Frankee Connolly | |
|---|---|
 Connolly at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Francesca Rose Connolly |
| Born | 23 November 1989 Helmshore, England |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
Francesca Rose Connolly (born 23 November 1989) is an English singer from Helmshore. She was a member of the groups Mini Viva, who had a No. 7 hit with "Left My Heart in Tokyo", and M.O, with whom she had a No. 18 hit with "Who Do You Think Of?".
Francesca Rose Connolly [1] was born to Eddie and Lorraine, [2] and has two older sisters, [3] Natalie and Jade; [4] both Natalie and their uncle were dentists in Rawtenstall. She grew up in Helmshore in Rossendale Valley in Lancashire, [3] and attended All Saints' Catholic High School in Rawtenstall, [4] before spending two months on a Business Access to Higher Education course at a college in Bury in Greater Manchester. Growing up, she idolised Beyoncé and Destiny's Child, and regularly attended their concerts; she also looked up to Mel B, as a successful Northerner. After dropping out of college, she formed an amateur girl band with two other members for fun. [3]
In 2007, after Xenomania decided to form a band in response to Girls Aloud taking a year off, [5] they contacted Connolly via her Myspace account, prompting her to attend an audition in London, where she met Britt Love, a singer from Newcastle upon Tyne, who she bonded with over their shared Northern roots. [3] Their band name, Mini Viva, was a portmanteau of Love and Connolly's nicknames; [6] the pair told the Lancashire Telegraph in September 2009 that Love acquired her nickname after wearing a Minnie Mousesque polka dot dress and that Connolly acquired hers after Love described her as bright and beautiful. [7] Connolly then underwent her first singing lessons, having not taken any prior to being signed. [3]
Mini Viva's singles "Left My Heart in Tokyo" and "I Wish" charted at numbers 7 and 73 on the UK Singles Chart, [8] and the pair supported the Saturdays, [9] Diversity, [10] and Aggro Santos on tour. [11] They announced their split in November 2010; [12] Connolly later formed M.O in 2012 with Nadine Samuels and Annie Ashcroft of the girl group Duchess, [13] taking their name from a lyric in "The Motto" by Drake. [14] Between 2014 and 2016, the band supported Little Mix on their Salute Tour [15] and entered the UK Singles Chart at numbers 49, 51, and 18 with "Dance On My Own", "Preach" and "Who Do You Think Of?", [16] and then teamed up with Kent Jones for "Not in Love", which peaked at No. 42. [17] Connolly left the band in June 2017; she was replaced by Chantal Benjalili, who had auditioned for the previous year's series of The X Factor . [18]
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Engine Room Session |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | FIN | IRE | |||
| "Left My Heart in Tokyo" | 2009 | 7 [8] | 7 [19] | 23 [20] | Non-album singles |
| "I Wish" | 73 [8] | — | 67 [20] | ||
| "One Touch" | 2010 | 124 [21] | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Good Friends |
|
| Who Do You Think Of? |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | (indie) | IRE | ||||
| "For a Minute" | 2014 | 103 [22] | 6 [23] | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Dance On My Own" | 49 [24] | 4 [25] | — | |||
| "Preach" | 2015 | 51 [24] | 4 [26] | — | ||
| "Who Do You Think Of?" | 2016 | 18 [24] | — | 56 [27] | Who Do You Think Of? (EP) | |
| "Not in Love" (featuring Kent Jones) | 42 [24] | — | 75 [27] | Non-album single | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
As supporting act
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Viva Mini Viva | Herself | Interactive online reality show |
| Year | Award | Category | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | MOBO Awards | Best Newcomer | Nominated [29] |
| 2016 | Best Song |
Bacup is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Rawtenstall, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Rochdale, and 7 miles (11 km) south of Burnley. At the 2011 Census, Bacup had a population of 13,323.
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Bacup and its largest town is Rawtenstall. It also includes the towns of Haslingden and Whitworth. The borough is named after the Rossendale Valley, the upper part of the River Irwell.
Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is 16 miles (26 km) north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town had a population of 15,969. The town is surrounded by high moorland; 370 m (1215 ft) to the north; 396 m (1300 ft) Cribden to the east; 418 m (1372 ft) Bull Hill to the south.
Rawtenstall is a town in the borough of Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The town lies 15 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster. The town is at the centre of the Rossendale Valley. It had a population of 23,000.
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (BRGS) is a selective co-educational academy grammar school in Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The school is named after the two main towns either side of Waterfoot, Bacup and Rawtenstall.
