Nicki French
Nicki French is a female
singer and
dancer who was born in
Carlisle,
Cumbria,
England, but raised from the age of four in
Tenterden,
Kent,
England. She is best known for her
1995 dance
cover version of
Total Eclipse of the Heart.
French had been a session singer for many years before she covered "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", a song made famous by
Bonnie Tyler. Her single was first released in
1994 in the
United Kingdom and charted at no. 54. When it was re-released in
1995 the song reached no. 5 during an extended chart run, selling over 285,000 copies in the process and earning a silver sales award, as well as being her record label's biggest chart success to date.
This achievement was eclipsed by an even more successful chart run in the
United States, where the track reached no. 2 and spent 26 weeks on the
Billboard Hot 100 music charts. Nicki made her name across the globe when 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart' followed on from the success in the UK and USA, by gaining Top 10 chart positions in
Australia,
The Netherlands,
Japan,
Canada and
Ireland.
French's second single "For All We Know", a cover version of the
Carpenters' hit, was due for a top 20 chart position but stalled at no. 42 in the
UK singles chart due to distribution problems, and a
barcode error . But her debut album,
Secrets, charted in Japan (50,000 copies sold), USA (65,000), Canada (20,000) and Australia (45,000). The record received generally excellent reviews from critics. Further singles from the album included "Is There Anybody Out There?", "Did You Ever Really Love Me" (both of which charted in the UK) and "Never In A Million Years" (which was released in Denmark and Sweden only).
Various other songs were added to formats around the world, including renditions of "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" and "Stop In The Name Of Love". Despite this success Nicki's UK label, 'Love This Records', called it a day, after failing to achieve commercial success with its other artists - Jan Monroe, Sally Ann Marsh, BND, Club Risque and Suzann Rye - all of whom failed to reach the UK chart. She was then signed by Logic Records UK (part of the
Sony/BMG group).
In
1998 Nicki French released her second album to rave reviews, and success in Japan and
Taiwan. The single "Te Amo" was successful worldwide charting in Canada,
Brazil(No.1 airplay charts), UK and
Mexico and even gained the interest of
Jim Steinman, the writer of "Total Eclipse Of The Heart". Nicki worked with his record label, Ravenous Records, for some time but did not release any new material.
In
2000 she entered the
Eurovision Song Contest with "Don't Play That Song Again". The song was chosen by members of the British public and was the runaway winner with over 55,000 votes. Nicki was signed up by
RCA records and returned to the UK Top 40 with the track. Although her 16th place at the Contest was the UK's worst ever result at the time, she insists even now that she still looks back on this time with extremely fond memories and would love to enter the contest again.
Nicki continues to tour the UK and Europe, performing her hits as well as new material. She more recently released two singles, "I Surrender" in
2004 and "Calling Out My Name" in
2005. Nicki's latest release Nicki French Vs Diva DJs 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart 2006' reached Number.1 on Amazon's Hot 100 Chart and IndieStore's download chart. All 2,000 copies of the single sold out and it is now only available from either i-tunes or http://www.indiestore.com/energise
The up-dated version of 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart' is now due for release in Germany and Austria via the Dance Street/ZYX Lable, It is also going down a storm once again in America where the track reached #1 on import sales alone!
UK singles
* "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" (Bags Of Fun Records) (1994) - Number 54
* "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" (Love This Records) (1995) - Number 5
* "For All We Know" (Love This Records) (1995) - Number 42
* "Did You Ever Really Love Me" (Love This Records) (1995) - Number 55
* "Is There Anybody Out There?" (Love This Records) - Number 94
* "Stop In The Name Of Love" (Shock/Central Station Records)
* "Te Amo" (Logic Records) (1997) - Number 99
* "Don't Play That Song Again" (RCA/Ravenous Records) (2000) - Number 34
* "I Surrender" (Triad Records) (2004) - Number 110
* "Calling Out My Name" (Energise) (2005)
* "Total Eclipse Of The Heart 2006" (Energise) (2006)
videoAlbums
* 1995
Secrets (Love This Records)
* 1995
Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Japanese version of
Secrets with extra tracks)
* 1998
French Revolution (Cutting Edge/Avex)
Other releases
Whiskey and Sofa
*Dirty Den(Nicki's first ever release - Available on 7" only!)
The French Connection
*You'll Be Sorry(Limited edition 12" release on the 'Solar System' record label)
Nicki recorded the following songs under the alias of 'Paris' on Dominion Records:-
* When You Walk In The Room
* The One And Only
* Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?Also she recorded in 2005:-
* Private Dancer for Gayfest Album.
The promotional 12" record of "Te Amo" was released under the alias of 'Kinki'.
Nicki provided backing vocals on the 2006 release of
New Emotion's '9 to 5' (Energise).
KEY FACTS:
* 5.5 million copies sold of her debut single
* One of the few British female artists to break America in the 1990s
* Number 1 chart sales positions achieved in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Netherlands
* Top 10 sales postions achieved in UK, USA, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Korea, Mexico, Spain, Austria and Belgium
* Nicki enjoys worldwide success and has made a name not just in the United Kingdom but other countries all across the world.
{{succession box | before=
Precious| title=
UK in the Eurovision Song Contest | years=
2000 | after=
Lindsay Dracass |
*
Official Web Site*
Nicki French interview*
Allan's fan site*
Nick French entry at All Music Guide*
Buy Nicki's new song here!
