Debut single 'Love Me Right' spent 5 weeks in the top 40, peaked at No.11 in the charts and has sold nearly 50 000 copies.

"All chunky chords, neat melodies and big, warm-hearted vocals"
Heat Magazine

Angel City are a collective, fronted by 21 year old Lara McAllen, who enjoyed massive success with their debut single, last year's 'Love Me Right'.

This summer they hit back with a remake of the Cathy Dennis hit 'Touch Me', which peaked at No.2 in 1991 and also topped the US charts. 

 "It's a little more commercial than 'Love Me Right'," explains Lara.  "It's a really radio-friendly sing-along dance track. I was in the studio listening to some demos when this came on, and I remembered it from the first time round when it was a big hit for Cathy Dennis.  We've completely re-vamped it and updated the sound. It's about how a woman feels about a man when she imagines being with him?y'know what I mean!"

Angel City comprises 21 year old Lara and an array of different producers. "But," she says, "this time round I've got six dancers with me. It'll be wicked ? like having a family round me! I've been travelling round the country doing PA's and the song has gone down really well so hopefully it'll do even better than the last one!"

Lara, born and brought up in Guildford, appreciates more than most how incredible it is to have fulfilled her lifetime ambitions. Ever since she was tiny, all she wanted was to become a professional singer and dancer ? "I never wanted to do anything else" ? but she was born with a condition that affects one in 700 people:

"I had a dislocated left hip and, because it wasn't detected until I was 18 months old, I spent a lot of my childhood in hospital undergoing treatment. At first it looked like I might never be able to walk properly, but by the time I was four the splints came off. By the time I was six I insisted I wanted to learn to dance!"

Although her mother was worried, the doctor soon assured her that it was probably the best thing she could do. Enrolling at the Susan Driver School in the nearby town of Send, Lara was hooked from day one: she passed all her singing and dancing exams ? tap, modern and ballet ? with honours. At the age of 18 she was onto even bigger things:

"I started doing some sessions, and then got the gig touring with Shakira in the UK as a backing singer/dancer.  That was a great experience - performing with her on Top of The Pops and CD:UK ? but the highlight was definitely at Party in the Park.  It was then ? being on stage in front of thousands of people and having the best time of my life ? that I realized I wanted to do my own thing."

Promptly spotted by Ministry Of Sound, she was soon fronting Angel City and enjoying her first taste of chart success.

Angel City followed up the success of debut smash hit 'Love Me Right' and Cathy Dennis remake 'Touch Me' with 'Do You Know (I Go Crazy)', which was released on October 4th.

"It's one of the only tracks on the new album that isn't about, well?sex," laughs Lara. "But, seriously, I've always been a big fan of the Robert Miles track 'Children', and thought someone could do a great vocal over the top of it. Then a few weeks ago, the record company phoned me up and said there was this wicked bootleg out there which combined 'Children' with a vocal from an old Michelle Gayle record! It just seemed the perfect track for me to re-record as my next single."

Produced by seminal outfit Bass Bumpers (Voodoo & Serano, DJ Sammy, CJ Stone), 'Do You Know' proved a challenge for Lara, as it took several attempts to get the vocal right. "Robert Miles wrote the original after seeing horrific pictures of kids suffering, and I wanted to make sure I treated the record with respect. The vocal's a dark tale about a woman who's pining for a lover who's left her. My producers shut me up in this dark booth for hours getting me to sing it over and over again ? this was on the day that my dog died ? until they were happy that the tone was right. It was actually really draining, and I was exhausted at the end of it, but I'm really pleased with the result."

The original bootleg by BCD Project began life in 2003 on Boss Records, and the pairing of Michelle Gayle's Top Ten hit 'Do You Know?' with the 13 million-selling Miles classic saw the label shift over 2,000 copies within a couple of days. But Lee Butler [Radio City FM], Mike Di Scala [Ultrabeat] and Les Calvert [Society], the production team behind the original version, failed to get the sample cleared for a full release. Now, a year on, Data Records and Angel City have secured official clearance and the bootleg is set to make the jump from underground anthem to chart stormer.

After 'Do You Know (I Go Crazy)' came 'Sunrise', released Feb 14th 2005.

'Sunrise' is a soaring slice of pop with a typically yearning Angel City vocal. Says Lara: "This is my favourite track so far that we've released. Although I always say that! I felt much more confident singing this one than previously, and it's the catchiest thing we've done by far. I guess you can look at the song in two ways, depending on how you feel ? it's either positive or negative about relationships. Lyrically it reminded me of an ex-boyfriend, who was so non-communicative, always giving me mixed signals. But I try not to think about him when I sing it!"

Written by the team (James Theochari , Tom Kent and Sarah Shawcross) who penned the classic 'City Lights' on the forthcoming debut album 'Love Me Right' (released Feb 21),  and produced once again by Bass Bumpers Music, 'Sunrise' comes complete with remixes by BCD Project, Quadrasonic and Rob Mayth.

Lara has had plenty to celebrate. Having already bagged three Top 20 hits this year, she has emerged as one of the UK's hottest young female vocalists, garnering a wealth of tabloid attention wherever she goes. 'Do You Know', released in October this year, proved to be her biggest hit to date, sticking in the Top 10 for two weeks ? her "proudest moment" to date.

And what's in store for '05? "The album's finally out on Feb 28th," says Lara. "Which is very exciting. There'll be another single after that, so one thing's for sure ? we ain't going anywhere!"

Info: Stephen Emms / Nadia Khan / @ Poplicity email: stephen@poplicity.com  nadia@poplicity.com  Tel: 020 7226 0990