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Gemma Clarke is a professional musician who was previously the drummer for The Suffrajets, The Krak and Babyshambles.

Babyshambles[link]

For a year, Clarke played drums for the ex-Libertine Pete Doherty's band Babyshambles. She left in January 2005 citing disagreements with the management.^[1]

After leaving the band, she wrote an open letter which read as follows:

“Dear Peter, I would like to make it very clear about my reasons for making the stand that I have. I will not continue to work under the management that you have chosen for the band as I could no longer be part of a machine that I feel is destroying you. I love you, the music, Patrick, Dru and Babyshambles. Please be safe and be careful. You are a great artist and have been a massive inspiration to me. Thanks for the experience and for a great time – keep safe and don't forget to call me...good luck for the future. xxxgemmaxxxx”^[2]

Clarke drummed on early Babyshambles tracks including the single version of "Killamangiro" and its b-side "The Man Who Came To Stay". She also attended the band's XFM session in December 2004, played on the Zane Lowe recordings of 27 October 2004 ("Fuck Forever", "Do You Know Me" and "My Darling Clementine") and made a few television appearances with the band including Top of the Pops, CD:UK,^[3] Hero2Hero and on Tim Lovejoy's Allstars show.

The Suffrajets[link]

Before and after her time in Babyshambles, Clarke toured incessantly with The Suffrajets. They released four singles in 2005/2006. "Sold" was released in May 2005, with "Everything You Do" following in October. "Going Nowhere" was released on 27 March 2006. Their next single "Worthy" was released on 26 June 2006. Their album Crooked Mile' went on release in September 2006, only available via their website. However, after spending 12 years with the Suffrajets, and co-founding the band; the group eventually split in 2007.

The Krak[link]

She then played drums in a band called The Krak, touring London, England and most of Europe including Belgium, France and Luxembourg. They released two singles 'Madame Riviere' (available through militant entertainment) in June 2008 and double A side 'School Disco (the kazoo song)/Estate Dwelling' in June 2009 – available via notonyourradio records. The Krak also had extensive press and media coverage, playing guerilla gigs in shops, in London Zoo Gorilla enclosure, Space-hopping on the millennium bridge(!) and the Orient Express... They played at Glastonbury 2008 and made a collaboration with Inde/rock band The Sea, doing a cover version of well known 'Out Of Space' by The Prodigy. They also made a video for this track, which includes footage of the Glastonbury performance. They also headlined London venue The Scala in January 2009. All videos of these events and songs can be found on most main websites.

Spitfire[link]

Clarke ended The Krak in October 2009 and put together new project Spitfire in January 2010 (with 2 previous members of The Krak; Tom Lattimer and Tom Keane). The band did a week tour in Ireland and are now touring England. www.thisisspitfire.co.uk or www.myspace.com/thisisspitfire

Her family own rehearsal studios in Old street called Rooz Studios (www.rooz studios.com) and newly refurbished pub/venue in Holloway Road Nambucca.

Her ex-boyfriend is Snell, the ex-drummer from the punk band Towers of London.

Gemma has also taken up writing, and has an article entitled "For the love of music" here : http://louderthanbombsmagazine.com/

References[link]

Noel Clarke
Noel Clarke at the BAFTA awards, February 2008
Born	(1975-12-06) 6 December 1975 (age 36) London, England, U.K.
Occupation	Actor, writer, producer, director
Years active	1999–present
Website
http://www.noelclarke.co.uk/

Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He is best known for playing Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Mickey Smith in Doctor Who.^[1] Clarke appeared in and wrote the screenplay for Kidulthood and wrote, directed and starred in the sequel, Adulthood,^[2] which gained £1,209,319 from the opening weekend of its release.^[3] Clarke studied Media at the University of North London before going on to take acting classes at London’s Actors Centre.^[4] Clarke won a BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award in 2009.^[5]

Career[link]

