Miquel Brown

Miquel Brown
Birth name	Michael Brown
Born	1954 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Origin	Vancouver, British Columbia
Genres	Hi-Nrg Dance Disco
Occupations	singer, actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1973–present
Labels	TSR, Record Shack, Hot Productions, Polydor, Nightmare Records, Infinity Recordings

Miquel Brown (born Michael Brown, 1954^[1] is a Canadian actress and Disco/Soul singer from the 1970s and '80s most popular for the songs "Close to Perfection" and the Hi-NRG songs 'So Many Men, So Little Time' and "He's A Saint, He's A Sinner" (both now considered vintage gay anthems^{[citation needed]}) produced in London by Ian Levine. Also known for her boyish cornrows hairstyle, which she altered into a more womanly cut after some confusion regarding her gender (public, not personal).^{[citation needed]} Originally named Michael, her parents changed the spelling (but retained the pronunciation) so as not to confuse her with a male producer and children's author of the time (Michael Brown). Only 14 years old, she gave birth to twins, actress/singer Sinitta^[1] and Greta, both of whom were adopted out, never knowing of one another until 19 years later. Miquel is the step sister of disco singer Amii Stewart.^[2]

Biography

She was born in Montreal and raised in Vancouver, Canada,^[3] Her grandfather died when she was 9, her grandmother died when she was 11, and she ran away from her aunt who took her in.^{[citation needed]} Miquel gave birth to both Sinitta and Greta at the age of 14.^[4]. As a teenager, Miquel frequented nightclubs, influencing her dream of becoming a performer.^{[citation needed]}

She was prompted to leave the university after she auditioned for the U.S. touring company of the musical Hair and landed the part of Sheila.^[3] At the end of the Hair tour she visited Australia.

Miquel arrived in the UK in May 1973, having divorced her husband.^{[citation needed]} She was cast as the lead in Decameron '73 at the famous Roadhouse in London on Saturday, August 4, 1973, and through this earned critical acclaim - 'a star is born.' She was then given an interview on the Michael Parkinson Show, and later appeared in the pilot of The Sweeney with John Thaw.

In 1974 she was granted a part in the film Rollerball with James Caan,^[5] as well as the role of Miriam in the tele-play Regan (on Tuesday, June 4, 1974).^[6] She also held a two year association with the singing and dancing group 'Second Generation', during which time she appeared in the BBC production of Armchair Theatre.

Through the next two years she performed various parts in Bubbling Brown Sugar and television appearances in Seaside Special (on Saturday, June 25, 1977), Supersonic (on Saturday, March 5, 1977-show 40), The Ronnie Corbett Show, Jack Parnell's Show, Vince Hill's Musical Time Machine and Bruce Forsyth's Bring on the Girls.^{[citation needed]}

Music career

In 1976 she played Sister Anna in the musical Mardi Gras (which opened Thursday, March 18 at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London). It was through this that she was discovered and signed for her first record release, 'The First Time Around'. This led her to musician Alan Hawkshaw (of Emile Ford and the Checkmates, The Shadows and Love De-Luxe), who signed her for an album deal. The album 'Symphony of Love' (1978) was her first real international hit, which included the title track, 'Dancin' with the Lights Down Low', 'This is Something New to Me', 'The Day They Got Disco in Brazil', 'Do It' and 'Something Made of Love'. This album shot up the American charts to No. 26 (her music was very popular within the gay community^{[citation needed]}), only to come down again in the early 1980s as disco 'died' (at least in America).

Also in 1978 she appeared in the American film Superman, as the non-speaking 8th reporter in a scene following the first Superman spotting.

In need of a producer in the early '80s, Miquel crossed the paths of Ian Levine and Fiachra Trench in 1983. Together with Record Shack Records, they created the album Manpower, a Hi-NRG classic. The first single released from the album, "So Many Men, So Little Time" became a hit, reaching #88 on the UK Singles Chart on June 11, 1983.^[7] and peaking at number #2 on the club charts and put Miquel on the international music map.

