The Music Machine presents: "From Soap Star to Pop Star!"
We've seen them on the TV, and we may have heard them on the radio. This week, the Music Machine celebrates the stars of soap operas who have stepped into the recording studio!
We're used to pop stars' careers drying up before they hit the small screen for a life in soap: your Lee Ryans, your Kym Marshes, your Shayne Wards.
But for many, it's the other way around. Sometimes a star will be torn between acting and singing and choose the perfect moment to leave, exchanging scripts
for a microphone.
There was a time when it was a natural leap from a New Year's Eve death on the Square to a promising pop career. There have been many debut singles from soapland's finest over the years: some launched international careers, others now languish in the depths of YouTube.
The trouble with being in a soap is that millions of people across the country recognise your face, but only know you for one character. So it’s only natural that once you’ve bid farewell to Soapland, you want to try something else. Others, meanwhile, prefer to show off just how multi-talented they are, by reinventing themselves as pop stars. Among them are some great successes, with some of the biggest hits of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s coming from singers who got their big breaks in soaps.
But, let’s be honest, for an unlucky few, the pop bubble bursts before they’ve even released a second single. Some of them have even just made one-off performances on TV or albums which celebrate the soap's history.
In the usual Music Machine time slot this Saturday at 7 PM, you'll hear a wide range of these. I'm looking for your suggestions. If you know of any songs which were recorded by a soap star, do let me know. Remember the rule. The actor must have appeared in a soap first, rather than initially having a musical career. That will make the show much more interesting.
You can send your suggestions to brian@team-fm.com any time before Saturday, and thank you.
So join me for this special show, "From Soap Star to Pop Star", and hear soap's most memorable musical debuts, from the weird to the wonderful. You didn't know you needed this until now!
