Emma Bunton's debut solo album, A Girl Like Me, was released in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2001 by Virgin Records. The album debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies,[1] ultimately becoming the 147th best-selling album in the UK for 2001.[2] The album brought the UK and New Zealand No. 1 single "What Took You So Long?" as well as top five hits "What I Am" and "Take My Breath Away" and the top 20 hit "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". Bunton's second album, Free Me, was released in 2004 through 19 Entertainment/Universal Records. Four singles were taken from it: "Free Me", "Maybe", "I'll Be There" and "Crickets Sing for Anamaria". In 2006 she released her third album, Life in Mono.
A Girl Like Me promotional tour
edit| Tour by Emma Bunton | |
 | |
| Associated album | A Girl Like Me |
|---|---|
| Start date | 24 March 2001 |
| End date | 23 November 2001 |
| Legs | 1 |
| No. of shows | 6 total |
| Emma Bunton concert chronology | |
These were the promotional appearances by Bunton in support of her debut album.[3] The performances served to promote her first solo studio album A Girl Like Me, starting on 24 March and ending on 23 November 2001.
Background
editBunton's debut solo album, A Girl Like Me, released in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2001 by Virgin Records. The album debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with 21,500 copies sold in its first week. Although initial success was promising, A Girl Like Me fell down the chart quickly. However, singles "What Took You So Long?", "Take My Breath Away", and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" helped the album stay on the UK Albums Chart for several weeks. On 7 September 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies,[1] ultimately becoming the 147th best-selling album in the UK for 2001.[2] The album brought the UK number-one "What Took You So Long?" as well as top five hits "What I Am" (a cover of a 1988 song by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians) and "Take My Breath Away" and the top 20 hit "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". The album sold 125,000 copies in the UK. Disappointing sales led to Bunton's leaving Virgin in 2002.[4] Bunton performed at Party at the Palace, an event that was held at Buckingham Palace Garden on 3 June 2002 in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Her solo performance at the event was a cover of The Supremes' 1964 hit "Baby Love".
Broadcasts and recordings
editThe MCM Café concert was broadcast on MTV France on 15 October 2001.[5]
Live performance dates
edit| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | |||
| 24 March 2001 | London | United Kingdom | London Astoria |
| 26 April 2001 | Copenhagen | Denmark | The Voice Hall[6] |
| 31 July 2001 | Milan | Italy | Italian Music Festival[7] |
| 3 October 2001 | Paris | France | MCM Café[8] |
| 20 October 2001 | London | United Kingdom | C3 London[9] |
| Oceania | |||
| 23 November 2001 | Sydney | Australia | Pitt Street[10] |
Free Me promotional tour
edit| Tour by Emma Bunton | |
 | |
| Associated album | Free Me |
|---|---|
| Start date | 10 May 2004 |
| End date | 4 September 2004 |
| Legs | 1 |
| No. of shows | 8 total |
| Emma Bunton concert chronology | |
These were the promotional performances by Bunton[3] to promote the album Free Me.[11] They started on 10 May and ended on 4 September 2004.[12]
Background
editBunton's second album, Free Me, was released in 2003 through 19 Entertainment/Universal Records. The album was largely produced by Mike Peden and Yak Bondy. Other contributions on the album courtesy of Cathy Dennis, Henry Binns and Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi. It spent over twelve weeks inside the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number seven and selling over 141,712 copies, earning gold award status. The album was widely acclaimed by critics as being the "one of best solo Spice records ever" due to its catchy and fun use of sounds from the Motown and the 1960s era. The lead single, "Free Me", sold well in the UK, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart. "Maybe" was released as the second single in the autumn of 2003, and also gained extensive airplay throughout the UK, peaking at number six, one position lower than its predecessor. In the spring of 2004, the album and its third single, "I'll Be There", were released. The single, like its two predecessors, performed well on the charts, peaking at number seven. Later in the year, the fourth single, "Crickets Sing for Anamaria", was released. Despite its harder beat and grittier sound, by now the impact of Free Me was beginning to wear off, and the song only came in at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, totalling 25,000 copies, and becoming Bunton's lowest-selling single. In the United States, both "Free Me" and "Maybe" were dance club regulars, reaching numbers four and six on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play respectively.
Performance dates
edit| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | |||
| 10 May 2004 | London | United Kingdom | Hyde Park |
| 20 May 2004 | Southern FM Hall | ||
| 29 May 2004 | London Astoria[13] | ||
| 3 June 2004 | The Mall[14] | ||
| 6 June 2004 | Great Yarmouth | Weston-super-Mare[15] | |
| 20 June 2004 | Milton Keynes | The National Bowl[16] | |
| 20 July 2004 | Milan | Italy | Verona Arena[17] |
| 4 September 2004 | Lich | Germany | Hit Radio FFH[18] |
References
edit- ^ a b "BPI Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. 7 September 2001. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- ^ a b "UK Year-End Charts 2001" (PDF). Official Charts Company. ChartsPlus. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- ^ a b "R5′s Tour Bus Breaks Down!". Bop and Tiger Beat Magazine. March 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ "Spice Girls dismiss comeback plan". BBC News. 13 February 2003. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
...her album A Girl Like Me sold poorly and she lost a contract with Virgin Records.
- ^ "Live At MCM Cafe Full Concert". Music Me. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Intimate Concert". S-News. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "July 13th - Emma at the Italian Music Festival". ZZ-Ha. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Emma Bunton - Musician - Music database". Radio Swiss Jazz. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Emma Bunton Live At C3 Acoustic". C3 London. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Emma Bunton Live At Channel V Australia 2001". Channel V Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "R5: Live On Tour Concert Dates Announced". Uploader Disney. March 16, 2013. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ "R5 Announce North American Tour Dates". On the Teen Beat Magazine. March 16, 2013. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ The International Who's Who 2004. Books. 2003. ISBN 9781857432176. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ Taylor, Matthew (3 June 2004). "Olympic torch songs at Mall concert". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Channel 4 pop beach festival in Great Yarmouth June 2004". Alamy. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Summer XS Concert In Milton Keynes". Pop Dirty. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Festivalbar - Artisti - Emma Bunton". Festivalbar. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Die FFH HIT Tour 2004 Live, Umsonst und draußen". FFH Archive. Retrieved 3 January 2016.