Re-release of The Do: The Resurrection of Betty Boo

In the 1991 Smash Hits Yearbook, Betty Boo shares her top three tips for becoming a rap sensation.

He was Britain's top pop artist at the time. Her colorful clash of references to 1960s thrash culture, gold-plated choruses, and helium raps sound like nothing else on the charts. Yet, at the same time, her demeanor – playful and confident – ​​is an early prototype of girl power.

He was born to Alison Clarkson, a Scottish-Malaysian Londoner who dropped out of school to do hip-hop and spray graffiti in West London (his label, Ali Cat, was on the London Underground for years after his fame was to be seen.).

In 1990, the title of their first platinum album, Boomania, became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Fans accepted her pea haircut and Emma Peel costume, while Madonna offered her a record deal in the United States. But after a period of writer's block and a poorly received second album, he disappeared for nearly a decade to care for his terminally ill mother.

She re-emerged as a songwriter in the early 2000s, collaborating with Paloma Faith, Girls Aloud, and Rod Stewart and winning the Ivor Novello Award for Pure And Simple, the song that launched reality star Hear'Say.

Now Clarkson is ready to reignite his pop alter ego. Last weekend she premiered the new Poptronic single 'Get Me To The Weekend' on Radio 2. She was overwhelmed by the response. "That's 100% positive feedback," he said in a call to Zoom from his home in Wiltshire.

"There are no haters or people who say, 'What are you doing?' You're in your 50s. Instead, people are like, "Oh my God, I'm so glad you're back." So what convinced you to do it again? "I'm approaching my 50th birthday, and I thought if I don't do it now, when will I?"

Lockdown also plays a role. Freed from his day job of producing music documentaries, Clarkson's inspiration returns to its most extraordinary place. "Remember the days when only one person was allowed in the supermarket? My husband was out shopping, and I was waiting in the car. And during that hour, I had an idea in Sainsbury's parking lot.

By the end of last year, he had bought enough material to have enough material for two albums. "I plan to keep releasing singles," he said. "I'm chasing."