Editing Mel and Kim (section)

==History== 
Mel & Kim were born to English and Jamaican parents. In 1985, Mel recorded two demos solo, under Alan Whitehead's management. Soon after, her sister Kim joined her and they performed as a duo, recording some demos. The demos got them signed with [[Supreme Records UK|Supreme Records]], and Nick East – president of Supreme – put them in touch with producers [[Stock Aitken Waterman]].
They were managed at the time by [[Alan Whitehead (drummer)|Alan Whitehead]], but as soon as their first single charted he was sacked.

"I remember we were shocked that these were the guys who produced the [[Princess (singer)|Princess]] track "[[Say I'm Your Number One]]" because we were expecting someone like [[Quincy Jones]]," Kim said of her first meeting with the production team.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 15: Showing Out (Get Fresh At The Weekend) on Apple Podcasts|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ep-15-showing-out-get-fresh-at-the-weekend/id1565879477?i=1000540292865|access-date=2021-11-01|website=Apple Podcasts|language=en-AU}}</ref> "We were convinced that they had some young groovy guy who was doing all the work, and they were just fronting it."<ref name=":0" />

A sedate soul-pop track "System" was intended as their first single, but their producers were unhappy with it, and it became the "B-side" of their first release "[[Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)]]". After getting to know the girls, producer [[Pete Waterman]] became convinced the act's music should reflect their feisty and streetwise personalities, with the then-emerging [[Chicago house|Chicago House]] sound chosen as a perfect vehicle.<ref name=":0" />

"We got a call from Nick East, saying they had decided to scrap 'System' and we were devastated," Kim said. "We thought we had done something wrong, but he explained that after hanging with us in the pub, Pete went back to the studio the next day and said, we need something completely tough; we need something with an attitude."<ref name=":0" />

The reorientation worked; "Showing Out" reached number three on the British charts in 1986. It was a minor hit in [[United States|America]] peaking at #78, but did peak at #1 on the Dance Chart there. Their next single "[[Respectable (Mel & Kim song)|Respectable]]" reached number one in Britain, and sold in excess of 800,000 copies there.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 22: Respectable on Apple Podcasts|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ep-22-respectable/id1565879477?i=1000548735323|access-date=2022-01-25|website=Apple Podcasts|language=en-AU}}</ref> "The follow up was genius," recalled Kim "It started to go global; 'Respectable' just took it to another level."<ref name=":1" /> The sisters became well-known celebrities in Europe, particularly in Britain, and were known for their visual style which combined urban street wear with high fashion (prior to their music career Mel had worked as a glamour model). Their third single "[[F.L.M. (Mel & Kim song)|F.L.M.]]" reached number seven in the UK, while their final single "[[That's the Way It Is (Mel & Kim song)|That's the Way It Is]]" reached number ten, giving them an unbroken run of top ten hits in the UK.<ref name="uk" /> In February 1988, they were nominated for Best British Breakthrough Act at the [[Brit Awards]], losing out to [[Wet Wet Wet]].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

In 1985, prior to the duo's recording career, Mel was treated for malignant [[paraganglioma]],<ref name="Daily Express 25th Mar 1988">{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/JdbzJHT.png|title=Daily Express 25th Mar 1988 > I Vow to Beat Cancer|publisher=Imgur.com|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> a form of cancer, on her liver.<ref name=Trisha>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26V5hQs5Jl4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/26V5hQs5Jl4| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Kim Appleby from Mel & Kim interview on Trisha Goddard 26/8/2005|publisher=YouTube|access-date=6 January 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>  By January 1987,<ref name="Daily Express 7th Jan 1987">{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/qky9Jp6.jpg|title=Daily Express 7th Jan 1987 > A Slip of a Girl|publisher=Imgur.com|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> Mel was experiencing back problems, delaying the filming of the "[[Respectable (Mel & Kim song)|Respectable]]" music video.<ref name="Daily Express 6th Feb 1987">{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/kZmhELt.jpg|title=Daily Express 6th Feb 1987 > Mel Pops Back for a New Video|publisher=Imgur.com|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref>  During a promotional visit to Japan in June 1987, Mel's back pain worsened, rendering her unable to perform,<ref name=Trisha/> and she returned to the UK in a wheelchair.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://i.imgur.com/2PkLzow.jpg|title=Get Smart! > Will Mel from Mel & Kim Ever Dance Again?|magazine=[[Smash Hits]]|date=15-28 July 1987|via=Imgur.com|access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref>   A recurrence of the cancer was detected in Mel's spine after undergoing tests at [[St Bartholomew's Hospital|Barts]].<ref name=Trisha/>  The sisters withdrew from publicity while Mel underwent treatment, while trying to keep the diagnosis secret from the public and many colleagues. Planned studio time with PWL engineer Yoyo, where the sisters intended to work on developing their own compositions, was cancelled.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: BONUS: Yoyo on the '80s: Kylie Minogue, Mel & Kim, Dead Or Alive, Rick Astley, Bananarama and more on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/bonus-yoyo-on-the-80s-kylie-minogue-mel-kim-dead-or/id1565879477?i=1000614790222 |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-AU}}</ref> 

