Whatever happened to... Ann Lee?

Hailing from the northern climes of Sheffield, an inquisitive teen named Annerley Gordon abandoned the chips wrapped in old newspapers and Costcutter lager for the good life in Italy. In amongst long days sunning herself on the beach and taking advantage of the local vineyards, she befriended a local music producer with a taste for infectious dance-pop, renamed herself Ann Lee and the rest, as they say, is history. Ten years after she scored a Europe-wide smash with '2 Times', we called Ann to see what she's been up to since.

How did you end up becoming a singer?
"I'd got pretty bored with living in Sheffield and went over to Italy to see a friend. I got to know a music producer over here and ended up staying on. I started to do some choral work - the behind the scenes "ooh"-ing and "ahh"-ing - and they liked me because I was English and didn't cost them as much! One day I was asked if I wanted to have a go at recording a song on my own, and I was like, 'Of course I would! Is the Pope a Catholic?'"

Were you surprised '2 Times' became such a big hit?
"It came about through improvising and trying out some different effects and it ended up sounding quite unique. The producer really liked it and said, 'Don't bloody change a thing! Keep it like that and we're going to record it!' It's very simple and it stuck in your mind, which is probably why it was so effective. At the time most dance music was pretty complicated, so I'd like to think we were doing something quite refreshing."

What was it like suddenly being thrust into the limelight?
"It was pretty funny for me, as I'm not that glamorous in the first place! I'm normally the person you'd miss in the street because I'm that small and I love casual clothes. I got called down to the studio and was told to glam myself up a bit. The late 90s were oh-so-glamorous! So I did my nails, put on some make-up and went in for it all."

What was your favourite experience of the whole period?
"Well I'm going to select two, because my song was '2 Times'. The first one is definitely doing Top Of The Pops. They put me between Phil Collins and Diana Ross, which was a real privilege. The second one was when I was in Köln and received my first gold record. But there are so many really - the whole of it was great!"

You seemed to disappear after the one song. What happened?
"We were touring so much around the world that there wasn't really time to continue recording. I then decided to take some time off as I had a baby. I didn't want to give him up to a babysitter or a nanny. He's four now, so I'm ready to start all over again. I've got a new song called '2 People'. Without trying to sound really crap and American, I've grown up a bit as an artist, but it's still recognisably me! It will be previewed on my MySpace soon and then made available on iTunes."

Press play below to watch the '2 Times' music video:



More music and info on Ann Lee at: www.myspace.com/annleeofficial

What are your memories of '2 Times'? Are you looking forward to Ann Lee's comeback? Use the space below to leave your comments.