October 17, 2024, 1:29 pm | Read time: 6 minutes
Can you still remember Atomic Kitten? Did you know that the band was actually supposed to be called “Honeyheads”? What actually happened to the band members after a few line-up changes? STYLEBOOK clarifies!
Atomic Kitten was among the most successful girl bands of the 21st century, particularly in the early 2000s, delivering several catchy tunes. After several line-up changes, disputes within the band, a break-up, and a reunion, the band now consists of just two members.
Overview
The beginnings of Atomic Kitten
In 1998, the two British musicians Andy McCluskey and Stuart Kershaw had the vision of putting together a girl band. The next step was to select Liz McClarnon, Kerry Katona, and Heidi Range. Honeyheads, Automatic Kitten, or Exit were some of the names considered for the then-unnamed band. They decided on Automatic Kitten, but Kerry Katona’s mother’s boyfriend couldn’t pronounce the name, so the name Automatic Kitten ultimately became Atomic Kitten.
Even before the first song release, Heidi Range dropped out and later made a career as a member of the Sugababes. Natasha Hamilton replaced Range, and shortly afterward, the band released their first song, “Right Now.” Despite achieving some success in the UK, the band’s international breakthrough failed to materialize, and the record company nearly abandoned the project.
End of Atomic Kitten
In 2001, the band released the song “Whole Again” and reached number 1 on the German charts for the first time. Although Kerry Katona could still be heard on the song, she left the band shortly before the single was released because she was expecting a child. Jenny Frost stepped in for Katona. In this formation, the band had their greatest successes, including the singles “Whole Again,” “Eternal Flame,” and “The Tide is High.”
In 2004, at the pinnacle of their success, the band announced a hiatus. Meanwhile, the band members collaborated on individual projects, but it wasn’t until 2012 that an official reunion took place, one that even Kerry Katona was interested in joining. However, Jenny Frost, who replaced Katona after her departure, declared that she would not be part of the reunion if Kerry Katona returned to the band. In the end, the reunion took place with members Liz McClarnon, Natasha Hamilton, and Kerry Katona. Despite a few concerts and participation in a TV show, a new album was not released. Kerry Katona finally left in 2017, and since then, Liz McClarnon and Natasha Hamilton have been touring as a duo from one 90s/2000s revival festival to the next.
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What happened to the Atomic Kitten girls?
Liz McClarnon
At the age of 17, Liz McClarnon went straight from school to band auditions and shortly afterward became a member of Atomic Kitten. Liz embodied the iconic 2000s girl band look with her distinctive hairstyle, featuring striking block strands in blonde and brown at the peak of her career!
During Atomic Kitten’s breaks from the band, Liz McClarnon tried her hand as a solo singer with moderate success. In 2005, she took part in the celebrity version of Love Island and reached the final. Two years later, she took part in the British preliminary round of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest and came second last.
McClarnon has since moved on from her block-strand style, though she has kept her signature bangs. In 2023, she married her partner Peter Cho and is now called Liz McClarnon-Cho.
Natasha Hamilton
Natasha Hamilton was pregnant for the first time in 2002 but decided to stay in the band and even appeared in the music video for “The Tide is High” with a baby bump and belly-baring look. After giving birth, she suffered from postpartum depression and subsequently left Atomic Kitten in 2004. Despite this, she attempted to launch a solo career in 2005, but the album was not released until 16 years (!) later, in 2021. Accordingly, it was not a success.
The father of her first child is a former bodyguard of the boy band Westlife. She had her second child with dancer Gavin Hatcher. She was expecting a third child with restaurant owner Riad Erraji but suffered a miscarriage in 2008. Two years later, however, the couple had a healthy baby boy. She had a daughter with boyband singer Ritchie Neville from the band 5ive in 2014. After separating, she married Charles Gay in 2021, with whom she had her fifth child in 2023.
Kerry Katona
Kerry Katona married former Westlife member Brian McFadden and had two children with him. She had two more children from her marriage to a cab driver. She had another child with rugby player George Kay, from whom she separated in 2015 after an incident of domestic violence. In 2019, the father of her fifth child died of an overdose.
Professionally, Kerry Katona has focused on reality TV shows in recent years and took part in the British version of Let’s Dance and I’m a Star – Get Me Out of Here. She currently generates income through the sale of erotic photographs on the paid content platform OnlyFans.
Kerry Katona has changed a lot visually since her Atomic Kitten days began. She is candid about the numerous cosmetic surgeries she has undergone in recent years, such as eyelid lifts and rhinoplasty. The latter was due to her cocaine use during her second marriage. “They’re going to use a piece of bone from my rib to fix it,” she explained some time ago in a column with Ok Magazine.
Jenny Frost
Jenny Frost also took part in the British equivalent of I’m a Star – Get Me out of Here after her Atomic Kitten time. After briefly attempting a solo musical career, she ended it in 2009 and posed for Playboy that same year. In 2012, she retired from show business to devote herself to her family. She has one child from her first marriage to DJ Dominic Thrupp. She had twin daughters with Spanish diving instructor Vicente Juan Spiteri in 2013.
Heidi Range
Heidi Range was part of the original line-up of Atomic Kitten and recorded the first album with her two band members. However, a single with Heidi was never released as she had previously left the band because she could not identify with the style of music.
In 2001, she became known as a member of the band Sugababes, replacing Siobhán Donaghy, who had previously left the band. Heidi Range enjoyed great success with the Sugababes until the band disbanded in 2011.