In the two years following Manpower, she appeared in stage productions of Only in America, the Lieber and Stoller Musical; The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and One Mo' Time, as well as in numerous international clubs but did not release any more albums until 1985. Close to Perfection (also produced by Levine) could not compete with her first success. The album featured two massive U.S. dance radio & dance chart hits, with "Black Leather" and "Close to Perfection", the latter of which gave her her highest UK chart placing (#63) for 7 weeks.^[7]

In 1986, she filled in for The Three Degrees singer Helen Scott while Scott was pregnant at that time. Brown helped the Degrees as they had a single called "This Is The House" to promote around Europe.^[8]

Later songs include 'On the Radio' (not the Donna Summer song), 'Footprints in the Sand' and 'This Time It's Real', all with Nightmare Records (Ian Levine's own attempt at a record label).

In 1989 she was seen as Jill in the second episode of the fourth series ('Accidents Happen' - September 15, 1989 (Season 4, Episode 2) ) of the British show Casualty.

The 1990s

In 1990 she released the songs "I Was Strong (My Moment)" and "Which Way Is Up" on Hansa. Then in 1995, she starred as the Housekeeper in Solomon and Sheba, with Halle Berry. Also in 1995 she played Sgt. Patton in French Kiss, with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline (a mini-part in the United States Embassy scene). She can be heard on the London cast recordings of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (1993) and Fame (1995) (as Miss Sherman, the English teacher).

The year 2000 to present

Brown played the Negro Woman in the 2001 play A Streetcar Named Desire at the Royal National Theatre (Lyttelton), in London, directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Glenn Close as Blanche DuBois.

She also appeared in the 2001 film Wit, where she has a brief exchange with Emma Thompson (who plays Vivian Bearing), as the 2nd Technician.

In 2004, Brown appeared as Idella in the London production of Purlie at the Bridewell Theatre in London (a role originally played by Helen Martin, from the American sitcom 227). Her performance was critiqued as 'forcefully played'.^{[citation needed]}

Miquel Brown: The Lady, Her Loves and Her Lord was presented at the Bullion Room Theatre in London in 2005. This one-person revue was said to be 'a musical journey through her life from birth to the present'.

In 2005, Miquel appeared as Chloe the old maid in An American Haunting with Sissy Spacek. As it like the novel of the same name, it is based on the account of the Bell Family, allegedly tormented by The Bell Witch of Red River, Tennessee. The following year, 2006, she co-starred alongside Robert Ashe in the drama film 9/11: The Twin Towers.

In 2007, Brown starred in the original London production of Menopause: The Musical.

In March 2008, Brown was seen, when her daughter Sinitta appeared on Celebrity Wife Swap, swapping partners with ex-Coronation Street actor Bruce Jones.

In 2008, Brown appeared in How To Lose Friends & Alienate People as Harding's Assistant, along side Jeff Bridges.

On Sunday, August 3, 2008, Brown appeared in Antwerp, Belgium, and sang her biggest hit to date "So Many Men So Little Time".

Personal life

She married Anthony Blackett in the 1960s, and on October 19, 1968, when she was 23 years old, gave birth to twin daughters, Greta and popstar Sinitta. Brown divorced her husband in England in May, 1973.

Discography

Albums

• Symphony of Love 1978
• Manpower 1983
• Close to Perfection 1985
• The Best of Miquel Brown Hot Productions 1991

Singles

• "First Time Round"
• "Dancin' With the Lights Down Low"
• "This Is Something New to Me"
• "The Day They Got Disco In Brazil"
• "Do It"
• "Something Made to Love"
• "Beeline"
• "So Many Men, So Little Time"
• "He's A Saint, He's A Sinner"
• "Close to Perfection"
• "Black Leather"
• "On The Radio"
• "One Hundred Percent"
• "Footprints In The Sand"
• "This Time It's Real"
• "I Was Strong (My Moment)"
• "It's A Sin"

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.mirror.co.uk/sunday-mirror/2007/12/23/sinitta-i-m-a-mum-at-last-98487-20264418/
2. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=702L8iooxII
3. ^ ^{a b} Hamilton, Andrew "Miquel Brown Biography", Allmusic, retrieved 2010-01-22
4. ^ http://thisiswhoiam.heatworld.com/Celebrities/View/Sinitta
5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073631/combined
6. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072072/
7. ^ ^{a b} Miquel Brown, ChartStats
8. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQb2s5Hnsw8

Persondata
Name	Brown, Miquel
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Date of birth	1945
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