Atomic Kitten on how they made Whole Again

Andy McCluskey says Kraftwerk’s Karl Bartos suggested creating a girl band as a vehicle for his songs. He met Kerry Katona, who arrived bouncing into the studio and showed them the topless photographs she’d just had taken; she wasn’t the greatest singer but had a Marilyn Monroe quality and would do anything to be famous.

Liz McClarnon turned up with bright blue contact lenses and Natasha Hamilton had red hair and the highest cheekbones you’ve ever seen, and when Stuart Kershaw said, “If she can sing, she’s in,” Natasha proved he was right. Whole Again began as an electronic ballad until Stuart reworked it into a modern gospel song, changing the drums to something like Killing Me Softly by the Fugees and adding bass and organ.

The song captures that hollow moment after a relationship ends; Natasha leads with a dialled-down, resigned delivery while Liz’s voice could break your heart. It took 39 takes to get Kerry’s spoken verse, spread over months because she’d had her tonsils out and her voice changed dramatically.

atomic kitten, whole again, andy mccluskey, kerry katona, liz mcclarnon, natasha hamilton, karl bartos, stuart kershaw, fugees, marilyn monroe