Charlotte

Born totally blind in Coventry, UK, of mixed black
Caribbean/white English parentage. Fortunately,
Charlotte regained partial sighting in one eye and,
although she is officially registered blind, you cannot tell!

Charlotte’s childhood was particularly tragic and
extremely traumatic! As a result of her dysfunctional family upbringing, this period of her life saw Charlotte spending many of her early years passing to and fro between her divorced parents and various foster homes; suffering third degree burns as a 5-year old caused by a drug-fuelled uncle; and persuading her younger brother to turn himself in for the murder of a drug pusher, a crime of which he was convicted and is still imprisoned for. Hence Charlotte’s wealth of natural soul and passion!

Most, if not all, of Charlotte's songs are based on her close personal experiences, which affords Charlotte that somewhat unique and very real ability to sing from the heart with soul, passion and emotion.

It is no surprise then that, from the age of just 7, Charlotte started writing and singing soul songs as a way of expressing her emotions.

At the age of 15, she sang Smokey Robinson's "Second that emotion" at her first gig for unsigned artists in London. She was the youngest artist there and literally brought the house down! As a consequence, Charlotte was approached by Big Life Records who offered her a record deal for when she turned 16.

Having accepted this deal, Charlotte moved to London on her own and was immediately put to work with Lisa Stansfield, releasing the single "Sugar Tree". Charlotte then wrote her next single, "Queen of Hearts", with Jazzie B of Soul 2 Soul and so impressed him that he asked her to join the group. Charlotte refused, preferring to be an artist in her own right, but did agree to be their featured lead singer and subsequently went on tour with Soul 2 Soul (featuring Charlotte). Together they toured Japan (3 venues) and Europe, including Rome, Paris, Brussels & London, which afforded Charlotte, a mere teenager, a great deal of valuable experience. Being centre stage in front of such large audiences boosted her confidence tremendously and fuelled her desire to sing live more frequently.

Due to her graceful and captivating stage presence and her natural ability to sing live, Charlotte was also chosen to appear with Soul 2 Soul as their featured lead singer at such prestigious events as “The Greatest Music Party in the World” at the NEC, Birmingham, alongside a host of stars including David Bowie, Diana Ross and Rod Stewart, which was shown on international TV in over 40 countries.

During her time with Soul 2 Soul, Charlotte sang lead vocals on 2 of their songs, "I Care" (UK chart #11) and “Don’t you dream” (written by Charlotte), and also wrote the hit “Wish", which charted in the UK at # 9. "Wish" was included on Soul 2 Soul's "Greatest Hits" album and the other 2 on their “Volume 1V” album. Charlotte also fronted the group on various live and pre-recorded UK TV shows.

One of Charlotte's most memorable events was being interviewed with Jazzie B and Isaac Hayes on the hit live French mainstream TV show, “Tara Tata”, which had an audience of several millions and where she sang an improvisation with Isaac first, followed by “Papa was a rolling stone”, again with Isaac, and both to rapturous applause and great acclaim!

Around this time, Charlotte met and worked with the legendary Tom Jones for whom she wrote the song, “I’m ready”, for his “The lead and how to swing it” album. At Tom’s request, the song also features Charlotte’s backing vocals!

Following on from her success with Soul 2 Soul, EMI then offered Charlotte a record deal and licensed her songs to US label, Nervous Records. Through Nervous, Charlotte enjoyed a US #1 Billboard Dance Hit with "Skin" (remixed by
Junior Vasquez) and 2 further Top 10 hits with "Someday" and "Don't be afraid of the dark" (3 & 5) in 1999/2000! All 3 songs were written and performed by Charlotte. As a result, Charlotte played numerous gigs in New York, Boston and Miami, also Toronto and Japan, from 1999 to 2002, and gained a large, loyal following, particularly amongst the gay fraternity.

However, EMI, at home with guitar-led bands, but not particularly renowned for their success with R&B artists at that time, failed to both capitalise on her success in the US and to promote/market her effectively. Charlotte and EMI couldn't agree on which direction her career should take, so they both agreed to part company amicably.

Nervous Records immediately offered Charlotte a record deal in the US, but she declined because she didn't want to do what, effectively, was "Dance Music", preferring to concentrate on R&B/Adult Contemporary, and she felt that they were under-funded for what she wanted to accomplish.

Charlotte then released her manager for various reasons, notwithstanding the fact that, without her prior knowledge or consent, he had