Deborah Currie (born 1974) is a British former journalist and a daughter of

Edwina Currie Edwina Currie (; born 13 October 1946) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician, serving as Conservative Party Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire from 1983 until 1997. She was a Junior Health Minister for two years, res ...

. She released a cover version of "You Can Do Magic" by

Limmie & Family Cookin' Limmie & Family Cookin' was an American family soul and pop group from Canton, Ohio, Canton, Ohio. History Although Limmie Snell was born in Dalton, Alabama, his family moved to Canton when he was very young. He recorded with Columbia Records f ...

, which charted at number 86 on the UK singles chart and was later revealed to be part of an investigation into chart-rigging by ''

The Cook Report ''The Cook Report'' was a British current affairs television programme, produced by ITV Central, Central Independent Television for ITV (TV network), ITV. It was presented by Roger Cook (journalist), Roger Cook which was broadcast from 22 July ...

''.

Life and career

Deborah Currie was born in 1974. She graduated from

Denstone College Denstone College is a co-educational, private, boarding and day school in Denstone, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. It is a Woodard School, having been founded by Nathaniel Woodard, and so Christian traditions are practised as part of Coll ...

, and also read English and Communication Arts at the

University of Huddersfield The University of Huddersfield is a public research university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has been a University since 1992, but has its origins in a series of institutions dating back to the 19th century. It has made te ...

, where she worked as a lollipop lady and at

George Hotel, Huddersfield The George Hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, is a Grade II* listed building, designed by William Wallen, with an Italianate façade. It was built in 1848–50. The hotel is famous as the birthplace of rugby league football in ...

. In 1997, Currie covered a version of Limmie & Family Cookin's "You Can Do Magic", with

Sinitta Sinitta Malone known mononymously as Sinitta, is a British-American singer. She initially found commercial success in the mid-1980s with the single " So Macho" and had several other hits during the decade. In the 2000s, she became known for te ...

providing her vocals. To promote the single, she toured Scotland with pop band The Mojams, claimed that she had enjoyed group sex and lost her virginity at fifteen, told her mother

about the latter in

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

, and posed with fried eggs on her breasts. Edwina used an interview after her

1997 United Kingdom general election The 1997 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 1 May 1997. The governing Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party led by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister John Major was defeated in a Landslide victory, la ...

defeat to promote the song. The song was released on 19 May 1997 on Barry Tomes' Gotham Records and was pulled three days later. Credited to "Mojams featuring Debbie Currie", the song charted at number 86 on the UK singles chart. Later that month, it was revealed that the single was part of a ruse by Roger Cook's ''The Cook Report'' to investigate the practice of chart-rigging, that the track had been withdrawn because the programme's budget had run out, and that Currie was in fact a trainee journalist for Central Television who had been chosen for said ruse because of her tabloid history. She later secured an actual recording contract, before moving to the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

and taking a job as a gas-meter fitter. In October 2009, she stated that she had become a single mother by choice at age thirty and encouraged having children before finding a partner.

Life and career

References

Further reading