Clarke has had recurring television roles as Wyman Norris in the revived series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (2002–2004) and as Mickey Smith in the first two series of the revival of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (2005–2006). He notably became the series' first black companion in the episode "School Reunion", and reprised his role as Mickey in the episode "Journey's End" in 2008 and in 2010 in "The End of Time" Part 2, and also starred in the Doctor Who audio series Dalek Empire: The Fearless, which was released from September to December 2007.^[6] His other television work includes appearances in Casualty and Metrosexuality. He has also acted on the stage, and won the Laurence Olivier Award for "Most Promising Newcomer" in 2003 for his performance in the play Where Do We Live at the Royal Court Theatre. Clarke starred in the film Doghouse,^[7] directed by Jake West and produced by Carnaby Films International. The film was shot primarily in Midhurst, a small village in West Sussex, on the grounds of the old King Edward VII Hospital. He also participated in Neil Marshall's film Centurion, about which Clarke said, "it's about the Roman Legion and I'm one of the soldiers".^[8]

Clarke began his writing career in 2005 when he wrote the screenplay for the film Kidulthood which was released in 2006. He also directed and starred in the sequel, Adulthood, which was released in 2008. On directing his first film, Clarke described his experience, "Directing for the first time was definitely a challenge and tiring at times. It was a steep learning curve and if you’re willing to do stuff and go with it, then it pays off."^[9] His other writing credits include "Combat" which is an episode of the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood, and West 10 LDN, a pilot for BBC Three which is about kids on a rough housing estate.

In 2008, he starred in the video for The Prodigy single "Invaders Must Die".^[10]

In 2009, Clarke was awarded a BAFTA award in the category of Orange Rising Star Award.^[11] As a result of the success of Kidulthood, Adulthood, and his BAFTA win, he was ranked at number 83 in the MediaGuardian 100, an annual ranking of media people in The Guardian.^[12]

He also played the role of A.J.,opposite Jim Sturgess, in Philip Ridley's cult film, Heartless.

Clarke has worked with BBC Blast, a project for teenagers that aims to inspire and get people being creative. Shortly after his BAFTA win he gave a talk to inspire young people telling them to "broaden your mind".^[13]

His next project, 4.3.2.1, a heist movie, was released on 2 June 2010 starring Tamsin Egerton, Emma Roberts and Adam Deacon. The film was shot in London and New York.^[14]

He has also been confirmed to play a yet unknown role in the upcoming untitled Star Trek sequel Currently, what is known of Clarke's character is that he will be a family man with a wife and young daughter. ^{[15] [16] [17]} This is due for release worldwide on 17 May 2013. ^[18]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Film[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Noel Clarke at the Internet Movie Database
• Noel Clarke at AllRovi
• Noel Clarke at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Noel Clarke on Twitter
• BBC Blast

Gemma Ann Merna (born 11 October 1984 in Cleethorpes, England) is an English actress and glamour model. She is known for playing Carmel Valentine in Hollyoaks.

Awards[link]

For her role in the British Channel 4 series Hollyoaks, which was Gemma Merna's first major TV role, she won Best Comedy Performance in the 2007 The British Soap Awards.^[1]

In the same year's National Television Awards, she was nominated for Best Female Soap Actress.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Merna was born in Cleethorpes, but when she was one year old she moved to Didsbury from where both her parents came.^{[citation needed]} She is engaged to long-term boyfriend Ian Minton.^[2]

Merna used to share a house in Liverpool with on-screen sister Jennifer Metcalfe, who plays Mercedes McQueen.^{[citation needed]}She lived in Manchester, going to St.Georges RC High School.

On Sky Sports,^[when?] Merna revealed that she is a supporter of both Manchester United F.C. and Liverpool F.C..^{[citation needed]}

In a 2009 interview with Closer magazine she said that having a breast enlargement at the age of twenty-one was one of the best things she ever did and that it gave her so much confidence.^[3]

On 14 October 2009 Merna presented awards, with Alan Hinkes, for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, at the Kirkby Suite, Kirkby, Knowsley.^{[citation needed]}

TV appearances[link]

• Little Britain, an extra.^{[citation needed]}
• Hollyoaks, Carmel Valentine (2006–present)
• Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack (2008), herself as hijacker^{[citation needed]}
• Hole in the Wall Blue Team Series 2 Episode 2
• Sing If You Can (2011), Red Team Series 1 Episode 2
• Celebrity Juice (2011), 28 April 2011, Series 5 Episode 12

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gemma Merna at the Internet Movie Database

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Una Healy
Healy performing with The Saturdays
Background information
Birth name	Una Theresa Healy
Born	(1981-10-10) 10 October 1981 (age 30) Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland
Origin	Irish
Genres	Pop, rock, dance-pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, guitarist, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2004—present
Labels	Polydor, Fascination
Associated acts	The Saturdays Declan Nerney

Una Theresa Healy^[1] (born 10 October 1981) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known for being one fifth of girl group The Saturdays. Prior to joining the group, Healy released a solo studio EP, Sorry, which was self-written and self-produced.

