born to a black jamaican father and a white british mother in hackney east london
sisters melanie and kimberly appleby didn't have the easiest start in life after their parents
divorce the girl's mother was left to raise them on her own money was so tight that for a time they
even lived in a hostel music was always present in their home and they regularly fantasized about
becoming pop stars mel naturally gravitated to singing while kim had more of a passion for dance
when they were both done with school they bounced around from one meaningless job to the next
kim eventually found herself excelling as a five-thread overlocker in an underwear factory
it was even more important for her to succeed and become financially stable since she had a
daughter to take care of after becoming a mom at 17. mel on the other hand really struggled to
hold down a full-time job one day mel's mother suggested she try her hand as a glamour model
she had no interest whatsoever and was so reluctant that her mother finally decided
to take a photo of mel and send it in to a local newspaper herself
almost overnight mel would achieve major success as a topless and nude model
even though things were going very well for mel she still longed to make her childhood ambition
to be a singer come true her modelling career would actually give her the opportunity to mix and
mingle with a lot of entertainment industry people eventually she would meet the man that would start
her on the path music manager and ex-member of scottish pop rock band marmalade alan whitehead
he loved her charisma and star quality so much that he put her in his new club act the glamour
girl road show the experience solidified mel's determination to leave the modeling world and
launch her music career however also at this time she was experiencing some serious health issues
she'd been diagnosed with cancer of the liver after undergoing surgery she officially walked
away from modeling for good while out at a club one night mel would start chatting with
a man who turned out to be a record producer he ended up getting her into the studio to record
after initially laying down a few demo tracks he jokingly asked mel if there were any more like her
at home since he originally wanted to put together a two girl group anyway
of course mel took the opportunity to rave about her older sister kim
kimmel the name they originally went by went back into the studio to record more tracks
as a duo they sent it off to independent label supreme records and waited and waited
and waited tired of waiting the ladies marched themselves down to their office and put on an
impromptu song and dance show on the spot they were signed immediately their chicago house
music influence debut single showing out get fresh at the weekend dropped in september 1986
it reached number three on the british charts that year
it was a minor hit in the u.s peaking at number 78 on the hot 100 but it exploded on the dance chart
climbing all the way to number one everyone was loving the hats as their fans lovingly called them
they were stunningly beautiful and their distinctive chic high fashion
plus trendy urban streetwear style turned everyone's head
of course mel's cheeky pics from her modeling days did come back to haunt her or so the magazine
publication that released them thought mel wasn't the least bit worried about it and laughed it off
their follow-up single would blast the girls fame and success to new hides
respectable skyrocketed to the number one position on the uk singles chart as well as
several other countries including the us dance chart becoming their overall biggest career hit
their debut album titled flm was released in april 1987. the true meaning was lovely mate a regular
expression the ladies and studio staff would say in response to a good vocal tag naturally they had
to come up with something more acceptable to say in interviews and on stage so they came up with
fun love and money the album as well as their hit songs were written and produced by british
songwriting and recording producing trio scott aiken and waterman they've also produced for
many other mega successful british acts such as bananarama dead or alive and rick astley
during the promotion of their third single and the title track the back pain that mel had been
experiencing for some time had worsened after a bad fall in a restaurant in switzerland so much so
that they had to cancel several work commitments the press would also begin to speculate on what
was really going on with her when upon their return from japan mel was being pushed by kim in a
wheelchair through the airport even the world tour they had planned would eventually be cancelled
while mel prepared herself for her second battle with cancer at just 20 years old tess had revealed
another growth on her spine the duo disappeared from the public while she began treatment the
story that was fed to the public was that the fall that mel had resulted in a slipped disc which had
crushed some vertebrae in her spine and she would need time to recover and therefore be unable to
continue promoting the single an album plans for the music video also had to be drastically changed
by using old footage from a previous performance the burden to carry on unsurprisingly fell on kim
who was under a lot of pressure from the record label to fulfill their contractual agreements
she along with her family also had to deal with the press writing dramatic
and hurtful stories about mel and what they believed was happening to her through it all
mel continued to keep her spirits high and both her and kim still spent hours talking about their
comeback and plans for a second album she even signed herself out of the hospital at one point
when she felt up to it to return to the studio to record also at this time their fourth single
and fourth top ten hit that's the way it is would be released however mel and kim as well
as their family wouldn't be able to properly enjoy the moment the press was not letting up
on their quest to find out why mel was hiding from the public ultimately an ex-boyfriend of
kim's blew the whistle by selling private photos of an unrecognizable male to a tabloid publication
kim was livid but mel took it all in stride she even expressed later that it was actually a relief
to have everything out in the open it now seemed pointless continuing to stay behind closed doors
so mel along with kim began making occasional public appearances
beginning with a press conference just days before the publication of the photos at each appearance
mel looked better and better and spent the whole time smiling laughing and assuring
everyone she would make a full recovery whenever we have the career again it's just not important
yeah we will i mean we're working towards you yeah yeah i mean yeah she's the leader on there but um
the fact that mill's getting better is just great that's enough yeah sadly after developing
pneumonia from a simple cold mel's weakened immune system was unable to fight off infection
she died on january 18 1990 she was 23 years old after her sister's passing kim launched
a solo career with much of her debut solo album composed of songs co-written with mal
meant for their second album the album titled kim appleby contained her debut solo single
don't worry which reached number two on the uk charts in november 1990
a follow-up single called glad or good lovin and devotion also made it into the top ten
a second album was released in limited capacity three years later titled breakaway none of the
singles released made any significant mark on the charts then kim disappeared from
the music scene for over two decades in a 2017 interview with classic pop magazine
she explained what happened after mel passed away i made the first solo album in her honor i put
so much energy into it and wanted to showcase some of the songs we'd been writing during her illness
by the time of breakaway i wasn't enjoying it anymore or happy with the way the music was going
i wanted to take a rest and collect my thoughts i was on a personal quest to
show the world the legacy she had left behind and didn't really take any time out to grieve
i found it quite lonely especially on the road traveling without melanie
i missed my home life and decided i didn't want to be in the limelight even though she stayed out
of the pop star spotlight kim continued to express herself with creative outlets such as songwriting
for other recording artists acting and having her own online radio show today more years have
passed since mel's death than years she was alive but her memory and work continue to be celebrated
in 2010 a deluxe double disc edition of their one and only album flm was released
kim returned to performing live in 2017. the following year she also co-presented a bbc four
three-part television series called smashing his the 80s pop map of britain and ireland the show
explored the distinct sounds that came out of different parts of britain and ireland in one
of pop's golden decades that kim definitely knows a lot about mel and kim fans got a very special
treat in february 2018 when the never heard before demo track called where is love was released it
was actually the duo's fans who crowdfunded to get the song to the masses the mel and
kim legacy was further solidified in october 2019 when the mel and kim singles box set was released
the ultimate 7cd collection features 76 remastered tracks and many rare and unreleased mixes
launched in 2013 and completely redesigned in 2020 melonkim.com has become a comprehensive archive
to the sisters amazing accomplishments and achievements within the entertainment industry
it's a beautiful tribute and one-stop shop for fans to get their fill of all things mel and kim
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