‘We Kicked Bono’s Ass’: Atomic Kitten on How to Make Them Whole Again (With a Little Help from Kraftwerk) | culture

Andy McCloskeyfounder/songwriter

People never believe me that Kraftwerk created Atomic Kitten. In 1996, my band OMD released “Walking on the Milky Way,” which I thought was one of the best songs I’d ever written. But in the Britpop era, we were seen as an 80s synthpop band, well past its expiration date. Radio 2 will not play the song and Woolworths will not stock it. “I’m working with my arms tied behind my back,” I thought. So my friend Karl Bartos from Kraftwerk said: “Why don’t you start a girl band as a vehicle for your songs?”

I arranged to meet Kerry Katona, and she came into the studio and proceeded to show me nude photos she had just taken, which I thought was an interesting style of interview. She wasn’t the greatest singer, but she was like Marilyn Monroe: she didn’t know how attractive and beautiful she was. She was also the troupe’s choreographer. And I knew she was going to stick her head in a brick wall and become famous, because she had a very difficult life and she thought that being rich and famous would change everything.

Liz McLarnon came with those bright blue contact lenses, while Natasha Hamilton had red hair and the highest cheekbones ever. I told Stuart Kershaw [OMD drummer and Atomic Kitten co-creator]: “If she can sing, she exists.” And oh boy, can she sing.

“Whole Again” started out as an electronic song until Stewart said, “This isn’t working. Give me a day and I’ll turn it into a modern gospel song.” He made the drums more like Killing Me Softly by the Fugees, and put in bass and organ. Suddenly, there was a completely different feeling.

The song is about the moment when a relationship ends and you feel deprived, as if a piece of the puzzle is missing. Natasha leads the song, lowering her big voice and surrendering. Liz always had a voice that could break your heart. It took me 39 takes to get Kerry’s spoken verse, spread out over several months, because she had her tonsils removed, so her voice changed dramatically.

“Whole Again” went to No. 1, but I had no idea how heavily promoted modern pop music was. But it was not successful for Kerry. I got into the truck to go to a Pepsi chart show and had a meltdown: “No, I can’t do that.” Being the practical person that she is, Natasha directly telephoned Jenny Frost: “Get in a cab, go to Pepsi Chart studios – and on the way, learn the half song of ‘Whole Again,’ because you’re going to sing it live.”

I think “Whole Again” resonates with anyone who has had their heart broken. It’s a universal topic. But there was nothing funnier than seeing a group of middle-aged, overweight, bare-chested England fans chanting: “Southgate, you’re the one, you still turn me on” at the World Cup and Euros. This is the most surreal thing that has ever happened.

Natasha Hamilton, vocals

I’ve been singing on stage since I was 12, but when I walked in the door to audition for Atomic Kitten, I said, “This is the song.” But it was scary, because Kerry and Liz had been working and living together for 18 months. I just went in trying to show what I had, which went down like a lead balloon. The girls said I was too cocky, but after a few tough months of being weird, we became as close as sisters.

We were in the middle of a relentless promotional schedule when we recorded “Whole Again,” so I was only in the vocal booth for about 10 minutes. I listen to our voices now and say, “Oh my God, we sound like chipmunks.” But I grew up on funk and soul music — Earth, Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight — and I think that for a pop song, there’s a spirituality there.

To me, the girl in the song is hopeful. When I was going through my divorce in 2013, I remember getting on stage, and the moment “Whole Again” started, I felt the biggest lump in my throat and I didn’t think I could get the words out. A song can bring up pain, but it can also be really cathartic.

We had to fight for full release again. We knew we were walking a fine line because we weren’t having the success people wanted. On the industry and press side, we were not taken seriously. We were three working-class kids, and I think there was a real ‘look down your nose’ attitude towards us. But at the end of the day, what people want, they get – so they can’t ignore us in the end.

I knew Whole Again was going to be big. The song has gotten a lot of attention live. We were dancing like crazy, and then we would drop this song and everyone was like, “Yes, we’re here for this.” We were outselling U2 two to one, and that gap was getting bigger. “We were getting our asses kicked by pop music…,” Bono said.

I was that little girl who watched Top of the Pops every week and recorded the charts on cassette tape every Sunday. Pop music was my life. So, for Atomic Kitten to go to number one, it gives me goosebumps just saying that, even now. My favorite performance was at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Phil Collins was playing drums, Bryan Adams was playing guitar, and 100,000 people in the mall were singing your song to you – it’s just crazy.