Welwyn pop sensation sings out for Against Breast Cancer (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Welwyn pop sensation sings out for Against Breast Cancer

4:29pm Monday 17th January 2011 in Interviews By Melanie Dakin

Energetic, intelligent, fiery and self-possessed, 28-year-old Welwyn singer Scarlette Fever recently reached number two in Music Week’s Commercial Pop Club Chart with her high energy power ballad Crash & Burn. This catchy and defiant track was co-written by Scarlette (real name Karen) and Metrophonic (James Morrison) with a radio mix courtesy of Snow Patrol’s Cenzo Townshend.

Crash & Burn is a song about overcoming your fears because life’s too short. Scarlette wrote it as a tribute to a friend who died tragically young.

“I lost a very close friend to breast cancer a few years ago. She was 24 when she was first diagnosed and only 27 when she died. I was immensely close to her and went through all of it with her right to the end. It had a profound effect on how I view life. When someone dies at such a young age you think, ‘what can’t I overcome’? It’s a reminder and motivation that you’ve got one shot, one go and you’ve got to do it.”

From an early age Scarlette loved to sing but she was also level-headed enough to know she had to work at it.

“My mum and dad bought me one of first karaoke machines in the late ‘80s and I’d just torment anyone who would walk into the house with Lady in Red,” recalls Scarlette. “Then, when I was 15, I sang karaoke in pubs and by the time I was 18 I was singing with function bands and doing open mic nights in London.”

Educated at Green Lanes in Hatfield and Stanborough School in Welwyn, Scarlette studied biology, chemistry and mathematics to A level, but her heart was in her music.

I lost a very close friend to breast cancer. It had a profound effect on how I view life

Scarlette Fever

“I made a bargain with my parents to have a gap year before university to see how the music went. I had an amazing singing teacher in Barnet and I homed in on singers like Aretha Franklin and Karen Carpenter. I’d sit for hours to assimilate what they were doing. I’d play around with phrasing and timing and learned in an organic way.

“I also picked up guitar and piano. I put myself through boot camp and practiced like a demon.”

Scarlette went on to sing backing vocals for DJs and producers and at 23 she produced her first demo.

“I made a conscious decision to have control and influence over my work. I wanted to sing my owns songs, so I’ve slowly built up to that. There’s never been a wow moment for me. People say to me ‘oh why don’t you go on X Factor, but what I do was never about an instant fix of happiness or fame and stardom. It’s just a ridiculous urge to express something in myself.”

Crash & Burn is out this week and she plays Punk Soho, Soho Street, London on Wednesday, January 26. Her debut album Medication Time will be out in the spring. Scarlette will also be running the London marathon for the charity Against Breast Cancer and has a fundraising gig at The Boot in St Albans in March.

Details: www.scarlettefever.co.uk