Helmshore is a village in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, England, south of Haslingden between the A56 and the B6235, 16 miles (26 km) north of Manchester. The population at the 2011 census was 5,805. The housing in Helmshore is mixed, with some two-up, two-down terraces, top-and-bottom houses and a few surviving back-to-back cottages. Between the 1970s and 2020 new housing estates have proliferated.
Rossendale Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four, with a third of the council elected each time. Rossendale Borough Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan district of Rossendale in Lancashire, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2002, 36 councillors have been elected from 14 wards. At the 2024 election, new ward boundaries will be in effect and the number of councillors will decrease to 30.
Alder Grange School is a secondary school and sixth form located in the east Lancashire town of Rawtenstall, England.
Helmshore railway station served the village of Helmshore, Rossendale, Lancashire between 1848 and 1966.
"Viva la Vida" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008). The lyrics to the song contain historical and Christian references, and the track is built around a looping string section in unison with a digitally processed piano, with other layers gradually being added as the song builds.
Mini Viva were an English pop duo formed in 2008 by British songwriting and production team Xenomania. They were managed by 19 Entertainment and signed to Geffen and Polydor Records. Consisting of Frankee Connolly and Britt Love, the duo were due to release their debut album in 2010. Despite a successful first single and positive reviews, the group failed to gain further traction and confirmed their split in late 2010. They released three singles and toured in support of acts including the Saturdays and Diversity.
"Left My Heart in Tokyo" is a song by British girl group Mini Viva, co-written by Norwegian singer Annie and French remixer Fred Falke and produced by Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania. The song was released as Mini Viva's debut single in September 2009. NME called the song "the catchiest single of 2009." The single was originally released as a 10-inch vinyl single in December 2008 on World's Finest Records, featuring two mixes by Fred Falke.
"I Wish" is a single by English pop duo Mini Viva, written and produced by Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania. The song was released as Mini Viva's second single in December 2009. The promo single of "I Wish" contains remixes by Cahill and Paul Harris.
Tim Powell, born Timothy Martin Powell, is a British songwriter, producer and mixer. Powell was a member of the writing and production house, Xenomania, for fourteen years. His first hit "All I Wanna Do" for Dannii Minogue peaked at number four in the UK Singles Chart in 1997. In his fourteen years at Xenomania, Powell contributed to hit records such as "Hole in the Head" and "Round Round" by Sugababes, "Call the Shots" by Girls Aloud and "Love etc." by Pet Shop Boys.
104.7 Rossendale Radio is a community radio station in the north west of England, broadcasting on 104.7 FM to Haslingden, Rawtenstall, Ramsbottom and surrounding areas and online at www.rossendaleradio.com.
Jessica Hannah Glynne is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2013 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and "My Love" by Route 94, both of which reached number one in the UK. She was considered one of the "Most Influential People Under 30" by Forbes magazine in 2019.
M.O are an English girl group consisting of members Annie Ashcroft and Chanal Benjilali, and previously Frankee Connolly until her departure in June 2017 and Nadine Samuels until her departure in 2020. The group was formed in 2012 by the members themselves, after their previous groups Mini Viva and Duchess had disbanded. Starting out on independent label Operator Records, they have been signed to Polydor Records since early 2016. On 19 October 2020, Nadine Samuels confirmed her departure from the group.
"Who Do You Think Of?" is a song by English recording trio M.O. It was released as a digital download on 20 May 2016 in the United Kingdom, as the first single from the band's second EP Who Do You Think Of? Influenced by dance pop and tropical house, the song was written by band members Annie Ashcroft, Frankee Connolly, and Nadine Samuels along with Ferdy Unger Hamilton, Nicholas Listrani, Ryan Sudlow, and Stephen and Fred Gibson, while production was helmed by the latter. It reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's first top 20, and 40 entry. The song was later including on the group's third EP Modus Operandi.
"Not in Love" is a song by English recording trio M.O, featuring guest vocals by American rapper Kent Jones. It was released as a digital single on 9 December 2016 in the United Kingdom. It reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart. This would be the last single to feature original member Frankee Connolly before she departed the band due to personal reasons and would be replaced by Chanal Benjilali.
Christopher Aspin was an English author, historian, and journalist. Among his published works are a biography of James Hargreaves, inventor of the spinning jenny, and The First Industrial Society: Social History of Lancashire, 1750–1850, a study of the social aspects of the industrial revolution. Aspin had a lifelong interest in local history and the history of the Lancashire textile industry in particular.