Betty Boo still Doin' the Do... and she's bringing it to Teesside

THREE and a half decades after crashing into the charts as a precocious young pop-rapper, Betty Boo has decided it’s finally time for her first ever UK tour - and she’s bringing it to Teesside.

- By MARTIN NEAL

Smash hits Doin’ The Do and Where Are You Baby? thrust the alter-ego of Alison Clarkson into the limelight and her debut album, Boomania, was certified platinum.

She disappeared from public view in the early 90s, and although she enjoyed great success as an Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriter, it seemed we'd seen and heard the last of Betty Boo.

Even Betty herself thought so. But after hitting 50 she realised it was time she went out and did the things she could have done years ago. Two critically-acclaimed comeback albums later, and she’s hitting the road for a tour that includes a show at Ku in Stockton on Friday, June 13.

"I'm celebrating 35 years of Boomania,” she said. “Doin’ the Do was out 35 years ago and I thought it would be a really good thing to do.

“I've always wanted to do it, but back in the day, tours weren’t really a thing for pop artists particularly.

“My music was crossover dance so I did loads of personal appearances in clubs and in America, Europe and the UK especially. That was my equivalent of doing a tour.

“But this is very different because I'm going round the country celebrating my music. I came back in 2022 after a long time and I've got lots of music to share. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Betty’s first taste of success came as a guest vocalist on the Beatmasters’ top 10 hit Hey DJ - I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing). A few short months later she was a chart act in her own right.

“I was an overnight success,” she recalled. “I was on an independent label - I was the biggest artist on there - I think everyone was just making it up as we went along!

“In the back of my mind I think if that’s how things had evolved I would have done a tour.

“But I've been doing my own headline shows and I did key venues in London and festivals as well.”