Footage from their [[Montreux Festival]] performance was used to compile the "F.L.M." music video, with the sisters mainly represented by a pair of lookalike [[marionette]]s. While the media speculated that Mel was being treated for cancer, both sisters categorically denied this, stating that Mel had suffered a debilitating back injury.

Kim later confessed she was "devastated" by the widely-panned "F.L.M." video, having not been consulted on its contents, and only seeing it for the first time when it was aired on TV.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 24: Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now to F.L.M. on Apple Podcasts|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ep-24-nothings-gonna-stop-me-now-to-f-l-m/id1565879477?i=1000551681202|access-date=2022-02-23|website=Apple Podcasts|language=en-AU}}</ref> The singer, who said that her sister Mel was equally dissatisfied with the clip, added that she would have preferred that no video was released at all.<ref name=":2" /> Nick East retrospectively described the video as a "mistake."<ref name=":2" />

Mel and Kim released a new single in February 1988, "That's the Way It Is", becoming their fourth consecutive UK top 10 hit.<ref name=uk/> Mel discharged herself from hospital to record the vocals for the track.<ref name="pwl-empire.com">{{cite web|author=www.pwl-empire.com |title=Pete Waterman Entertainment Ltd - Q & A about PWE artists (archived copy) |url=http://www.pwl-empire.com/qa_artists.html |publisher=www.pwl-empire.com |access-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025202043/http://www.pwl-empire.com/qa_artists.html |archive-date=25 October 2008 }}</ref> The [[B-side]], "You Changed My Life", was composed by the sisters during Mel's treatment and was submitted to the producers as a potential single.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 32: That's The Way It Is to Cross My Broken Heart on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-32-thats-the-way-it-is-to-cross-my-broken-heart/id1565879477?i=1000567066282 |access-date=2022-06-20 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-US}}</ref> Work on a second album produced by Stock Aitken Waterman was not continued, due to Mel's illness. Both sisters appeared on the ''[[Wogan]]'' show in April 1988 while Mel was still undergoing treatment, as part of European Cancer Week.<ref>Mel & Kim interview on the Wogan show, April 1988</ref> Later in late summer 1988, after Mel had finished [[chemotherapy]], the duo appeared on ''[[Good Morning Britain (1983 TV programme)|Good Morning Britain]]'' to promote the need for teenage cancer wards in British hospitals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJfy9nRSG3M |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/OJfy9nRSG3M| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Mel & Kim Interview on TV-am|publisher=[[YouTube]]|access-date=4 October 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The sisters then again withdrew from publicity while writing songs for a second album; several of these songs later appeared on [[Kim Appleby (album)|Kim's debut solo album]].  In a TV interview with [[Trisha Goddard]] in 2005, Kim revealed that she knew Mel's illness was terminal in mid-1989.<ref name=Trisha/>  On 18 January 1990, Mel died suddenly of [[pneumonia]] after contracting a cold; her immune system weakened by chemotherapy.

In January 2018, the release of a previously unreleased unfinished demo track, "Where Is Love", was announced on the official Mel & Kim website. It was released in February 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/IC5sqio.jpg|title='Where Is Love' – The Fifth Official Mel & Kim Single. (from melandkim.com)|publisher=Imgur.com|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref>