Twenty-five years after rising to pop superstardom with Atomic Kitten, Natasha Hamilton is in a very different place. Back then, it was all about chasing record sales. But these days she is focused on her family, her own record label, and helping younger artists avoid the pitfalls she experienced herself. Speaking ahead of the release of her new EP, she opens up to Julia Kuttner.
Greatest Success: Family
Singer Natasha Hamilton is proud of everything she achieved with Atomic Kitten but says her greatest success has nothing to do with the pop world. It is the family she has built, with five children and a happy marriage to fashion brand director Charles Gay. Now, at 42, she has started a new chapter in music entirely on her own terms.
Atomic Kitten Days
Natasha found fame after joining Atomic Kitten in 1999, replacing Heidi Range, who went on to join the Sugababes. Alongside Liz McClarnon and Kerry Katona, she helped launch one of Britain's biggest girl groups. When Kerry quit in 2001, Jenny Frost completed the line-up just weeks before chart-topper Whole Again catapulted them into the stratosphere. Natasha says it still attracts millions of streams today.
"It is a love song," she adds. "If you can tell a story as simply as possible with maximum impact in your feelings, it will stand the test of time." She now believes nostalgia plays a huge role in why Atomic Kitten's music still resonates. "People go, 'Oh, I remember that time,'" she says. "'That was before life got serious. That is when I had my first love. That is when I was out clubbing with my mates.'"
New Chapter in Music
Natasha was still performing with the group until two years ago, when she left to focus on her family and her own music. These days, she is not interested in chasing chart positions. At the start of this year, she released Numb, a deeply personal single that marked a turning point as she explored her emotions through songwriting. Now she is preparing to launch her first solo EP, Extraction, in early July.
After spending years performing songs written by others, Natasha says creating her own music has been a journey of self-discovery. "It was actually a really pleasant journey getting to know Natasha the artist," she says. "It just kind of happened."
Supporting Emerging Talent
She is also building a future behind the scenes through her own label, MORPHO Records. The harsh lessons she learned during her own career have given her a drive to support emerging talent. "I want to see people succeed," she says. "I want the next wave of UK pop artists to be in a really nurturing environment." She adds, "I wish I had a financial advisor. I wish I had mentors. I wish I just looked at it as a business."
It is advice she now passes on to younger artists entering an increasingly complicated industry. "Don't do it for the likes," she says. "Do it for the love. Is this something you love doing? Because it is the love that will carry you through the tough times."
Family Life and Motherhood
There is plenty of love for Natasha outside of her work life. She recently experienced one of her most emotional moments as a parent, when her eldest son, a soldier, got married. "I was just sat there in the moment when they were doing the vows and you just think, 'Well, I have raised this man.' He is now living his life and met this wonderful woman. Could not be any happier."
Her children span a broad age range, from the oldest in their early 20s to the youngest, now approaching her third birthday. The experiences of motherhood have profoundly shaped her outlook. "I am really trying to teach them how to be independent and have confidence in themselves and just go out there and don't live in fear," she says. "I spent from 22 when I left the band to like 32, ten years of my life flailing in the wind, not having a clue what it was I was supposed to do. It was not until I got into my 30s that I learnt how to function as an adult really and trust my own intuition."
Marriage and Self-Belief
Today she feels she has emerged stronger, thanks in part to husband Charlie. The couple married in Italy in 2021, with Liz and Jenny among the guests, and Natasha says he helped her recover her self-belief. "He just saw Natasha the woman, the human, the great mum," she says. "He was just like, 'I think you are great.' We are still as soppy and happy as we were."
Their family home is full of reminders of her extraordinary career. One of her favourites is a framed photo of Atomic Kitten meeting the man who would become King Charles, which hangs in the downstairs loo. But she does not spend too much time dwelling on the past. Looking back at old pictures, she has learned to be kinder to herself. "Sometimes I will be like, 'Oh bloody hell, what is with that hair?' or 'What is with that eyeshadow?' But I can laugh at it because it was a moment in time."
Natasha's new EP, Extraction, is out on July 3. Single White Feather is available now.
