Goodbye Charlie

You would have thought that with the female domination of the last ten years in pop music that there would be more girl groups looking to ride the wave. But after Girls Aloud's farewell tour there has only be the impressive Stooshe and of course the X Factor's Little Mix of any note. Now enter the fray - Goodbye Charlie. The band are managed by former Dollar singer Thereza Bazar, who knows a thing or two about the world of pop.

Cassie, Oriana and Jess are releasing their debut single Hold Me On The Dancefloor - and it can only be described as 'attacking' pop. This is a song made for dance and club remixes, a full-on, throttle down pop song. The girls demand the DJ to "lay your hands on me" as the fierce beat grabs you - almost literally! Subtlety is not the name of the game here - but if you're looking for attention this is the sort of debut song to do it. But there are more songs to come - and perhaps a broadening repertoire.

Music-News caught up with the girls and manager Theresa, who told us that the song has garnered more attention than they expected:

"We have got three of four tracks at rough mix stage. We always had what we thought would be our first hit. We now have two of three. It is so hard to break a new act, the chances of it happening are remote. This is a really strong record - and it's getting a lot of attention. But it is not what we think is the big first hit single. We may not come with what we think is our blinder mega hit with the second song. We may make it number three, because the girls are going to be here for a long time. You have to get that timing right. I have lost a number of hit records over the years and you can never turn the clock back."

So how did Thereza come around to management?

"When I was in Australia I dabbled with a young girl band but it never quite happened because they were too young really. But it set this idea up in my head. I came back to the UK and met the girls one by one - divine intervention really - and felt this was something I had to do."

Did you decide deliberately to step away from music for a time?

"I wanted to learn to make cakes, run a household and be a good mum. I enjoyed some time out and reflect on what is important to me - and that's why I am doing this. I get excited because they (the girls) are excited and I am passionate because they are but I feel detached. I have to be objective. I was a bit like a mother hen at the beginning and I have now cut the apron strings. That's better, because I need to be harder with them but let them loose."

The girls were put together by you - as opposed to being a band already. Was that intentional?

"I didn't want to find an existing band - who had moulded themselves conceptually. Oriana was at a performing arts school with my son and he said I had to hear her sing. We had a chat and she sang some gospel and something from musical theatre and she was fantastic. I found Jess through the industry - and fell in love with her straight away. She has got this great pop sensibility. It was a long and hard search for our third girl. We had to get the chemistry right. We went through a series of almosts but not quites. Then Cassie arrived - who we call Dolly Daydream - who makes the whole thing work. It was six months of struggling to find the right girl but worth it. She's perfect."

What about the sound that you wanted?

"The girls made it evolve themselves. We did an awful lot of vocal drills for months so the vocals became meshed together. Individually they are completely identifiable but when they sing together - when they are really on it and get it right - they sound like its one voice with three dimensions of one sound. Sometimes the girls themselves can't tell who's singing what after they've been mixed because there is such a blend."

Now hear from the girls themselves talking about how they got together:



Their debut video can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTxo06MQJWA&feature=youtu.be