRRR! It's Betty Boo'': *"I'm on My Way": ! style="width:4em;font-size:85%" , GER
! style="width:4em;font-size:85%" , NED
! style="width:4em;font-size:85%" , NZ
! style="width:4em;font-size:85%" , SCO
, - ! scope="row" , '' Boomania'' , * Released: 10 September 1990 * Label: Rhythm King , 4 , , — , , 68 , , — , , 88 , , 25 , , 38 , * BPI: Platinum , - ! scope="row" , '' GRRR! It's Betty Boo'' , * Released: 12 October 1992 * Label: WEA International , 62 , , — , , — , , 97 , , — , , — , , 43 , , - ! scope="row" , ''

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

'' , * Released: 14 October 2022 * Label: Betty Boo Records , 45 , , 7 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 19 , , - ! scope="row" , ''Rip Up the Rule Book'' , * Released: 30 August 2024 * Label: Betty Boo Records , — , , 59 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 40 ,

Compilation albums

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" , - ! Title ! style="width:225px;", Album details , - ! scope="row", '' Doin' the Do: The Best of Betty Boo'' , * Released: 1999 * Label: BMG, Camden

Video albums

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" , - ! Title ! style="width:225px;", Album details , - ! scope="row", ''Boomania – The Boomin Vids'' , * Released: 1990 * Label: Virgin Music Video

Singles

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" , - ! rowspan="2", Year ! rowspan="2" style="width:30em;", Single ! colspan="11", Peak positions ! rowspan="2", Certifications ! rowspan="2", Album , - ! style="width:35px;", UK
UK chart peaks: *solo peaks: *"Hey DJ/I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)": *Wigwam peaks: ! style="width:35px;", AUS
! style="width:35px;", BEL
(FL)
! style="width:35px;", GER
! style="width:35px;", IRE
! style="width:35px;", NED
! style="width:35px;", NZ
! style="width:35px;", SWE
! style="width:35px;", SWI
! style="width:35px;", US
! style="width:35px;", US Dance
, - , 1989 ! scope="row", " Hey DJ / I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)"
( The Beatmasters featuring Betty Boo) , 7 , , 88 , , 35 , , 93 , , 17 , , 14 , , 10 , , — , , — , , — , , 8 , , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4", ''Boomania'' , - , rowspan="3", 1990 ! scope="row", " Doin' the Do" , 7 , , 3 , , 8 , , — , , 9 , , 9 , , 4 , , — , , — , , 90 , , 1 , *

: Gold , - ! scope="row", " Where Are You Baby?" , 3 , , 19 , , — , , 29 , , 6 , , 16 , , 11 , , — , , 13 , , — , , — , * BPI: Silver , - ! scope="row", "24 Hours" , 25 , , 94 , , — , , 32 , , 17 , , 74 , , — , , — , , 10 , , — , , — , , - , rowspan="3", 1992 ! scope="row", " Let Me Take You There" , 12 , , 97 , , — , , 50 , , 13 , , 61 , , — , , 38 , , 18 , , — , , — , , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5", ''GRRR! It's Betty Boo'' , - ! scope="row", "I'm on My Way" , 44 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - ! scope="row", "Thing Goin' On" (US only) , colspan="9" , , — , , 5 , , - , rowspan="2", 1993 ! scope="row", "Hangover" , 50 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - ! scope="row", "Catch Me" (US only) , colspan="9" , , — , , 14 , , - , 2007 ! scope="row", "Take Off" ( Jack Rokka vs Betty Boo) , 92 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , , - , rowspan="5", 2022 ! scope="row", "Get Me to the Weekend" , – , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5", ''Boomerang'' , - ! scope="row", "Shining Star" , – , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - ! scope="row", "Boomerang" , – , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - ! scope="row", "Right By Your Side"(featuring David Gray) , – , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - ! scope="row", "Miracle" (featuring

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a me ...

) , – , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - , rowspan="3", 2024 ! scope="row", "It Was Beautiful" (featuring Hex) , – , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3", ''Rip Up the Rulebook'' , - ! scope="row", "One Day" , – , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - ! scope="row", "Barbarella" , – , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - , colspan="15" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%", "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

References

Bibliography

* ''

Guinness Book of British Hit Singles ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of ...

'' – 16th Edition – * ''Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'' – 7th Edition –

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boo, Betty Living people 1970 births British Asian musicians Brit Award winners English dance musicians English people of Malaysian descent English people of Scottish descent English women rappers British Asian rappers English women singers People from Kensington Pop rappers Rappers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Rhythm King artists Singers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Sire Records artists Sony Music Publishing artists