Whirlwind journey for quirky duo

Aug 30 2009 by Liz Lamb, Sunday Sun

NEW pop duo Mini Viva are set to blitz their way into the UK charts later this month. South Shields-born Britt Love tells HANNAH CHARNLEY about her life as a pop diva hopeful

FOR the last 18 months Britt Love and bandmate Frankee Connolly have been swept up in the extraordinary whirlwind that is Mini Viva.

With a support slot on The Saturdays’ Work Tour already under their belt and an album release coming up, the pop duo are already on the road to success.

Britt, 20, grew up in South Shields, South Tyneside, and went to Biddick Hall Junior School before going to Cleadon High School. She describes Mini Viva as “pop with an edge. Quirky and cool. Fun-loving girls that like keeping it real.”

Her adventure began when she was out watching some of her mates perform at a break-dancing showcase at Dance City in Newcastle.

“My mam spotted a leaflet to audition for a girl group,” she recalls. “ I wasn’t interested at the time but mam kept saying, “Give it a go” and I’ve always loved singing, so I eventually decided to go for it.”

Production team Xenomania, the hit factory that made Girls Aloud, were on the search for a new girl group and were holding the auditions.

“I ended up singing a Nina Simone song and kept forgetting the words,” she says.

“But they wanted to hear me again so I sang an Amy Winehouse song. Xenomania asked me to see them and I went to a beautiful big house in Kent, where there were loads of girls doing further auditions. That’s where I met Frankee.”

Britt and Frankee, 19, hit it off from day one.

She says: “We formed an instant friendship. We have a great laugh together. She doesn’t take herself too seriously. We became like sisters really.”

The duo are hoping to take the pop world by storm this autumn with their catchy disco number Left My Heart in Tokyo. Filmed in LA earlier this year, the video was directed by Ray Kay who directed Lady Gaga’s Poker Face. The girls have already been buzzing through the pop world but Britt is yet to perform in her home region. She says: “We haven’t performed anywhere north of Manchester yet, but we would really love to sing in the North East, so that is definitely next on the agenda.”

Britt has been singing since she was just two years old and can be feisty. The singer was chucked out of school for locking her French teacher in a cupboard.

She says: “I was a bit of a rebel at that point. I had my lip pierced and I thought I was Pink or something! No-one liked French class anyway, so I thought I was doing everyone a favour!”

Britt and Frankee are inspired by a wide range of musicians.

“Frankee is obsessed with Beyonce!” Britt reveals. “I liked her when she was in Destiny’s Child and Frankee has got me into her solo stuff. I also like Blondie and I love Pink.

“I was brought up listening to loads of Motown such as The Temptations and The Shirelles. I think we are really influenced by that. ”

Britt’s eclectic tastes affects her ambitions for Mini Viva. “We are hoping to bring in different crowds with our music. We love pop but we want a range of different fans and audiences.”

But her dream for Mini Viva doesn’t end there. She adds: “In the future, we want people to be inspired and surprised by us. I guess we aim to conquer not only the UK pop world but also the USA and the whole world really!”

Mini Viva’s single Left My Heart in Tokyo is out September 6 for down- load and is in the shops the next day. The album is released in November.