Early life[link]

Una Healy was born in Thurles, Ireland to Anne and John Healy, nurse and a GP. She has a sister, Deirdre.^[2]

Healy comes from a musical background and is the niece of country singer Declan Nerney.^[3] She is a cousin of Irish athlete Paul Hession.^[4]

At 13, she gave up swimming (she was an All-Ireland champion swimmer at 9^[5]) and decided to teach herself to play using her mother's guitar and from then on began to write songs of her own.

After finishing school at 18, she decided to take a year out and became a medical secretary, and from then went on to study nursing and then primary teaching, but decided finally to go ahead and pursue her music passion at 23 years old.^[6] She began her music career playing guitar and singing in pubs and clubs around Ireland, solo and in bands.^[7][8]

Whilst she was slowly finding success in her native Ireland as an indie solo artist, she felt she didn't have a firm direction in her career. Therefore, in the summer of 2007 she flew over to London to gain more exposure and experience and landed an audition for The Saturdays, which was her first audition for a major label and abroad.^[9]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Healy won Ireland's Glinsk Song Contest in both 2004 and 2006,^[10] and her self-produced EP, "Sorry" was released in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

She represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 as a backing singer for Brian Kennedy on "Every Song Is a Cry for Love".

2007-present: The Saturdays[link]

Healy has been a member of the girl group The Saturdays. The band have enjoyed eight top ten hits, and three top ten album hits The girl band released their first debut single, "If This Is Love" in July 2008, where it peaked at number 8 in the UK. The band released a second single "Up" where it charted at number five in the UK, and later the song enjoyed a certification of Silver in the United Kingdom. In late October 2008, the band released their first studio album, Chasing Lights, where it charted at number nine in the UK, and also achieved a certifications of Platinum by BBI. The band released a third single from the album, "Issues", which also received a silver certificate by the BBI. The Saturdays released a cover of "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode; the song debuted at number 2 in the UK, behind Flo Rida's "Right Round". The fifth and final single from the album was "Work", which was the first single by the band to not reach the top 20. The band later went on a tour titled "The Work Tour."

In October 2009, the band released a second studio album, Wordshaker, which charted at number nine in United Kingdom and was given a silver certification by the BBI. The first single, "Forever Is Over", charted at number two in the UK. The Saturdays appeared in advertisements for several products including a brand of deodorant, tampons, mobile phones, an operating system, and hair removal products.

But in early 2010, the band released a second and final single from their second debut album, "Ego", which charted at number nine. Although the song became the second lowest single to chart by the band, it became one of their highest selling singles[specify], after getting a certification of silver by the BBI.

In summer 2010, the band released their first mini album, their third album overall, Headlines!, which charted at number 3 in the UK and number 10 in Ireland. The band released their eighth single, "Missing You", which charted at number three in the UK and number six in Ireland. Rochelle Wiseman confirmed that the second single from the album would be "Higher" After Flo Rida beat the group to number one for the second time, the American rapper offered to do a collaboration with the band. It was later confirmed, by the band's official website that Flo Rida had recorded vocals for "Higher".

2 months later, in November 2011, The Saturdays released 'On Your Radar' with the headline single 'All Fired Up'.

Discography[link]

Extended plays[link]

• Sorry (2006)

Recognition[link]

Healy won "Hottest Female 2009" in the Virgin Media Music Awards.^[11] She was ranked number 19 and number 41 in FHM's Sexiest Women poll in 2010 and 2011.^[12][13]

Personal life[link]

Healy is engaged to England national rugby union player Ben Foden.^[14] On 13 March 2012, Healy gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter, Aoife Belle Foden.^[15][16] The wedding is set for 2012.^[17]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile The Saturdays Website
• Una Healy at the Internet Movie Database